>>40782475Other myths concerning the creation of Shu and Tefnut maintain that Atum spat them forth from his mouth. This concept makes use of a play on two words which both mean ‘to spit’ or ‘to expectorate’ – ishesh, which has a sound similar to Shu; and tef, which forms the first syllable of the name Tefnut. The version of the birth of Shu and Tefnut through spitting from Atum’s mouth rather than through the more crude but perhaps more logical method of masturbation is the forerunner of the idea that the world was created through God’s word.
Atum’s mouth contained spittle and the breath of life. Tefnut was formed from the spittle and therefore became the Goddess of Moisture. Shu, being formed from Atum’s breath, became the God of Air; and, because air is essentially the breath of life, he became Life itself. After their birth, the two newly formed deities became separated from their father, Atum, and were lost in the dark immensity of the Nun. Atum sent his Eye to look for them. When they were found, he named his son, Shu, as Life, and his daughter, Tefnut, as Order, the personification of what we would call the forces of nature; and lay entwined with them in the Nun, keeping them safe.
