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

file:///D|/Brujitas/Book of shadows/Bast - The Cat Goddess of Egypt.htm (1 of 4)11/01/2007 14:54:39

 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 pre-
dynastic 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

file:///D|/Brujitas/Book of shadows/Bast - The Cat Goddess of Egypt.htm (2 of 4)11/01/2007 14:54:39

 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

file:///D|/Brujitas/Book of shadows/Bast - The Cat Goddess of Egypt.htm (3 of 4)11/01/2007 14:54:39

Bast - The Cat Goddess of Egypt

CometZone

file:///D|/Brujitas/Book of shadows/Bast - The Cat Goddess of Egypt.htm (4 of 4)11/01/2007 14:54:39