Bast the Beloved : Tales of Ancient Egypt

Bast was the possessor of the Eye of Horus, the sacred utchat. (Also known as wadjet or ouadjit)

One Egyptian legend tells us that mankind was born from the eye of Ra. The ancient Egyptian words for "tears" and "men" are quite similar.

Over time the utchat became more associated with cats and was often cat shaped. Egyptian women used these cat amulets as fertility tokens, praying to have as many children as cats have kittens.

Our modern names for the cat are derived from the word utchat: cat, chat, cattus, gatus, gatous, gato, katt, katte, kitte, kitty, etc.

One variation of her name was Pasht, and from this we get the remaining Indo-European words for the cat: pasht, past, pushd, pusst, and puss.

As the cat was identified with Bast, so then Bast gained enormous popularity from 1000 BCE onward.

Feline hunting instincts were honoured, but so was the cat's gentler side as a warm and loving mother to her kittens.

So then, we see in Bast the grace and elegance of a cat, the agility, strength, speed, and the deadly claws. She holds the charm, patience and affectionate nature of a domestic cat, as well as the potential for the raw brute strength of a lioness.

She also has the gift, like all cats, of looking deep into your soul.

The wildcat of Egypt, Felis libyca, first lived in the swamps and marshes along the Nile. As time progressed, and the people began to grow grains and other foodstuff and keeping it for longer periods of time, rodents and other vermin found they could easily get a free meal. The wild cat with its ferocity and rapacity, could keep the rodent population under control.

Domestication seems to have occurred about 3000 BCE, very recently compared to the dog which has been working for us for about 30,000 years. This desert-living cat is now thought to be the ancestor of all domestic cats, the forbear of the fat tabby who is curled on the desk by my computer.

Can you see the scene? Wild cats creeping into the villages to hunt down the vermin, and the grateful Egyptians leaving out scraps of food to encourage the cats to stay. A few cats finding their way into the Egyptian homes and allowing themselves to be petted and hand fed. The cat is a passionate creature, and shows affection with a purr. Let a cat snuggle up and purr to you and your stress levels will plummet.

These rodent-killing cats were held in the highest esteem and the penalties for injuring or killing one were severe.

The Cat became a Divinity.

Take a moment, when you next see a cat, to think of Bast. Show affection to her cherished animal.

Remember always, when you speak to a cat, you are speaking to a small and minor god, a creature beloved of Bast, under her care and protection.

Bast, Egyptian Cat Goddess
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Bast is the Goddess of the rising sun, the moon, truth, enlightenment, sensuality, pleasure, fertility, bounty, birth, plenty, the home, music, dance, theatre and all of the arts.

She is also the vengeful Serpent Slayer of the sun.

Above all she is the Protecter of women, small children, and domestic cats.

She represents the Maiden aspect of the Goddess. But Bast moves, with the moon, to the fruitful woman with swelling womb.

The ancient Egyptians celebrated her feastday on October 31 with convivial merry making, music, dancing in the streets and drinking with friends - the sort of holiday that you and I would recognise instantly.

A great week-long festival was held in the holy city of Bubastis, attracting devotees from all over the country to celebrate along the riverbanks and through the city streets. The ancient geographer, Herodotus, wrote of crowds swelling to 700,000.

Sadly, Bast and her feast day are overlooked in modern times but you could perhaps say that Halloween is celebrated on the Feast of Bast.

Bast represents many ideas but she is perfect to teach us those cat like qualities which are of most benefit. We can learn the science of relaxation and to rarely waste energy, to accept the nature of things, and refuse to be at anyone's beck and call.

We can insist on complete freedom of expression and cultivate superb indifference to opinion.

Its easy to see why Bast has been associated with pleasure, music and dancing for millennia. Just take a look at your own sensual, comfort-seeking cat.

Cats also love to play - their graceful movements are like steps in a dance, and the music, a deep throated purr.

Today ruins mark the joyful city of Bubastis, her once proud temple only tumbled, dusty blocks. But the name of Bast endures. For at least 5000 years there have been many who praised her name. Many praise Bast to this day

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All textual content, unless otherwise stated, is copyright Susanna Duffy 2001. Please attribute to www.susannaduffy.com