Apophis: God to False God, Anarchist to Asteroid

Apophis as an Egyptian God was not nice. He was the epitomy of evil, and his arch enemy was Ra, the Sun God. All Apophis wanted was darkness. Travelling the world by night, he battled constantly with those who fought to keep Ra in his rightful place. The paintings of Apophis depict him as a serpent being fatally wounded, but he could not die so killing him was a pointless exercise. The dead, however, could thwart his power with powers of their own. 

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In allegiance with Set, lord of chaos, Apophis raged war on the world through natural disasters, storms and earthquakes. (Set was a master of beasts, and his animal connections changed form, but most often he is linked with the dog or jackal.) Ra, the Sun, was also Re, Egyptian interpretation into English being somewhat haphazard. Re/Ra manifests as Cat of the Heliopolis, here decapitating Apophis who was apparently "never worshipped". 

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The link above also describes Apophis as a black hole "forcing those he swallowed into non-existence". In this picture Re or Ra, looking rather like a hare with a tail (hares are famed as mythical beasts) holds a different kind of weapon against him, bearing some resemblance to a quill, while the sycamore tree which Apophis encircles is embodied by Hathor, who harbours a close relationship with Ra, but brings out the truth of the Sun God's own darkness in the story of her affiliation with blood and alcohol. 

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In 1997, Apophis was resurrected as a god of a very different kind. One who wasn't all he claimed to be, earning him the pretext of 'false', but unstoppable through the power of his own publicity. Undefeated even in death, he was sent back through the Stargate to be resurrected and tortured by Sokar, (God of the Underworld, who is personified as a falcon) but miraculously survived to battle on in defence of evil. The longest-reigning System Lord was finally purged from the Galaxy, at least fictitiously, in 2001.

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On occasions, the flight of the jet stream over the Earth can meander rather violently, looking uncannily like Apophis's device (above) and causing major havoc on a global scale.

So in some sense Apophis is real, in another he is ancient history, and in yet another he is a major character in a popular science fiction series. Unbroken through the centuries, the anarchic serpent morphs and resurrects in the myriad of ways the Universe kindly allows.

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NASA reports that their research paper will be published by Icarus, in prediction of Apophis the Asteroid close-encountering Earth again on Friday the 13th 2029, having given us a fly-by on 9th January this year. According to NASA, uncertainty of the asteroid's orbit leaves us wondering whether deflection tactics will be necessary to prevent it from annihilating Earth completely - or partially - (whichever way you look at it, curtains should it hit us). 
A more favourable possibility is that Apophis will take out a few satellites, as depicted here.
 

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I painted this image many years ago on a wall at home; it's also on the cover of Quantumology, my first book currently in the throes of publication. On August 31st, Apophis elected to follow Quantumology on Twitter. Peter Williams, whose brutally callous manifestation of the Egyptian God in Stargate SG1 ravaged the Galaxy for five years, is a deeply thoughtful man who loves his work and would much rather create than destroy. He set up a Kickstarter project intending to deflect asteroids with a special rocket filled with paint. Apophis's arrival as a Quantumology follower did destroy any hope I have of watching the series a fourth time with suspension of disbelief intact. 

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My reality is shared with a cat, Schroedinger, two dogs Rowan and Raffi, and a falcon, Luca, completing random associations with the characters depicted in the mythology cataloged here. All arrived prior to my knowledge (gained through writing this) of Egypt's historic scriptures. Synchronicity, fate and fortune, in the true spirit of all deities, work in mysterious ways.

I am truly delighted that the First Angel of the Underworld, via his media personification, now has a place in my reality too.
Mary Anne, of Mia and the Moon, recorded this song written last year - Million - which links some thoughts we may share.