Shu was the Egyptian god of the air, wind and light — the firstborn of the creator Atum, who holds apart the sky and the earth and fills the space between with the breath of life. The very atmosphere of the world made divine, he is the air we breathe and the light of day, the god who stands forever between heaven and earth.
The God of the Air
Shu (Egyptian Shu, “emptiness” or “he who rises up”) was the personification of the air, wind, and the light of the atmosphere. He was the firstborn child of the creator-god Atum (with his twin sister Tefnut, moisture), brought forth at the very beginning of creation — the first deities to come from the creator. As the god of air, Shu was the dry breath of life, the wind, and the empty space filled with light that lies between the earth and the sky. He was depicted as a man, often with a feather (the hieroglyph of his name) on his head, his arms raised to hold up the sky.
The Holder-Apart of Sky and Earth
Shu's great and eternal role was the separation of the sky and the earth. His children, Geb (earth) and Nut (sky), lay locked together in such close embrace that there was no room between them for the world to exist. So Shu stepped between his children and, with his arms raised, lifted Nut the sky high up above, holding her arched body aloft above the reclining body of Geb the earth — and he holds her there still, standing forever between earth and heaven, the air that keeps the sky from falling back down upon the earth. This is one of the central images of Egyptian cosmology: Shu the air, standing with upraised arms, holding the starry sky-goddess up above the earth so that the world may exist in the space between them.
The Breath of Life
As the god of the air, Shu was the very breath of life — the air that all living things breathe to live. He was associated with the cooling wind, with the light of day (as opposed to the darkness), and with the life-giving atmosphere itself. To breathe was to take in Shu; the air in the lungs of every living creature was the god. He also had a role in the solar journey and, in some myths, briefly ruled as king of the gods after Ra and Atum, before the rule passed to Geb. He could also be a fierce god, associated with the punishing dryness and the hot winds, and one of the protectors of the sun against the chaos-serpent.
The Air Between Heaven and Earth
Shu endures as the Egyptian god of the air and one of the foundational deities of the cosmos — the firstborn of the creator, the breath of life, the light of day, and above all the god who holds the sky apart from the earth. He embodies the Egyptian understanding of the atmosphere as a living, divine force, the empty-yet-vital space that makes the world possible; and he stands at the very structure of the Egyptian cosmos, the air forever holding heaven and earth apart so that life may exist in the space between.
He is the air we breathe and the light of day — and he stands forever with upraised arms between the earth and the sky, holding the heavens aloft so the world may exist in the space between.