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| God Nehebu-Kau |
A snake-god, He who rules the spirits, whose indomitability is a source of protective cover both in Egypt and in the Underworld. In the Pyramid Texts Nehebu-Kau is addressed son of Selkis , the scorpion-goddess, stressing his role in later spells of reconstructing the health of victims of venomous bites. Protective of royalty, Nehebu-Kau receives the crowned head in the Afterlife and supplies a meal. A
Middle Kingdom spell describes the gone with this snake-god who is not taken to any
magic, nor vulnerable to fire and water. One author of his power consists in the magical force of the number seven in the seven cobras which he buried. In a spell concerning the welfare of his heart in the Afterlife, the gone requests other gods to give him a good recommendation to Nehebu-Kau. There is a touch in the
Old Kingdom that Nehebu-Kaus power takes to be controlled by the sun-deity
Atum promoting a fingernail on the snakes spine. Another custom makes Nehebu-Kau the son of the earth-god
Geb and the harvest-goddess Renenutet. Consequently his chthonic and rich power provides other gods with their vital force.
