BastBast
Summary:
Bast (Bastet, Pasch, Ubasti, Ba en Aset) is the Kemetic (ancient Egyptian) Goddess of cats, dawn, civilization, home, bounty, plenty, enlightenment, art, music, dance, creation, birth, fertility, sex, physical pleasure, lesbians, truth, hemp, marijuana, drugs, the Moon, and the rising Sun.
Bast
Picture is
© 1999
JBL Statues.
Kemetic names: Bast, Bastet, Pasch, Ubasti, Ba en Aset (N.B. In addition to native variations by locality or over time, there are often several possible transliterations into the Roman alphabet used for English.)
Greek names: Artemis, Kore Artemis
basic information:
Bast is a Kemetic (ancient Egyptian) Goddess.
Ta-Mera is one of several native names for the Two Lands of the Nile.
In ancient artwork, Bast is typically shown as a beautiful girl with the head of a cat. She is commonly shown with black, white, yellow, or glowing skin. Sometimes She is shown as a light-skinned European girl with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She is often shown as fully cat.
Bastet is the name of Bast when She is in fully cat form.
Pasch is recorded in extremely ancient documents as being an older version of Her name. We get the modern English word “passion” from Pasch.
Bast is an extremely ancient Goddess, long predating writing. She had many, sometimes contradictory, roles. NB: not all of the following was believed simultaneously. Beliefs about Bast evolved over thousands of years and the views under the Old Kingdom were significantly different than the Greco-Roman views, not to mention a wide variety of modern variations.
Bast is the Goddess of cats (see Commemorating the passing of Kitty Cat).
Bast is the Goddess of the rising sun.
Bast is the Goddess of enlightenment.
Bast is the Goddess of truth.
Bast is the Goddess of lesbians.
Bast is the Goddess of civilization, bounty, and plenty.
Bast is the Goddess of the household and protector of the home.
Bast is the enlightened Maiden of the Triple Goddess.
Bast is the Goddess of Goddess of creation.
Bast is the Goddess of sex, fertility, and birth.
Bast is the Goddess of physical pleasures.
Bast is the Goddess of bountiful positive energy.
Bast is the Goddess of music, dance, and the arts. The priestesses of Bast were known for their erotic dance ritual, the forerunner of modern erotic dance and stripping.
Bast is the Goddess of hemp and marijuana.
Bast is the Goddess of the moon and possessor of the Utchat, the Eye of Her twin brother Heru Sa Aset [Horus].
Bast’s relations:
Daughter of Mwt [also Mut] and Amun [also Amon or Amen].
Daughter of Asar [Osiris] and Aset [Isis] and twin sister of Heru Sa Aset [Horus].
Daughter of Ra [also Re] and sister of Djehuti [Thoth], Sekhmet, Seshat, Het Heret [Hathor], and Ma’at.
Twin sister of Sekhmet and creators/destroyers of time and space. Sekhmet
and Bast pictured left.
Sexual partner of every God and Goddess.
Wife of Ptah.
Wife of Ra [also Re].
Wife of Heru [Horus].
Associated by the Greeks with Artemis, that is, the Greeks believed that Bast and Artemis were the same Goddess.
Considered by the Greeks to be the same Goddess as the Roman Diana.
other information:
Bast — Her holy city Bubastis possessed Egypt’s greatest temple. She is depicted enthroned as the cat-headed incarnation of Isis, or alternately as the seated Sacred Cat. Related to Neith, the Night Goddess, Bast symbolized the moon in its function of making a woman fruitful, with swelling womb. She was also the Egyptian goddess of pleasure, music, dancing and joy. — JBL Statues
holy days
Monday: Bast is associated with Monday.
March: Bast is associated with March.
Ostara: Wiccan holy day. Ostara is one of the eight Sabbats of the Wiccan religions. Ostara is the Germanic version of Bast. Celebrated on March 21.
April: Bast is associated with April.
Sagittarius Festival: Greek holy day. Sagittarius Festival, dedicated to Artemis/Diana, whom the Greeks considered to be the same Goddess as Bast. Celebrated on November 22.
Feast of Sekhmet and Bast: Dedicated to Sekhmet and Bast. Forerunner of Halloween. Celebrated on October 31.
BAST
One of the 3 co-wife-sistas of Ptah, the others being Sekhmet and Anath.
Egyptian names First of all, hieroglyphics, like modern
Hebrew and Arabic, leave out most of their vowels. This makes it a bit of
guesswork as to how the name should be pronounced. As if that was not
enough, the Greeks mixed everything up by changing the Egyptian names into
Greek form . . . thus Horus was probably Heru, Osiris Asar (Crowley was
right about this... lol), and Isis Aset. What about Bast and Bubastis?
The name in hieroglyphs is written like this...
The vase is a bas vase, and the loaf represents the sound /t/. The word Bast is
made up of the word "bas" and the Egyptian suffix "-t", and is pronounced
"baohst" in the sense that there is a long "a" which has a bit of an o-sound to
it. Bastet, another form of her name would then be the feminine of Bast, which
is already feminine! This could be due to the fact that a vase and two loaves
were often given to her as an offering. Change them to hieroglyphics and it
would be "bas" + "t" + "t". Result... Bastet! That is not the preferred name,
but since it is widely used in books it deserved an explanation.
"Bast" means "the Tearer". Some other names which she is known by are
Ubasti (probably a very ancient form of her name, but the hieroglyphs would
not show much difference either due to the change taking place solely in the
vowels), Ba en Aset (literally "the soul of Aset (Isis)" – this is just a play on
words, but it was used by the Romans to integrate Bast into their version of the
cult of Isis. She was also called Pasht, and from this word the words "puss",
"pussy" and so on were believably derived. Some other cat-related words that
come from Ancient Egypt are actually all European words for "cat" – "cat",
"qattus", "gato", "gatto", "chat", "Katze" and so on. These are derived from
the word utchat which is the famous eye of Horus, a powerful amulet of Bast.
Even though a deity named Pakhet may bear many similarities to Bast, she is
not actually the selfsame deity. The name means "She who scratches" and may
be related to Bast ("Tearer") as well as the deity might be just an aspect of
Bast, but little is known about this goddess, even though Queen Hatshepsut
dedicated one of her most famous monuments, the Speos Artemidos to Pakhet.
(NOTE – notice that "Speos Artemidos" is the Greek name, and remember Bast being equated
with Artemis? Here is another similarity then.)
The Egyptian name for Bubastis (that is the Greek version), or contemporary
Tell-Basta, was Per-Bast, though it was also called Pa-Bast and Pibeseth,
"House of Bast". Unfortunately, this magnificent temple is today, nothing but
ruins. However for those who go to see the Sphinx at Giza, there is a "Portal
of Bast" built in the 22nd dynasty possibly nearby.
Other titles Bast was given with time were "Lady of the East", "the Light
Bearer", "Lady of Truth" and "Goddess of the Birth Chamber".
The Pictures, from top to bottom are: Two statues of Bast in her cat form, two utchats or eyes of Horus, and the Sphinx at Giza.
PRAYER CORNER
Prayers were very important in Egyptian religion, as they are in most major
religions. Here are some prayers to Bast.
Well, first look at the basics. Bast is a Sun/Moon goddess. Therefore when
praying to Bast it is better to look in the direction of the sun or moon,
according to whether it is day or night. If the sun or the moon has not yet risen,
look at the West, or the North, or the East, depending how much time is left for
it to rise again.
When praying to Bast she should be invoked from the East (she was known as
the Lady of the East). However, if the prayer is to protect a dead cat for
instance, facing the West, preferably at Sunset (the underworld is known as the
Land of the West), is wise. Often an oil lamp or white candles are lit.
Blessing to the Dead (For Bast)
(NOTE: This is a quote taken from Michael Poe’s e-text.)
"Bast is a goddess for the Sun and the Moon, but for the dead Sunset is
the best time; Night comes second, sunrise third, and daylight comes in
fourth for ritual for this.
Face the West, setting sun (or if not at sunset, either the moon or the
sun depending on you doing it in the day or night time. If you have an
oil lamp lit it; if not use white candles, and a little votive candle. Bless
the two white ones to Bast, the votive to the dead cat. Meditate upon the
cats attributes; able to see at night, intelligent, quick, independent, very
maternal, luxury minded and sensual. (if you have a cat, invite her in
your circle).
Bast nefer dy ankh
Beautiful Bast giving Life,
A Bast, shu asenu
Hail Bast, in visible form, casting light into the darkness
sesept em kekui,
I have come before you,
i kua ser-ten, uat sesh-tha, ta em hetep.
the path is opened, the earth is at peace.
(Egyptian pronunciation is optional, but in ancient Egypt was imperative to speak the language to create the sounds to get the response.)
O Great goddess, Bast,
Soul of Isis,
Heart of the Sun-hear my call.
Enter now this consecrated shrine (or circle)
Make Thy presence known to me.
(envision the dead cat)
Aid thy servant in reaching the source of all things,
Guide thy servant's steps on the true path
Answer your physical manifestation's soul's desire for Thou.
Blessed be Bast,
Who gathers her children into life everlasting.
Blessed be Bast,
The Beloved of Bast has gone to the Horizon,
Your physical manifestation lives now only in the sunset.
May it's ka endure and it's shadow seek the light.
The power of Bast protects her,
Shut en Bast sau."
If THAT is unsatisfying or baffling, do not worry. Here is a simpler prayer:
"Mau Bast! Mau Bast! A Basti, per em setat, erta-na chu em asui
neter sentra semu hena net'emmit, hetep ab em asui tau heqt.
Translation: Hail Bast! Hail Bast! Hail Bast, coming forth from the secret place, may there
be given to me splendor in the place of incense, herbs, and love-joys, peace of heart in the
place of bread and beer."
http://www.catchat.net/bast10.htm
http://www.teenwitch.com/DEITY/KMT/BAST.HTM
www.geocities.com/~bard_angel/goddess/bast.html
www.teenwitch.com/DEITY/KMT/BAST.HTM