The Fire Spitting Uraeus – Protector of Ra (Sun) and the God King Planets
Fire Spitting Egyptian Snake.
Wadjet (Wadjyt, Wadjit, Uto, Uatchet, Edjo)
Usually portrayed as a rearing cobra, she was thus inextricably linked with the uraeus, the archetypal serpent-image of kingship, which protruded just above the forehead in most royal crowns and headdresses. It has been suggested that the original meaning of the Greek word uraeus may have been ‘she who rears up.’
Wadjet and the vulture goddess Nekhbet were described as the nebty (‘two ladies’), who served as tutelary deities of Lower and Upper Egypt respectively,symbolising the essential duality of the Egyptian world. Together they presided over one of the elements of the Royal Titulary, the ‘two ladies’ name, which is attested as early as the 1st Dynasty.
Wadjyt was also sometimes portrayed in leonine form, since she and the uraeus were often identified with the lioness-goddess known as the ‘Eye of Ra’ (Source; Dictionary of Ancient Egypt, Shaw and Nicholson).
Wadjet’s epithets include:
The Uraeus
Great Serpent
She of the Fiery Eye
The Lady of Devouring Flame (the creative force of the sun-god).
Noble Serpent who flowed forth from the Eye
The Wedjat Eye
Serpent Mother
Protector of Horus (and the reigning king)
She who brings Truth and Justice.
The Lady of the Flaming Waters
Mistress of Fear
Goddess of the Placenta
Mistress of the Atef-Crown
The Lady of Spells
Mother of Creation
Queen of the Gods
She who loves silence
The Eye (of Maat Horus, Ra, Ptah, Thoth or Amun depending on the dynasty)
Twin cobras protecting the celestial disk.
“The goddess Wadjet comes to you in the form of the living Uraeus to anoint your head with her flames. She rises up on the left side of your head and she shines from the right side of your temples without speech; she rises up on your head during each and every hour of the day, even as she does for her father Ra, and through her the terror which you inspire in the spirits is increased … she will never leave you, are of you strikes into the souls which are made perfect.”
“There is no real snake species that fits this description so the uraeus is unique to the ancient Egyptians imagination.”
(Ancient Egypt p46 Vol 10 No 6 June/July 2010)
Proposal
This essay proposes that the rearing Egyptian Cobra (uraeus) was most definitely NOT…
“… unique to the ancient Egyptians imagination!”
Row of carved cobras.
It initially derived from first hand observations of solar phenomena such as flares and coronal mass ejections ‘striking out’ from our ancient hazed red Sun. In the second instance, since Egypt’s god king planets exhibited similar ‘striking out’ and other snakelike traits by means of solar wind interactions and volcanism, they too were also perceived to be protected by the ‘Great Serpent.’ As a result the uraeus became an iconic symbol of protection embodied in the goddess Wadjet – taking pride and place as a cobra emblazoned on the forehead of the divine royal family as well as draped over numerous solar disks.
Solar Flares, Prominences, Coronal Mass Ejections
A solar flare is a electromagnetic storm on the Sun which appears to be a very bright spot and a gaseous surface eruption. Solar flares release huge amounts of high-energy particles and gases and are tremendously hot (from 3.6 million to 24 million °F). They are ejected thousands of miles from the surface of the Sun.
Solar Prominence
A solar prominence (also known as a filament) is an arc of plasma that erupts from the surface of the Sun. Prominences can loop hundreds of thousands of miles into space. Prominences are held above the Sun’s surface by strong magnetic fields and can last for many months. At some time in their existence, most prominence will erupt, spewing enormous amounts of solar material into space.
Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are huge, balloon-shaped plasma bursts that come from the Sun. As these bursts of solar wind rise above the Sun’s corona, they move along the Sun’s magnetic field lines and increase in temperature up to tens of millions of degrees. These bursts release up to 220 billion pounds (100 billion kg) of plasma. CMEs can disrupt Earth’s satellites. CMEs usually happen independently, but are sometimes associated with solar flares. CME’s and solar flares are currently the biggest explosions in our solar system, roughly approaching the power in one billion hydrogen bombs! They give rise to streams of charged particles, which greatly increase the solar wind, which is the normal outflow of invisibly charged particles from the sun. This can have a direct effect on earth in that, if a CME collides with earth, it excites a geomagnetic storm which increases in the aurora, commonly known as the northern or southern lights.
Re (Ra), the Red Sun
As proposed 3,000 years of cosmic catastrophe (period approx. 3000 BC – birth of Christ) produced immeasurable quantities of debris, dust and gas. This debris eventually settled into the plane of the ecliptic where it had a drastic effect on the Sun’s appearance. Through the eyes of the ancient Egyptians the Sun appeared as a red orb exactly as depicted throughout the Nile Valley. This is supported by the fact that Egyptian art reveals not one single golden glaring Sun with a complete 360° sweep of sun rays (more here).
Common Egyptian Sun.
Snake-like features emanating from our Sun.
The image on the left depicts a typical Egyptian Sun encircled by a yellow royal uraeus serpent (Wadjet) which was known to spit fire and venom at Egypt’s enemies. The image on the right was taken by SOHO and can be used for comparison, providing some idea of how the Sun appeared in a world dominated by cosmic catastrophe.
A hazed Sun means there was no glare and the ability to look directly at the Sun without being blinded. This led to naked-eye observations such as coronal mass ejections (CMEs), flares and prominences. Solar phenomena that, only under certain conditions, we may be privy to witness during a solar eclipse i.e. CMEs protruding from Sun when occulted by the Moon’s disk.
It has been suggested that violent flares are caused by sungrazing cometary bodies.
“Comet NEAT swung close by the Sun in 2003, apparently initiating a CME eruption that appeared to impact the comet. Astronomers at the time discounted any relationship between the two events because of the size differential between the comet and the Sun. However, several other sungrazers have been associated with violent flares. One event can be a coincidence, two can be long odds, but three or more can not be dismissed as mere oddities. “
Taking into account the above, the correlation becomes very apparent. The cobra (Wadjet) is a symbolic representation of vicious CME’s ‘striking out’ several times the diameter of the Sun at sungrazing cometary bodies. We have snakelike CME’s protecting the body of Re by spitting fire and venom at Egypt’s enemies. In ancient times, such eruptions were observable on a daily basis and led to the natural belief that Re was the primary contestant in a perennial battle against the forces of evil.
The yellow coronal ring encompassing the divine snake represents the highly charged million-degree corona of the Sun, bursting through as a yellow ring due to its 20 million degree temperature. Gold really was the ‘flesh of the gods’, as bursts of golden energy were also observed emanating from the body of Re, as in the image above. Here we may make sense of Wadjet’s epithet ‘goddess of the placenta’ – she was the goddess of Re’s organs (and the kings). There may also be a connection here with material connected to the Sun via a snakelike umbilical cord.
The origin of the cobra lies with the Sun.
“Even before its identification with the king, the cobras protective attributes were recognised, and it was identified as the eye of Re, sometimes protecting his solar disk by spitting fire and venom.”
(Dictionary of Ancient Egypt p67 Shaw & Nicholson)
Sacred Egyptian text further confirm direct observations of CMEs striking out from the Sun.
“Re arises, his uraeus upon him….”
(Utterance 298, R. O. Faulkner, The ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts)
“My vision is cleared, my heart is in its proper place, my uraeus (cobra) is with me every day. I am Re, who himself protects himself, and nothing can harm me .”
(Book of the Dead, Faulkner p58)
“O Uraeus, being on top of Re… “
(Turin Museo Egizio 1791, Tb 034)
“This is the fire which shines behind Re and which is concentrated behind him.”
(Spell 136b Book of the Dead 126.)
“Thy heart is glad the Uraeus rises before thee.”
(Budge, Egyptian Language p73, citation 13)
The latter text can be explained as follows:
Earth’s dusty atmosphere combined with a solar system littered with debris sees massive CMEs herald the actual rising of Re’s red disk – Re, having defeated the demons of the underworld once again rises victorious in the east. The Egyptians believed that the sun might just not rise again the next day, given cosmic catastrophe and observations of the Sun engaged in a perennial battle, such a belief becomes totally understandable. A classic case of mythology having its basis in some extraordinary but very real events.
Our attention now turns to the reason why the cobra was displayed on the headdress of Egypt’s divine monarchy. There are at least two main reasons for this – two processes which caused the kingly planets to exhibit similar traits to that of their father Re. Some of which are interlinked.
Solar wind interactions: Observations of fiery snakelike apparitions produced as the solar wind slams into errant planets.This involves the solar wind, a stream of charged particles slamming into errant planets thus producing serpent-like apparitions at the point of impact. Depending on which body, the solar would was also seen to strip off or peel away parts of the planet’s atmosphere – this also taking on a snakelike form. To Egyptian eyes, this was the goddess Wadjet affording her protection to the astral monarchy.
Volcanism:
Observations of volcanic eruptions taking on snakelike forms as they are seen lashing out into space.
Snakelike streams of material from the interior of Mars thrown out into space from the enormous chasm, the Valles Marineris.
Volcanism of sorts, as boiling, bubbling magma is seen emanating from close proximity planetary bodies (mainly Venus).
Ramesses II “The Ra of Rulers” wearing the iconic uraeus.
Comet Venus
What follows is a brief outline of my proposed Comet Venus thesis which needs to be covered. A more in depth understanding can be gleaned here, or if you can offer a little support, please purchase the book here.
The ‘comet crown’ worn by the queens of the New Kingdom was a true representation of Venus as it appeared in ancient times. A conclusion reached principally by comparing the queens crowns with an animation of the solar wind colliding with Venus today, as can be seen below.
Comet Venus as represented in many Egyptian crowns.
On the left, a typical Comet Venus crown, on the right an image of Venus interacting with the solar wind, a stream of charged particles that flow out from the Sun. As proposed the resemblance is immediately obvious, far too close to be deemed coincidental. The crown represents Comet Venus as it graced our skies only a few thousand years ago.
Of interest here, however, is the highly significant placement of the two cobras at the point at which the solar wind slams into the Venusian surface. Comparing this with the impact point in the Venus diagram the iconography becomes apparent. The two cobras represent the shimmering point of impact – electrical manifestations glowing and shimmering and taking on the attributes of serpent snakes similar to that observed emanating from Re. The cobras are also shown wearing a solar disk with enveloping horns to further signify (in this case) the protective force of the goddesses Wadjet. The shimmering apparitions are probably better viewed via the very cool animation below.
Solar wind blows on Venus.
Bearing in mind this is a CGI of Venus today; four thousand years ago at the height of planetary chaos the solar wind was far more intense (fed by immeasurable quantities of debris) and Venus far more dynamic as it produced countless tons of sulphurous gas from its newly formed boiling hot magma surface during. At this time, Venus was unable to hold on to any sort of atmosphere – the solar wind relentlessly slammed into its surface, striping its noxious gasses in the process. As a result Wadjet’s divine serpent snakes were far more active, far more incessant, far more profound. Moreover, highly visible as there was no glare from the Sun.
The same applies to the other perpetrators of chaos notably the warring (god kings) Mars, Mercury and the Moon. Intense solar storms also slammed into these bodies creating flaming snakelike forms on the sun-facing side of the planet.
Sacred Inscriptions
The following sacred inscriptions are unequivocal in connotation – they are clearly alluding to astral bodies exhibiting similar serpent traits to that of the sun – planetary bodies, under the many guises of Egypt’s god kings protected by the goddess Wadjet, hence, her title as the ‘Protector of Horus’ (Horus, the embodiment of kingship, the astral guardian of the planetary kings).
Tuthmosis III (Moon)
“Re himself established me, I was dignified with the diadems which were upon his head, his serpent-diadem, rested upon my forehead, he satisfied me with all his glories; I was seated with the counsel of the gods, like Horus, when he counted his body at the house of my father, Amun-Re. I was presented with the dignities of a god, with my diadems.”
(Breasted Vol 2 p61)
Ramesses III (Mars)
“While I sit upon the throne of Harakhte, and the serpent-diadem is fixed upon my head, like Re.”
(Breasted Vol 4 p39)
(Harakhte = Horus of the horizon i.e. a planetary king observed almost stationary on the horizon).
“My fame makes the great ones of the countries to bow down, while the uraeus upon my forehead in all lands.”
(Breasted)
Mars, having once had a earth-like magnetic field prior to the catastrophic events would also exhibit a crown(s) of serpent snakes at its polar regions, similar to earth’s aurora borealis and Jupiter’s aurora.
Earth’s aurora snaking across the polar region.
Earth’s aurora – a serpent crown?
Jupiter’s (the creator god Ptah) aurora also snaking around its polar regions
Jupiter wearing a double diadem auroral crown (Credit Nasa).
The inscription below is most certainly referring to a planetary king appearing in the image of the red sun, and the text “double serpent-diadems” is probably referring to Ramesses/Mars’ aurora.
“Thou (Ramesses) art like the sun (LITERALLY!), when he rises; men live at thy appearance. Give to us the breath, which thou givest, that we may hail thy double serpent-diadem, that we may speak of thy might to our sons’ sons. They are brought low through the fear of thee, of which we tell them; O thou Sun (again, literally!) over Egypt, like the one which is in heaven, King Ramses.”
(ibid p74: my Parenthesis).
In contrast to the usual single uraeus of Egyptian pharaohs, Egypt’s queens were often crowned with two uraeuses, why was this?
Dynamics and the contrasting compositions of the planets (and chaos) would dictate exactly what was and wasn’t seen. For example; Mars’ demise from an earth-like planet (in every sense) to its now frozen desolate state saw its magnetic field initially protect it from the solar wind – consequently producing far less fiery ‘impact’ serpents than the newly formed Venus, which having no intrinsic protective shield invited the sun’s wind to slam directly into is surface, creating an overactive impact point. This was played out in the imagery where Egypt’s queens were often portrayed with the double uraei.
Nefertari/Venus wearing the comet Venus crown and double uraeus on her forehead.
Egyptian kings on the other hand, were rarely, if ever, portrayed with the double snake emblem. Only during later times do we see Nubian kings emulating Egyptian queens by adorning the double uraeus. I reason this is more to do with Mercury in the guise of god kings, taking on a black hue as it migrated towards, and transited (passed in front of) the Sun. Mercury at this time also exhibited twin fiery snakes, similar to comet Venus. Again the iconography and sacred inscriptions fully corroborate this as demonstrated below.
Taharka/Mercury, an incandescent orb, the “Likeness of Re,” exhibiting similar serpent traits to Comet Venus, hence the double uraeus.
“I (King Taharka) had taken the diadems of Re, and I had assumed the double serpent-crest as the […] protection of my limbs.”
(Breasted Vol IV p456)
Kushite King Anlamani/Mercury also adorned with the double uraeus. The actual crown and Amun’s ram’s horns also have their origins in electrical apparitions.
The electrical (solar wind) interactions between the sun and the planets as discussed above are to be seen more as invoking Wadjet’s protective traits as is symbolically represented in the image on the right. Here the red orb of Mars/Ramesses (Not the Sun!) is clearly named via the cartouche placed below the disk. It contains the throne name of Ramesses, User-maat-Re which means “Powerful by the Truth of Re” – a very apt title. And, in an act of protecting and guaranteeing the endurance of the monarchy, the goddess Wadjet wraps her tail around Ramesses’s red disk and his name.
