Bast, Egyptian goddess of the rising sun, was much admired for her warm and playful nature, not to mention her fierce protectiveness. One of the most ancient of Egyptian goddesses, Bast (who was also known as Bastet and Basthet) was actively worshipped for several centuries. The Greeks, noting the similarity between the two goddesses, referred to her as the "Egyptian Artemis".
Many statues of the Egyptian goddess Bast have been excavated. She is depicted as a shapely woman with the head of a cat. In her myths, she takes on three forms...as a woman, as half-cat, and in a fully feline form.
Bast, as the rising sun, rode with her aged father, the powerful Sun God Ra, protecting him during his ride through the sky. Then at night when Ra was defenseless in the dark, she turned into a cat to protect him from the snake Apep who sought to usurp Ra's power.
Domestic cats themselves were worshipped as incarnations of the goddess Bast. In addition to being the patron goddess of cats, she was associated with all things sensual and pleasurable including music and dance (any graceful movement), childbirth and mothering, and all things feminine, especially perfume.
Since Bast was the goddess of all things that give pleasure, it's only natural that the annual festival honoring the goddess was a riotous affair.... complete with thousands of revelers floating down the Nile, drinking, dancing, gyrating, and shouting to the townspeople on the bank.
Like any kitten, no matter how soft and playful, Bast could, if need be, bare her teeth and claws to ward off a threat. She was known as a healer and as the protector of the home. Statues of Bast were often used to ward off all manner of evil spirits, snakes, thieves, illness, and even fire.
The goddess Bast, more than any other of the Egyptian goddesses, offers to teach us to not take things too seriously, and to luxuriate in our feminine grace and sensuality, and especially to never waste our energy on worrying about things that may never bring us rewards.
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Goddess Myths
Spiritual~~~ Goddesses Stories. Some ask why Long and Short Versions answer is: Because it gives you the option to choose which you want to read. For quick info, read the Short. for the Full info, read the Long version. .*.Disclamer: I don't own anything...
