B is for Bast

I’m doing folklore and book review posts to reach and please a larger audience. Previous years have shown select interest in both and to minimise blogging throughout the year, I’m focusing my efforts on April.

If you’d rather check out my book review for today, go here.

A protective, warrior goddess associated with cats. What’s not to like? Cats are awesome, after all.

Folklore

Bubastis (1887-1889) by Edouard Naville

…a good specimen representing Bast standing under the form of a woman with a slender body and a cat’s head, wearing a long dress and holding in her hands a sistrum and a basket, and having at her feet four crouching kittens.

The most frequent qualifications of Bast at Bubastis are: the great goddess of Bubastis, the queen of the gods, the eye [or perhaps] the daughter of Ra, the mighty, the queen of the sky.

Egyptian Gods: Discover the Ancient Gods of Egyptian Mythology by Stephan Weaver

Bastet wore the image of a woman with the head of a cat. She was one of the three great gods of Memphis. The goddess of domestic cats, she was the daughter of Ra. Her worshippers thought of her as a maternal and loving god. However, she was an implacable and lethal foe to anyone who threatened her kittens or anyone under her protection. Bastet (Bast) could turn into a lioness, like Sekhmet.

Hieroglyphs show her in the company of kittens. Her temples housed many cats, and to harm any cat was considered a horrible affront to Bastet. The Egyptian people loved cats. Cats ate rats and mice that devoured stores of grain and the mice carried fleas that were contaminated with the plague. When a cat died, its owner mummified it and interred it at one of Bastet’s shrines. Researchers find these cat mummies to this day.

*More can be read in the book.

Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt by Geraldine Pinch

BASTET (BAST, BOUBASTIS, PASHT) Bastet was a feline goddess who mothered the king and destroyed his enemies. Her name probably means She of the Ointment Jar. Her main cult center was at Bubastis in the eastern Delta. As “the Eye of Ra who protects her father Ra,” she was a manifestation of the solar eye. Bastet was regarded as both the daughter and the consort of Atum-Ra. Their son, Mahes (Mihos), was a lion deity. Bastet herself was generally shown as a lion-headed woman until the end of the second millennium BcE, when her cat and cat-headed forms became prominent. From the Pyramid Texts onward, Bastet has a double aspect of nurturing mother and terrifying avenger. It is the demonic aspect that mainly features in the Coffin Texts and the Book of the Dead and in medical spells.

*More can be read in the book.

The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures by John and Caitlin Matthews

The Egyptian Bastet was a cat-headed goddess who was worshipped at Bubastis. Her name means ‘the tearer’ or ‘the renderer’. Despite these harsh epithets, Bast or Bastet became less savage and more benign in later belief, transferring her more destructive qualities to Sekhmet with whom she was closely alllied. It was held that Bastet was the spark of rage in the eye of her father, Ra, and the instrument of his vengeance. It was forbidden to hunt lions on her festival day, which was held, according to the lunar calendar, in April or May. Bastet was the mother of Miysis, the lion god known as the ‘Lord of Slaughter’, and also mother of Khensu, the moon god and Mihos, the lion-headed god. Bastet’s myth is connected with the eye of the moon, and her temple, which became the focus for the cat, as it was where many mummified cats were buried in special cemeteries.

*More can be read in the book.

The Element Encyclopedia of Witchcraft by Judika Illes

The most famous sacred Egyptian cat is Bastet, whose titles included Mistress of the Oracle and Great Conjuress of the Casket. She is depicted as a cat, often bejeweled, or as a woman with a cat’s head, sometimes surrounded by kittens. Bastet has dominion over sex, fertility, marriage, magic, music, childbirth, prosperity, joy, dance, and healing—in short the pleasures of life. She provides humans with a range of protections: against infertility, the dangers of childbirth, evil spirits, illness and bodily injuries, especially those caused by venomous creatures. A tomb inscription says Bastet bestows “life, prosperity and health every day and long life and beautiful old age.”

Bastet offers special protection to women and children and serves as matron of magicians and healers. Her cult originated in the swamps of the Nile Delta. The earliest known portrait of Bastet dates to c. 3000 BCE. She was a pervasive figure in Egypt from about 2000 BCE, and by about 950 BCE, her cult was found throughout Egypt; she was the most popular female deity in the kingdom.

*More can be read in the book.

Further Reading:

• Bastet, the Egyptian Goddess of Cats.
• Bastet – The Egyptian Cat Goddess
• Bastet: The Cat Goddess from Egyptian Mythology
• The Story of Bastet
• Bastet/Bast – Cat Goddess
• All About Bast
• Egyptian Cat Goddess Bastet, Protector of the King
• Bastet: Ancient Egypt’s Most Important Cat Goddess
• Who Is Bastet? The Egyptian Cat Goddess (5 Feline Facts)
• Bastet
• The Goddess Bastet and the Cult of Feline Deities in the Nile Delta
• Bastet
• Bastet
• Bastet (Bast)
• Bastet

Folklore in a Nutshell by Ronel

At first, Bast was represented by a woman with a lion’s head, much like the goddess Sekhmet. But as time went on, she became a gentler goddess and was represented with a cat’s head, surrounded by kittens. She was still a goddess to be feared, but this showed her to be a loving, maternal deity. Bast was lethal to anyone who threatened her kittens – or those under her protection (probably also seen as kittens). She was mainly worshipped at Bubastis and people travelled there to bury their mummified cats in her honour. She was a popular deity in Ancient Egypt among men and women. She was the goddess of cats, creatures who were revered in Ancient Egypt for their ability to rid the home of pests. To harm a cat was a terrible affront to this goddess. She could turn into a cat or a lion, depending on what (or who) she was hunting. Bast was known by many epithets: the eye of Ra, the Renderer, Lady of Slaughter, Great Conjuress of the Casket, and more. Mainly, they just mean she’s a protector of the living and the dead.

Bast in Modern Culture

In Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan.

Bast (also spelled Bastet and Ubasti) is the Egyptian goddess of felines. During the reign of Ra, Bast served as his second eye. Her host was Sadie’s cat, Muffin.

Bast. Read more.

In Marvel Comics.

Bast already appears in animal forms (black or white panther), anthropomorphized and as a black woman. Bast typically appears most commonly as an immense black panther or a humanoid panther, and despite being female Bast can assume both male and female forms. Empowered by the sun, Bast is one of the most powerful of the Ennead, possessing scales of magical power beyond any human ability to fathom, while even overwhelming beings as great as Mephisto and the Shadow King. Like all Ennead, Bast is immortal and doesn’t age beyond her prime. Bast is believed to be extremely powerful, though she typically acts through surrogates or possesses and grants power to others (usually some degree of superhuman strength, speed, agility, senses, etc.). Each of the Black Panther’s abilities is connected to Bast and derives power from her support.

Bast in Marvel. Read more here.

In SMITE game.

“Pounce and let loose the cats of war! Bleed and lash out at any who oppose.”

Bastet is one of the playable Gods in SMITE.

Reveling in the joys of life, Bastet, daughter of Ra, is the sensual embodiment of her feline form. This cat, however, has the fiercest claws.

Cats are creatures that demand worship. They are regal, nonchalant, and insatiable. Though, as much as they languish in the sun and rumble with purrs of pleasure, cats are agile and deadly hunters. Mercilessly, they cull the populations of invasive vermin and stinging scorpions, protecting the home from vile invaders. Perhaps, the most troublesome enemy of the cat is the serpent, and there was no greater snake in the world than the horrendous Apep.

Circling the world along the horizon line, Apep’s scaly girth waited in ambush each morning for Ra to rise and bring light to the world. To fend off this beast, Ra kept the company of his daughter, Bastet. Since time began, as Ra lifted into the Eastern sky, Bastet would spit and howl, claws bared against the treacherous Apep. Countless battles were fought, countless mornings faced uncertainty, until, at last, Bastet tore the foul serpent apart.

With her greatest enemy gone, Bastet is free to prowl as she pleases. Now, she is the guardian of home and hearth, idol to women – especially those desiring children and exploring their sensuality – and patron of arts, wine, and any occasion of revelry. Like any cat, though, Bastet can still pounce without warning, shredding her enemies once her claws come out.

Bast in SMITE. Read more here.

Bast in My Writing

Bast is the goddess of cats and protects them wherever they are. Wherever she goes, cats will find her. She treats those under her protection like she would kittens, and is frequently found calling them “kitten”. Though she was a terror in her younger days, when she was still depicted with a lion’s head, she had calmed through time. But that bloodthirsty creature within can be triggered and all she would want is blood… She loves eating ice-cream. Bast also sees herself as the protector of the Egyptian Pantheon, whether they like it or not. She takes her role seriously. Her magic lies in fighting (for she’s a protector) and nurturing (for she’s a maternal goddess). She can transform into a cat, a lion, a human form, and that of a human with a cat’s or lion’s head. She is one of the only goddesses who can fight the giant snake of chaos, Apophis.

Sounds like a fight song to me… Especially between Bast and the Snake of Chaos.

See this immortal in action in my writing:

A Way Back Into Love (Irascible Immortals #9)

Bast puffed out her held breath. She flicked open her hands, fingers splayed and her claws showed themselves. She scratched at the air and light fell into the cauldron. Ammit added one of her hairs. Anubis opened his hand over the cauldron and shadows slipped to the bottom. Bast took a knife from a pocket and sheared off a piece of claw and added it to the mix. They stood back. Isis opened her hands, palms facing the cauldron and started the incantation.

A Way Back Into Love, Irascible Immortals #9, Ronel Janse van Vuuren

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Where did you hear about Bast for the first time? Check out my Pinterest board dedicated to this goddess.

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