There was a time when humankind gazed at the stars and saw gods, monsters, and destinies woven into the black velvet of the sky . Before telescopes and satellites, it was creation myths that recounted our origin, our purpose, our place in the universe. And these myths were symbolic structures , ways of thinking about time, matter, life, and death. Even today, their echoes resonate in our works of art, our clothing, and our deepest dreams.
Let's explore 6 mythical cosmogonies – powerful, poetic, sometimes terrifying – that continue to inspire our view of the cosmos .
1. Norse mythology: a world born from the clash between ice and fire
In the beginning, there was only emptiness – the Ginnungagap , a silent abyss between two kingdoms:
- To the north, Niflheim , a world of ice, mist, and eternal cold.
- To the south, Muspelheim , a realm of flames and burning chaos.
From the meeting of these two extremes was born Ymir , the first giant, and Audhumla , the primordial cow who licked the ice to bring forth the first god, Búri. But it was above all the body of Ymir , killed by Odin and his brothers, that became the matter of the world :
- His blood formed the oceans,
- his flesh, the earth,
- his bones, the mountains,
- and his skull… the sky , supported by four dwarves.
This myth forges a vision of the world where the universe is made of sacrifice, balance between opposites, and the bodily memory of the gods themselves . A living, structured cosmos, but always threatened by the return of chaos: Ragnarök , before the return to harmony.
2. Egyptian cosmogony: the sacred lotus on the ocean of Nothingness
For the ancient Egyptians, the world was born from the primordial waters , called Nun . It was a sea without shores, without bottom, full of potential but devoid of form . And then, suddenly, the sacred mound arose—an island, a mountain, a first "ground": the analogy with the Nile flood is clear. On this mound, the god Atum appeared , often depicted in an open lotus . He created himself, then gave birth to Shu (air) and Tefnut (moisture) , who in turn gave birth to Geb (Earth) and Nut (Sky) . But Nut and Geb loved each other too much… so Shu separated them . Nut became the starry vault, arching above the world , and Geb rested beneath it , dotted with mountains.
This myth gives rise to a vision of the cosmos as a breath rhythmically driven by water, light, and separate love . The universe becomes a living organism , where each element is a divinity to be honored.
3. The Aboriginal Dream: A world sung in the invisible
Among the Aboriginal peoples of Australia, the world has been sung into existence by the beings of the Dreamtime ( Tjukurpa ). This is not a past moment, but a time outside of time , always accessible to those who know how to listen.
The Totemic Ancestors – Rainbow Serpent, Kangaroo, Lizard, Emu – traversed the earth, carving rivers, lifting mountains , and digging chasms, leaving behind "song lines." These lines are not physical roads, but spiritual pathways , which can be followed by chanting the right words in the right place.
This myth offers a cosmogony without separation between matter and spirit , between visible and invisible. The universe is a network of vibrations, sacred narratives, and ancestral memories , which are reactivated with each song, with each conscious step.
4. The Aztec myth: five suns and worlds devoured by fire, water, and jaguars
For the Aztecs , the present world is the fifth in a series of cyclical creations and destructions . Each era was ruled by a sun – and each collapsed in a catastrophe.
- The first world was eaten by jaguars.
- The second one was blown away by the wind.
- The third one was consumed by fire.
- The fourth drowned under the waters.
- And the fifth… ours, is ruled by the god Tonatiuh , but it too will fall one day.
This myth teaches us that the world is fragile, ephemeral, forever dependent on the will of the gods . But it also celebrates human bravery : the gods sacrificed themselves to ignite the present sun, and it is thanks to human rituals that it continues to rise. The Aztec cosmos is thus a sacred theater , where humanity sustains the light through blood, dance, and prayer .
5. The Chinese myth of the giant Pangu: the splitting of yin and yang
In Chinese tradition, the universe was initially a cosmic egg , containing within it primordial chaos , without form or limit. Then Pangu , the first living being, awoke within this egg. Armed with a celestial axe, he split the egg in two:
- The yin , being heavy, formed the Earth.
- The light yang became Heaven.
For 18,000 years , Pangu grew and slowly separated the two halves, holding the sky above his head to prevent it from collapsing . At his death, his breath became the wind, his eyes the sun and the moon, his blood the rivers, his bones the mountains… and his fleas? Humanity. The myth of Pangu is both epic and humble, cosmic and organic. It tells of a world founded on balance and sacrifice , between the opposing forces of the universe.
6. Polynesian cosmogony: a world born of forbidden love
In Hawaiian and Polynesian myths, everything originates from the primordial couple : Rangi (the Sky) and Papa (the Earth) , entwined so tightly that their divine children are born in darkness . Smothered, the child-gods decide to separate them.
- Some people want to kill their parents.
- But Tāne, god of the forest , proposes to gently separate them. He pushes the sky upwards with his legs, while the earth remains beneath his arms. Light then floods the world.
But Rangi and Papa's tears continue to fall, creating the rains, the rivers, and the humidity of the world . Here, the cosmos is born from a love that became a creative distance . Heaven and earth are not enemies, but separated lovers , still mourning their lost union.
The sky as a mirror of ourselves
Through these six cosmogonies , we discover that the creation of the world is also the creation of meaning . Each culture looks at chaos, night, emptiness… and breathes into it a story , an origin, a voice.
These myths have influenced our language, our art, our clothing, our architecture, and even our modern philosophies . And they remind us, each in their own way, that the world is not a cold object but a living, vibrant, narrative matrix . Perhaps when we look at the stars, it is not infinity we contemplate… but our own memory, woven from fire, songs, and forgotten deities.