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Bastet, Egyptian Goddess of the Rising Sun
The 'Cat Goddess'

Bastet, an ancient Egyptian goddess, was playful and friendly. She was also known for her fierce protective nature. Bastet (also known as Basthet, or simply as Bast) was one of the earliest of the Egyptian goddesses but was worshipped for several centuries.
Her association with cats is apparent in the images of her that survive. Early statues of the Egyptian goddess Bastet reveal her either as a woman accompanied by a cat or in actually taking on the form of a cat ... as a slender woman who is half-cat or as a totally feline creature.







Bastet, as a sun goddess was charged with protecting her aged father, the powerful Sun God Ra. She rode with him through the sky during the day, but in the darkness of the night, he was defenseless, so Bastet turned herself into a cat so that she could see into the dark a watch for Ra's enemy, Apep, a snake that wanted to usurp Ra's throne.

The goddess Bastet's followers kept domesticated cats in her honor and treated them with great respect.



As well as being the 'Cat Goddess', Bastet was also the goddess of all things pleasurable in nature. This included music and dance and everything feminine or sensual, especially perfume.

So it's not surprising that the annual celebration honoring the goddess was a rather riotous affair that was characterized by a multitude of intoxicated revelers taking trips on barges down the Nile River, dancing, gyrating, and shouting to the townspeople on the bank as they passed by.





No matter how soft and playful she seemed, Bastet, like any self-respecting kitten, could bare her teeth and claws to ward off a threat if the situation called for it. She was also a healer and as was worshipped as the goddess you would call upon to help protect your home. Statues of the goddess were placed around the house to ward off snakes, evil spirits, robbers, illness, and even fire.

More than any other of the Egyptian goddesses, the goddess Bastet, teaches us to not waste our energy by taking things too seriously, and reminds us to treat ourselves with a bit gaiety and luxury in our lives.

http://www.goddessgift.com/goddess-myths/goddess-bastet.htm

There are many other Goddesses that are associated to cats such as Freya. But Bast is the most well known for being the Goddess of Cats. Do any one else use her as Deity?

Thank you, she is very powerful and a force not to be reckoned with. I usually call upon her when i am working with anything having to do with protection

I myself do not have any particular religion but I do acknowledge and admire many Gods and Goddesses. :] The Goddess Bast is the mascot for my coven. She appeals to me in many ways and I have much respect for her, mythical or not. This would explain a lot about why the Ancient Egyptians would worship and cherish cats. Their religions are very interesting to read about because it was in a very distant time...

The majority of the ones I know are lion-headed such as Hatmet and Sekhmet but Mehet is the godess of the city of This and Sonet-nofret who was wife of Horus of Ombos and had a son, P-neb-taui, by him. Sonet-nofret also was a goddess of Ombos. I don't believe these have active roles in modern cultic activities.

Bast was never my favorite Egyptian Goddess. The depiction of her face never turned me on, moreover, that that Egyptian God never responded to my disposition ego.

Instead of that I always found my self to reflect in the idea of Anubis, the jackal-headed god of the dead in Egyptian mythology.

In Egyptian mithology Anubis is the guardian of the dead who takes the souls in to the Underworld and protects them on their journey.

It was he who decided the deceased if worthy of continuing to the Underworld.

Ancient Egyptian texts speak of Anubis walking in silence through the shadows of life and death and lurking in dark places.

Anubis eyes watch the day and the night.

One of the reasons Egyptians were taking such detailed care to preserve their dead with sweet smelling herbs, was beacuse of their belief that Anubis is checking each person with his sharp canine nose.

Only if their scent was pure, would Anubis allow them to enter the Underworld, the Kingdom of the Dead.


I like Seth as well.

I noticed that after i joined the coven that I am in. I adore Bast.

I've always admired Bast.

Bast is one of my favorite Goddesses

Very interesting informaion... Thank you for sharing

I have always liked bast.....

I perfer Isis

Bast is a very royal, regal goddess, and I admire her, even if I do not worship her.

Love her. :D

A cat Goddess, HHHHMMMM, I have to think about that.

I have a statue of Bast, a repro that I love, stands about a foot high, with two gold earrings.

Bast's holy city Bubastis was said to possess the land's greatest temple. Herodotus (a historian) said that in Egypt, "All cats that die are carried to certain sacred houses, where being first embalmed, they are buried in the city of Bubastis."

The Greeks identified Bast with Artemis or Diana, also called the mother of cats, and claimed the great shrine of Bubastis was built in her honor.

The cat's legendary nine lives stemmed from Artemis as the mother of the nine Muses, corresponding to the Egyptian Ennead of nine primordial deities.

Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets

I have always worked with Bast. I hold the greatest respect for cats. I love her. Here she is protecting my home.

I respect and admire many deities but worship none. I admire their beauty from a distance.

Thanks for educating me on Bast

i'm very fond of cats... i love them and everytime i've rescued one or taken care of one, since i was a child i heard my family saying that Goddess Basthet would bless me for taking care of her little kitties... she's very important for me even thought i dont worship her in my altar... but i worship her in other ways...
i'm always surrounded by cats... and i think its her way to keep me protected...

Bast is a wonderful and beautiful Goddess for me. At first, I did not feel very connected to her, but that changed one day. I am not sure why. I once did a ritual and service for Bast. Three days later, we found our second cat, Bobby. He was a stray wondering around a business district, the oddest of places. We posted adds for him, but no one claimed him. He's been a beloved member of our home since. He has wonderful healing energy too.

bast was a very late addition to the egyptian pantheon.the cult really got going in the new dynasty.worshippers would have lots of sex on her festival as she was a fertility goddess and also of home life.your describing the lioness goddess usually known as sekhemt.

i myself have not found my god/goddess yet, how ever i do have the coven of bast for those of you interested in bast :) no but, i am definitly leaning twards her so far as one i *might* choose

I favor the god Anubis the guardian of the dead who takes the souls in to the Underworld and protects them on their journey. He decides if the deceased is worthy of continuing to the Underworld.

Ancient Egyptian texts speak of Anubis walking in silence through the shadows of life and death and lurking in the dark, they say that Anubis eyes watch over daylight as wel las the Darkness as well.

Thanks for all the insight gang. I have also had a strong connection with cats and are forever rescuing them.Which is why chose Bast

i normally ask her for protection for my cats... and everytime i rescue a cat and-or find a home for a homeless cat, i offer this to her...

I always carry a small silver statue of Bast which I purcased at the Egyptian Museum in Berlin Germany.

this was very interesting i will have to look into this more

Bast - Baset - Basit and a few other spellings as well also mean WareCat ..

well I know that there are alot of Cat Goddesses as you call them and I feel they each have a unique history.

Bast is an interesting character. I don't know too much about her besides this and a little more. I just don't relate to this aspect of the Goddess as well as I do others.

hi

I have to say that this thread is very interesting. However, the writer of the web page from where this is found seems to have confused the goddess Bast with Bastet.

Bastet was indeed the cat goddess, a daughter of Ra and protector of his eternal force. However, Baast was ever so slightly different in nature and was not even seen until the 2nd dynasty.

Bast (although having many of the same functions as bastet) was always depicted in cat form, never in human form.

Here is some extra information found here

Bast (Ubasti; G/R Bastet, Bubastis) - "Devouring Lady" (from bas, to devour, with feminine ending); One of the earliest-documented Names with an appearance in Dynasty II, Bast is first and foremost a protectress; specifically of the royal house and the Two Lands. During Dynasty IV, She was a patron-Name of Lower Kemet, paired with Hethert as a patron-Name of Upper Kemet, as Wadjet and Nekhbet are often depicted in later times; the Valley Temple of the Pyramid of Khafra at modern-day Giza next to the Sphinx had a "Portal of Bast" as well as statues of Bast in the company of the king. Over time, Bast's image metamorphosed to become more similar to that of Hethert; eventually, into the Greek period, She would be equated with the virgin huntress Artemis and considered the protectress of children and pregnant mothers, musicians and a goddess of all sorts of excess, especially sexual excess. However, Bast's original visage did not include the "cat as sex symbol" archetype. (Incidentally, it is also from the Greeks that the erroneous belief in Bast as a daughter of Aset and Wesir derives; Bast as Artemis had to have a twin brother, Apollo (equated with Heru-sa-Aset by the Greeks).) A play on words in Bast's name resulted in Her being equated in Greco-Roman times with the "soul of Isis" (ba-Aset), probably in keeping with Aset's gradual syncretism into the Roman Isis of Ten Thousand Names.

she is more or less a gaurdien to me

I have always admired Anubis and Bast . And yes Bast is a force to be reckoned with . She is very powerful . I think thats why I feel at home in the Coven of Bast . Cause I am a follower of Bast , and love reading about her . She is a true goddess .

very interesting thanks LDR for shareing

Thank you for all the information. While I found it fascinating I have never worshipped Bast myself.

I did mean to mention that I am not particularly a worshipper of bast or bastet, but I have an almost devout interest in Egyptology.

Personally I worship Thoth (when I can that is).

Very interesting information indeed. I've never heard if Bast before.

Yes, I also have a love for Egyptian mythology. Although I do not follow any particular religion, I do acknowledge and respect the Goddess Bast. Throughout my whole life I have been blessed by felines that are by my side. I look at my pets and I am reminded of her.

i like afraditte the goddes of love she is very cool

Yes.

I have enjoyed the information shared on this thread and also admire Bast.

Very Informative.. I love the knowledge I am gaining from VR!!

alixaryon

Thanks for that. I do so love the ancient civilisations.

Mener

I have worshiped the Goddess Bast for a few years now. As a matter of fact, I was just speaking about her to my girlfriend the other day about her. Then I get a message not 6 hours later, from my dear Coven Master about joining the Coven of Bast. Coincidence? I think not.

I dont have a religion as such but I do study up on different gods and goddess there are some real great ones out there.

I prefer the norse gods and goddesses myself they just seem to work better for me . I have researched the egyption ones befor though

I admire Bast Because of who and what she stood for.. I find myself being drawn to everything that is Egyptian based from that time. I have characteristics that draw me to Bast and I find that whenever I am truly alone I feel at peace when I am calling out to her for strength as well as guidance..

I do not however only worship her there are many goddess's i follow and pull from as well..

I have done a bit of resaerch on egyption gods and godesses and was interested. So thank you all for all this info. I find it very usefull