God Nehebu-Kau

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.