Bast: Cat Goddess

NAME: Bastet, Bast, Ubasti, Ba en Aset, Pasch. SYMBOLS: Sistrum `sacred rattle,' jar of perfume. domestic cat. the Moon. USUAL IMAGE: Bast is usually shown as ether a woman with the head of a cat, or a domestic Egyptian cat setting up-right. Often the cat has an earring in one ear. HOLY DAYS: The Festival of Bast: - April 15, along with the festival of Horus. - May 15 along with the feast of Hathor & the feast of the Southern Heavens. - September 22. - November 16. The Festival of Bast at Bubastis is described by Herodotus as being the greatest one in Egypt, with 700,000 people taking part. - Also the Festival of the East Star on the first Full Moon on or after the Spring Equinox and the Procession of Bast on August 27. (Note: these dates are speculative at best due to the difference of our calendars.) PLACE OF WORSHIP: Temple. With the largest in the city of Bubastis. MAJOR TABOOS: Harming cats, this was a major crime in Egypt at the time. Though it should be noted that many cat mummies died by having their necks broken

RELATIVES: Depending on era and myth. Mother: Mut or Isis. Father: Amon or Ra. Sister of: Ma'at, Sekhmet (twin), & Thoth. Wife of: Ptah, Ra, Horus. SYNODEITIES: Artemis (Greek.) Freya (Norse.) Durga (Hindu.) Manek Ineko (Japan. though not a deity but a folk critter that has become a charm.) DETAILS: Bast is one of the earliest objects of worship that we know anything about. Her religion, and there was not just one religion in Egypt but many depending on the district and time. Bastet's lasted for over 3,000 years beginning before the cat had even been domesticated and continuing and changing as human's fooled themselves into think they had domesticated the cat. The earliest record of an Egyptian cat goddess was Mafdet who is shown killing a serpent with her claws. Bast's religion evolved over it's more then 3,000 years of existence, but is the only one to feather the domestic cat as it's symbol. Her religion disappeared by 400 A.D. and shortly there after things got dicey for our friend the cat. fortunately this did not last and while not exactly worshipped these days her daunters doing pretty good.