Queen of Cat: Bast

Bast

Eye of Ra

Goddess of Cats

Goddess of Family and Homes

Warrior Goddess who guarded the Pharaohs and their soft-footed pets alike, Bast is one of the most well known of the Egyptian deities; her cult, which encouraged all Egyptians to revere cats above all other creatures, was widespread and enormously influential, leading both to joyous revels and even to death penalties for those who might dare to kill a feline. She is also a moon goddess and serves as the opposite number of her sun god father, reigning over the cool, secretive silences of the night.

Bast (known as "Bastet" in later times to emphasize that the "t" was to be pronounced) was one of the most popular goddesses of ancient Egypt. She is generally thought of as a cat goddess. However, she originally had the head of a lion or a desert sand-cat and it was not until the New Kingdom that she became exclusively associated with the domesticated cat. However, even then she remained true to her origins and retained her war-like aspect. She personified the playfulness, grace, affection, and cunning of a cat as well as the fierce power of a lioness. She was also worshiped all over Lower Egypt, but her cult was centered on her temple at Bubastis in the Eighteenth Nome of Lower Egypt (which is now in ruins). Bubastis was the capital of ancient Egypt for a time during the Late Period, and a number of pharaohs included the goddess in their throne names.

Bast and Ra

Legend has it that, by day, Bast would ride through the sky with her father, the sun god Ra, his boat pulling the sun through the sky. Ever watchful, she protected Ra from his enemies. Thus she became known as the Lady of the East, the Goddess of the Rising Sun, and The Sacred and All-Seeing Eye.  But by night, she was a different creature entirely! Bast transformed herself into a cat (renown for its superb night vision) to guard her father from Apep (also known as Apophis), a serpent who was her father's greatest enemy and Lord of Chaos. Ra's priests burned wax models of the snake and wrote his name with green ink, trying to put an execration spell on him — but to no avail. Finally, with her cat eyes shining in the dark, she managed to kill the evil serpent. Credited with killing the vile Apep, the Goddess Bast ensured the warmth of the sun would continue to bless the delta of the Nile with fertile soil and abundant crops and was honored as a goddess of fertility. Though Bast was a daughter of Ra, she once quarreled with her father, and rather than accept his wishes she exiled herself to wander in the desert. However, in spite of her disobedience, Ra still cared for his daughter's well-being. When Bast, while walking among the desert dunes, stung by a vicious and enormous scorpion, she cried out to Ra to save her as the poison coursed through her veins. Taking pity on his daughter, Ra descended to earth in the middle of the day, bringing the sun to the ground for a few moments, and burned the poison out of her, rendering her well again.

Cats

Cats were sacred to Bast, and to harm one was considered to be a crime against her and so very unlucky. Her priests kept sacred cats in her temple, which were considered to be incarnations of the goddess. When they died they were mummified and could be presented to the goddess as an offering. The ancient Egyptians placed great value on cats because they protected the crops and slowed the spread of disease by killing vermin. As a result, Bast was seen as a protective goddess. Evidence from tomb paintings suggests that the Egyptians hunted with their cats (who were apparently trained to retrieve prey) and also kept them as loved pets.

Her Festival

Her center of worship was in Bubastis (Per-Bast, Pa-Bast, Pibeseth, Tell-Basta), in the eastern Delta. Her chief festivals were celebrated in April and May. Herodotus, the famous Greek historian and early blogger, provides the following description of one of the festivals:

"When the Egyptians travel to Bubastis, they do so in this manner: men and women sail together, and in each boat there are many persons of both sexes. Some of the women shake their rattles and some of the men blow their pipes during the whole journey, while others sing and clap their hands. If they pass a town on the way, some of the women land and shout and jeer at the local women, while others dance and create a disturbance. They do this at every town on the Nile. When they arrive at Bubastis, they begin the festival with great sacrifices, and on this occasion, more wine is consumed than during the whole of the rest of the year."

With loud music, women shaking their rattles, others gyrate in dance, and some lifting their skirts while making lewd comments to the townspeople lined up on the riverbank to watch the procession, the feasts of Bast may have been a precursor to the Mardi Gras and Carnival of today but tamer than the Roman parties. Some think that it is even the basis for the word "floats" that describe the decorated rides in a parade.

Personality and Personal Live

Bast seemed to have two sides to her personality, docile and aggressive. Her docile and gentle side was displayed in her duties as a protector of the home, and pregnant women. Her aggressive and vicious nature was exposed in the accounts of battles in which the pharaoh was said to have slaughtered the enemy as Bast slaughtered her victims.

Now on her love life; one of the oldest versions of the goddess Bast was known by the name 'Pasht', from which our word passion was derived. (And from which the English term "Puss" may have arisen.) It's not surprising she had a reputation, since she herself had three husbands and was acknowledged as a sexual partner of every god and goddess (explaining her association with lesbians, although bisexuality would be a more accurate description of her nature).

Bedpost:

Anubis: God of Embalming

Ptah; God of Creation-sometime his wife with her sister Sekhmet

Thoth: God of Magic and Knowledge

Min: God of Male Sexuality (very popular with gods)