Wadjet – Goddess – Egypt, brings death, life, love.

Two girls separated by 3,000 years but united by one common bond.

Introduction to The Blue Crown. An Egyptian adventure.

              I am known by many names, but you may call me Wadjet. I was created, with my twin sister, Nekhbet, as the eyes of the sun god Ra. He sent us to find his children after they became lost in the watery abyss, which was full of chaos and evil. We were successful in our quest and overcame the darkness that dwelled there. On the return of his children, Ra cried with joy, and his tears fell to the ground, becoming the people of the land called Egypt. To reward our achievement, Ra turned us into goddesses, and we dwelt in the papyrus swamps which sat in the delta of the great river of life. Ra then joined the rest of the gods and took on human form, becoming Atum-Ra, creator of all life.

                 The people of Egypt, under the guidance of the Pharaohs, built the city of Memphis. They erected temples to honour and worship the gods, who created heaven and earth as well as night and day. The tombs of the Pharaohs, shaped as vast pyramids, recorded their successes in life and, through the book of the dead, we gave them instructions on how to join us in the afterlife. The emblem of this land, they called the lower kingdom, was the red Crown. My form, in the shape of a coiled serpent, sat at its front, so I could protect not only the Pharaoh who wore it but also all of the children of the land of lower Egypt.  When called on to appear before them, I was a siren, dressed in a gown of shimmering green and blue. My beauty was both dazzling and inspiring. However, for those who were the enemies of Egypt, I became a terrifying green-scaled serpent that spat fire and venom.

         My sister, Nekhbet, who also showed herself as a beautiful woman, chose to travel south along the river of life, to create the land known as the upper kingdom. To her enemies, she was a white-headed vulture, with a curved beak, and black claws. They were deadly weapons with which she protected not only the young of the pharaohs but also all those she hid under her exotically coloured wings. The emblem of the upper kingdom was the white Crown, and her image sat at its front as a lasting reminder of her power.

          Over the millennium, I watched the two kingdoms prosper and help them unite into one mighty land where the red and white crowns combined. The old cities were abandoned, and the Pharaohs built new grand temples to honour all of the gods, at a place called Thebes. To commemorate this, the gods created a war crown for the Pharaohs to wear. It was made from blue leather and also carried my image at its front. When taken into battle, it radiated an unstoppable force against the enemies of Egypt.

           For many years the pharaohs successfully used the powers they were given, and harmony existed throughout the land. However, today there is a new Pharaoh, called Amenhotep, who has decided to replace the old gods with one new deity called Aten. This frightened us, and we asked our father, Atum- Ra, for guidance. He looked and saw that Amenhotep had a young and beautiful wife named Nefertiti. She was more considerate of the old gods and our traditional ways. After much discussion, we decided to give her the power to help restore the balance of life, trusting in her judgement. To help her undertake this task, we created a second blue crown for her to wear. Unlike Pharaoh’s, it was tall and elegant and adorned with bands of coloured precious stones. My image was wrapped around its circumference with my head raised in the striking position, and my all-seeing eyes facing forward. More importantly, the Crown was infused with my life force.

             However, the gods knew that this would not be enough. Nefertiti would need extra help with her quest, so, in a secret ceremony, I gave her five of my offspring, in the form of five serpent pendants. Each held a different gift that could be used to ward off evil and allow the wearer the means to call upon us for help. I also knew that man could be disturbed at any time in the future by the evil that dwelled in the great abyss and that it could take on many different faces. To help overcome this, I gave each of my children the ability to disguise their shape.

              This was a significant gift, and Nefertiti was the first of her kind to explore its powers, which would last far beyond the era of the Pharaohs, into the new age of man. Realising this, Atum-Ra insisted on further protection over the pendants and decreed they could only be used by one person in every generation. Like Nefertiti, these guardians of life would each be known in their time as a chosen one.