Apep

An ancient force of primordial disorder, Apophis, or Apep, threatens the Sun's journey. He is the cosmic shadow that attempts to swallow the light, but reveals its power. He is a symbol of inner conflict and the overcoming of the ego. To know him is to conquer fear and transform it into awareness.

Apep is the cosmic serpent who attempts to devour the Sun during its nocturnal journey through the Duat.
He is the personification of chaotic and disordered energies, but also the symbol of transformation and the transcendence of the shadow.
The name Apep derives from the verb ꜥpp, “to crawl, to move underground,” and denotes a force as ancient as creation itself.

In Egyptian mythology, Apep existed before the birth of the world, sleeping in the waters of Nun, the ocean of chaos.
When Ra was born and brought forth light, Apep awoke, vowing to return the world to primordial silence.

Each night, during the Sun’s voyage through the Duat, Apep rises from the darkness to attack the solar barque of Ra.
The gods, led by Set and Mehen, battle the great serpent to ensure the return of the morning.
Every dawn is therefore a victory of light over chaos — yet also the recognition that chaos is an integral part of creation itself.

Symbolically, Apep represents the undifferentiated force of the universe, the matter not yet shaped, the energy that resists order.
From an initiatory perspective, he is the trial of the soul, the darkness that must be crossed in order to be reborn into the light.

The serpent is not “evil” in the human sense: he is necessary.
Without his opposition, Ra would never rise, and the world would remain motionless.
Apep is thus the threshold of power, the chaos from which every divinity draws strength and meaning.