Bast/Bastet

Post # 1
May 08, 2016

Post # 2
May 09, 2016

Bastest:

Names and Titles:

She has been known by other names which include: Bast, Bastia, Bubastis, Pacht, Pasht, and various others. Her name has been translated to mean The Tearer and Devouring Lady. She has also been the titles of Lady of the East, The Light Bearer, Lady of Truth, and Goddess of the Birth Chamber.

Mythology and Place in the Egyptian Pantheon:

Bastest is the Egyptian Goddess of protection, fertility, women, and cats. In mythology, she was the protectress of the Royal House and the Two Lands.

Her origins can be traced back to about 3000 BC. There are several stories on her origins. Some state that she was the daughter of the sun god Ra. In her associations with Ra, she was believed to defend her father from the serpent Apep. However, during the New Kingdom (between 1539 and 1075 BC) she was believed to be a daughter of Osiris and Isis. Some say her oldest form was the lion-headed Goddess Tefnut, Horus became a later version of Shu, Tufnuts twin and a God of the sky. She also became associated with the Goddess Sekhment, the Egyptian Goddess of was.

Her Role in Egyptian Society:

Herodotus stated that Bast was a benign deity. She brought joy, good fortune ,and protection to all that worshiped her. The cat was and is her sacred animal. Her followers worshiped the cats and viewed them as a living embodiment of the Goddess.

Symbolism:

Symbols sacred to Bast were the cat, a sistrum, an Aegis, and a basket containing kittens .

Offerings:

Cat statues, sweet foods and drinks, mint, catnip, honey, sweet scented perfumes and ointments.

Source:

http://inanna.virtualave.net/bastet.html

http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/bast.html

http://www.goddess-guide.com/bast.html

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

http://www.crystalinks.com/bast.html

http://www.egyptianmyths.net/bastet.htm

Post # 3
May 09, 2016