The Serpent Which Came Forth

[心神 ~]

In reference to the Pyramid Texts - Utterance 237/238 (in the tomb of Unas):
 

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"The serpent which came forth from the earth has risen; the flame which came forth from Nun is fallen."

 

This seems to be an inversion of the "natural" cosmic order in which the serpent of chaos succeeds and prevents Ra's dawn flame, the defeat of light reborn.

 

In earlier, goddess-centered myths, the serpent is associated with water, earth, fertility as an emblem of life’s cyclical, regenerative force: continuity, not chaos. But in patriarchal solar theologies (Ra, later Greek Apollo), the serpent shifts toward an adversary role. It becomes the “dark, feminine, watery” threat that must be subdued by the sun, the spear, the order of the sky.

 

So if identified with the divine feminine, the serpent's rising could be an older current surfacing, the submerged feminine chaos reclaiming primacy, and the dethroning of a more rigid solar order. To call its rise lamentable assumes the solar order is the unquestioned good. To call it exalted assumes that overturning order is inherently liberatory. The fact that both the serpent and the flame arise from the watery depths of Nun strikes me as interesting. Sibling energy, both sourced from the same cosmic womb.

 

What is your personal view of the serpent, @Nungali? How do you read this process? Is your version meant to be an inversion of the original text? Or a reinterpretation? Is what's described an act of destruction or correction? A rebalancing? A release of repression and subconscious energy? Deep renewal through reversal? Is this a lament for lost light, an exaltation of the goddess's return, an overall celebration of the overturning of cosmic order?

 

What was the original purpose of the text? Was it a protective spell? A warning in it's own historical context? Was the message intended for the people or for the serpent? I notice in these translations, the serpent comes from the earth and the light comes from the water depths. 

 

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“The cobra that came from the earth has fallen, the fire that came from Nu has fallen. Fall down, crawl away!”
(James P. Allen (2005), Internet Archive)

 

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“The serpent which came forth from the earth is fallen; the flame which came forth from Nun is fallen. Fall; glide away.”
(S. A. B. Mercer (1952), Internet Archive)

 

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“The cobra that came from the earth has fallen; the fire that came from Nu has fallen. Fall down, crawl away!”).
(R. O. Faulkner (1969), Brill)

 

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“Fall, serpent that came forth from the Earth! Fall, flame that came forth from Nun! Fall down! Crawl away!”
(Sofiatopia)

 

 

Edit: Water Above Fire was an interesting thread to visit after posting this.

 

 

Edited 4 hours ago by 心神 ~