The Egyptian Goddess, Bast has various areas of influence that developed over time. In early days she was the fierce lion headed goddess of the lower Nile who protected the Pharaoh and the Sun God Ra. This is why she has the title Goddess of Protection. She was also know by several names including Bastet, Basthet, Ubasti and Pasht. The name Pasht is the root of our word passion, linking her to physical pleasure .
In the Book of the Dead she is mentioned as destroying the bodies of the deceased, with the royal flame, if they failed the judgement hall of Maat.
Later she was depicted with the head of a domestic cat, representing her nurturing aspects
As a Cat Goddess she also. protected households from snakes and rats and ensured the health of the occupants .
She was linked to music and dance due to the special rattle she carried known as the Sistrum. These special rattles were used to celebrate her festivals .
In common with many Egyptian Goddesses, her linage is complicated . She was the daughter of Ra and is often said to be the sister of Sekhmet.
Bast is a very interesting Egyptian goddess. Cats are very graceful & agile creatures so it would make sense she would be a excellent protector and guard for Ra during his daily journey. The lineage of gods is complex concept in many pantheons not just Egyptian due to a mixture of things such as mistranslations, intermarriages amongst these beings, of course immortality itself as ever lasting life would make relationships complicated I'm sure :), etc...but I to get to the point I appreciate this informative post. Thank you for sharing this information.
Bast is a cat goddess.Originally she had a lion head.She is a goddess of grace and affection.She is also see like a women with a cat head.She is sweet but she had a hearth of predator.Cats are sacred to her.In ancient Egypt if someone killed a cat,it was a crime against Bast and that person were killed,too.In every temple of Her exist a family of cats.She is indeed a protective goddess.She is a goddess of sexuality,too.She protect pregnant woman.
She is seen like the daughter of Ra,or sister of Him,or even His wife,or She is seen as Isis's sister.
Lovely thread. She's also known as the Eye of Ra, as the Moon she oversees the world while Ra is in the underworld. I heard that in Ancient Egypt folk shaved off their eyebrows as a sign of mourning if their cat died.
Cats were sent through burning buildings, the first fire brigade, to draw out the flames. Perhaps the origin of cats having nine lives?
