Bast - The Cat Goddess Of Egypt

Bast - The Cat Goddess of Egypt

Bast The Cat Goddess of Ancient Egypt There was perhaps no goddess of Ancient Egypt more beloved than Bast or Bastet, a deity of happiness and joy manifested as a woman with a cat's head, who carried a sistrum in her right hand and a basket in her left; she wore an aegis or a breastplate surmounted with the head of a lioness. Like the other gods in the Egyptian pantheon, she was a local goddess, the patron of Bubastis, a city in Lower Egypt, but she rose to national prominence during the period of the 22nd Dynasty (945 - 715 BCE), because the pharaohs of that dynasty hailed from Bubastis. She married Ptah, the god of Memphis, and, with Nefertum, formed the dominant triune (as in other human religions, the number three played an important role) of that dynasty. The high regard in which Bast was held even before she hit the big time had perhaps as much to do with the Egyptian people's eternal love affair with cats as with the attributes with which she was invested. In an often-harsh world, where cruelty was both casual and common, Bast was a bright spot, a source of joy and pleasure. She loved music and to dance, hence the sistrum in one hand; she was also generous, and the basket she carried in her other hand

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Bast - The Cat Goddess of Egypt

represented the bounty of the harvest. Bast was not all "sugar and spice," however, and like all supernatural beings with nearly unlimited powers she was no one to mess with. Someone who found out the hard way was Apep, the so-called "Snake King." When this agent of Chaos tried to swallow Re, the Sun God, Bast cut him to pieces with a big knife, an act she was depicted doing in both her humaniform and fully feline shapes. The ability of cats to kill snakes and other pests, thus protecting both the homes and the granaries of the Egyptians, was well known, but whether this ability gave rise to the legend or was explained by the legend is not clear; it is also possible that the legend is a cultural transliteration of an actual event, perhaps one tribe defeated by another (totem animal vs totem animal) in a predynastic context, or the interpretation of some cosmic or astronomical event witnessed by the Egyptian priests at an early period. Bast is one of the older goddesses of Egypt, the daughter of Re, and it is thought that the cult of the cat began toward the end of the 1st Dynasty or at the beginning of the 2nd Dynasty. It's likely, however, that like many other gods and goddesses Bast was worshipped on a tribal level long before the formalization of her cult and the creation of artifacts that would endure to leave archaeological traces. Unlike many other supernatural beings, Bast was a friend of humanity, much as was Anubis; interestingly, both of these humanity-friendly gods are present in our lives to this very day by the commonest of house pets, cats and dogs. Bast protected people not only from sadness (the warmth of love and the gaiety of music) and hunger, but from illnesses of the body and mind and from the actions of ghosts, evil spirits and the demons that were always abroad in the empty places of Egypt. Bast- and cat-shaped amulets were quite popular with people, and offerings were devoutly carried out at the Temples of Bast, both in Bubastis and in the other cities where her cult had taken hold. One of the customs common among her devotees was to bury mummified cats, either purchased from the priests or beloved departed pets mummified by the priests, either in the

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Bast - The Cat Goddess of Egypt

shadows of her sanctuaries or in cat cemeteries; lucky was the cat buried with prayers to Bast upon the lips of those who loved it in life, but most fortunate was the cat buried in Bubastis, city of the cat goddess. Although the worship of Bast has gone the way of all the old gods, chased from Egypt by the Christians and Muslims, the affinity of people for cats has persisted. Indeed, many people act almost as if cats were still gods...the cats themselves still do. And cats have remained supernatural creatures---is there a connection between the cat goddess of Ancient Egypt and the cat-affiliated goddesses of other ancient cultures, between the cats of the Temple of Bast and the cat familiars of the practitioners of Wicca? And in this age of electronic self discovery, the Web is scattered with temples and shrines dedicated to Bast/Bastet with varying degrees of sincerity. Beloved Bast, mistress of happiness and bounty, twin of the Sun God, slay the evil that afflicts our minds as you slew the serpent Apep. With your graceful stealth anticipate the moves of all who perpetrate cruelties and stay their hands against the children of light. Grant us the joy of song and dance, and ever watch over us in the lonely places in which we must walk. ---A Prayer

Holy Cats-An Introduction

Bubastis-City of the Cat

For the Love of Cats

The Roman Who Killed a Cat

Ralph Vaughan's Ancient Egypt

The Allure of Egyptian Magick

Hanging Out With Anubis

Master of Space & Time

The Book of the Dead

The Ancient Egypt Archives

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Bast - The Cat Goddess of Egypt

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