Nu was the name of the dark, swirling chaos before the beginning of time.  Out of these waters rose Atum who created himself using his thoughts and the sheer force of his will.  He was neither male nor female, and he had one all-seeing eye that could roam the universe.  In the watery chaos, Atum found no place on which to stand. In the place where he first appeared, he created a hill. With his all-seeing eye, Atum saw that he was alone in the world.   

He joined with his shadow to produce a son and a daughter.  Atum gave birth to his son by spitting him out. He named him Shu and made him god of the air.  Atum vomited up his daughter. He named her Tefnut and made her the goddess of mist and moisture.  Shu and Tefnut together were given the task of separating the chaos into principles of law, order and stability. Shu created the 'principles of life' and Tefnut created the 'principles of order'.  The chaos was divided into light and dark and set into place.  This order was called Maat, which formed the principles for all time.

Together, Shu and Tefnut produced two offspring, Geb, the Earth, and Nut the Sky.  At first Geb and Nut were tangled together as one.  Shu, god of the air, pushed Nut up into the heavens. There she would remain arched out over Geb, her mate.  They longed to be together, but in the name of Maat they had to be apart, to fulfil their functions.  As a sign of their love and devotion, Nut produced rain for Geb, and Geb made things grow on earth for Nut.  As the sky, Nut gave birth to the sun every night before dawn, and by day it would follow its course over the earth and die at sunset.  Shu and Tefnut produced the other gods: Isis, the queen of the gods, Hathor, the goddess of love and beauty, Osiris the god of wisdom and justice, Seth, the god of evil, Thoth, the god of wisdom and Nephthys the protectress of the dead.  But the chaos was still vast and not yet fully separated into the order of Maat.

Shu and Tefnut once got lost in the dark waters of Nu.  Atum was desperate to find his children. He sent his all-seeing eye throughout the heavens and earth to search for them.  In time Shu and Tefnut returned with the eye. When Atum saw them again he was so delighted that he wept tears of joy.  As these tears hit the earth, they became the first men.  As the men populated the earth they had to uphold the truth and balance of Maat. They had the task of tending the earth and worshipping the gods.  The gods, in turn, protected and loved their creations.