Amun - An Ancient Aurora Filled Sky

Amun - An Ancient Aurora Filled Sky

Planetary chaos and intense geomagnetic storms encapsulated in the 'king of the gods Amun.

Auroras are striking displays of coloured lights often seen over the Earth’s magnetic poles. They occur when the solar wind particles trapped by the Earth’s magnetic field collide with molecules of air in the upper atmosphere (ionosphere). They are a spectacular sight and take the form of rapidly shifting patches of colour and dancing columns of light of various hues. The colours observed depend on several factors such as atmospheric conditions, intensity of the solar wind, temperature and location. The aurora is always present in almost every area of the sky, but it is usually too faint to be seen except near the North and South Poles.

The intensity of the aurora is dictated by the solar wind, a stream of electrically charged particles from the Sun. When the solar wind blows exceptionally strong, the aurora increases. When the Sun is in the active phase it can unleash powerful magnetic storms that disable satellites, threaten astronaut safety, and even disrupt communication systems on Earth.

Amun is most commonly shown entirely in human form. Often he is standing or sitting on a throne wearing a red, flat-topped crown with two tall plumes and holding a sceptre in his hand. Thousands of images of Amun are to be found throughout the Pharaonic Egypt. The enormous temple complex of Karnak was the principal home of Amun where he was worshiped as the prominent divine entity. During the New Kingdom, his popularity eclipsed that of other major deities so much so he was referred to as the ‘king of the gods’.

The image on the left depicts Amun in typical form with blue skin, yellow kilt, and red flat-topped crown with tall plumes segmented into sections of blue, red and green (?). A thin yellow frame separates these 'sacred' colours. The Northern Lights photo on the right depicts a plumed or pillared aurora with similar colours i.e. mainly blue supported by green, red and a hint of yellow. Comparing Amun’s tall plumes with the aurora photo it is apparent they are clearly a symbolic representation of intense geomagnetic storms that dominated ancient skies.

Amun's epithets are completely consistent with an aurora filled sky.

Mysterious of form
Who raised high the sky
The king of the south and of the north
Prince of rays and beams of light
The flame which sendeth forth rays of light with mighty splendour
Living flame who came forth from Nun
King of heaven, ruler of the two lands
Who makes light/gives free passage
Secret of manifestations and sparkling of shape
Marvellous god rich in forms
Light was his coming into existence on the first occasion

Amun’s colours were at times interchangeable. Although his flesh was predominantly blue (main sacred colour), some images reveal a red coloured flesh. His segmented plumes were sometimes coloured yellow or white, as too was his crown. The plumes were often depicted devoid of segments and were painted just one colour, normally yellow or white.

The main colours of the aurora are blue, yellow, red and green and any variants in Amun's colours merely reflect the hues seen at the time which could change on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Sometimes red neon lights covered the entire sky, other times blue, green, yellow, white or a combination of all colours. The Egyptians reflected what they saw in their art.

The aurora manifests itself in many forms including homogenous arcs, bands, active arcs, rays, pillars, plumes, draperies (or curtains) and coronas. The aurora variations are reflected in the epithet which describes Amun as the 'One creator who has millions of forms & transformations'.

Amun was also known as ‘the hidden one’ and the ‘one whose true form could never be known’. Such 'hidden' traits reflect the transparency of the aurora. Unlike the light emanating from the body of the Sun, the auroral light had no solid body or attributable physical 'form'. In this respect the Egyptians had a blank canvass, and so chose to encapsulate the aurora as a human being adorning auroral hues and a plumed auroral crown.

The solar wind is deflected around the earth to form an enormous magnetotail which can extend more than 3,976,766 miles out into space. It is divided into two lobes, or tails, rising and setting in opposition to the Sun. Today it is invisible. From the point of view of Earth's horizons it appeared as two mountains with the title 'Lord of the Two Mountains'. Those electrical apparitions were also attributed to Amun. It's probably why he wore two plumes on top of his crown and not one, or three.

During that period all close proximity planetary bodies exhibited highly visible electrical traits (this would include the cometary plumes of Comet Venus). These were all attributed to Amun. It is the very reason why the omnipresent Amun/aurora rose to prominence to become the 'king of the gods'.

Perhaps 3,000 years of cosmic catastrophe is staring us in the face by way of every façade the length and breadth of the Nile Valley.

-aether