I have always loved Bast, the idea of a cat goddess, to me, especially as a child was truly magical.
Cats to me are the most perfect creatures and I love every one I meet.
In times of sickness for my own cats and my friends' cats I have given offerings to Bast, and they have always worked, even in the most dire of cases.
Ironically, we did loose a cat this week, Monty (Apr 2006), but it was sudden and he died peacefully in his sleep.
The image on the right is my own work, and is my dedication to her, to thank her for all her help and to ask her to protect Monty on his next journey.
Bast was said to be the daughter of Ra, though long after he created the primal gods. She was originally a sun goddess, but after contact with the Greeks, she changed to a moon goddess, probably due to the Greeks associating her with Artemis, (the hunter goddess).
Like Artemis, Bast was a wild goddess. To those who were in her favor, she gave great blessings, but her wrath was legendary and she was sometimes listed as one of Ra's avenging deities who punish the sinful and the enemies of Egypt. This is of course in keeping with her totem animal, the cat. Cats were sacred to Bast, and to harm one was deemed a great transgression.
Bast's importance in the Egyptian pantheon might be due to the great value placed on the domesticated cat by the Egyptians. Cats curtailed the spread of disease by killing vermin. Her worship was widespread, and her cult apparently had a great deal of power. Bubastis was even the capital of Egypt for a time during the Late Period.
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