Tehuti, or Thoth, was a very composite deity. Ra was his father. Before trying to disentangle his significance, it might be helpful to enumerate his attributes. Among his titles were those of counter of the stars, measurer and enumerator of the earth, lord of books, scribe of the gods, and possessor of the knowledge of divine speech. In general, he was depicted in human form with the head of an ibis, though he sometimes appeared in that form. Atef's crown, the North and South crowns, and the crescent moon and disk of the moon are worn on his head. He is depicted as holding the scribe's writing reed and palette and placing the deceased's records on his tablets as he weighs the heart in the Book of the Dead. There is no reason to believe Thoth was a totemic deity, as he is among the cosmogonic or nature gods, few of whom are of this type. It has been noted that the dog-headed ape represents Thoth's ability to maintain equilibrium. Ra worshiped at Hermopolis, where he was supposed to have risen for the first time. Ra's dicta were attributed to Thoth, which seems to have come from his mouth. He was the personification of the Divine. We will nevertheless continue to look forward. Let us first discover his primitive significance before we enumerate the more or less complex attributes he possesses later.
The original god of the moon is Thoth. The moon is the great regulator of the seasons among primitive peoples. When the solar revolution is introduced, the lunar calendar is invariably used. Primitive life is thus greatly influenced by the moon. Therefore primitive peoples spoke of 'seed moons, ' 'deer moons, ' 'grain moons, ' 'harvest moons, ' etc. As a moon god, Thoth was a measurer; conversely, Aah-Tehuti symbolizes the new moon, which is why primitive people measure time from its first appearance.
The 'white eye' is the sun, sometimes called the 'black eye of Horus. In the same way that Ra's eye represents the midday sun, his eye represents the full moon. As well as representing Ra's left eye, it also represents the cold half of the year when the sun's rays were not so powerful. In this way, it is illustrated how greatly the attributes of the Egyptian gods had become confused. He was connected to moisture as a moon-god, and we find him alluded to as a rain and thunder god in chapter xcv of the Book of the D