Bastet
Who is Bastet? What is she? Bastet was
popular in the twenty-second dynasty. She was the most beloved
goddess in Ancient Egypt, and one of the oldest goddesses. Bastet was
the goddess of cats. There are other names the Egyptians called
Bastet, like Bast, and Miw. When she is Bast, her body shape is a
girl with a cat head; she is a queen. When she is Bastet or Miw, her
body shape is a cat. Bastet is the daughter of Ra, Amun, and Mwt. She
has a twin sister named Sakhmet. She has other sisters named Mafdet,
Djehuti, Seshat, Het Heret, and Ma'at. Bastet wears a wajet eye to
show she is related to Ra. Bastet saved her father from Apep also
called the Snake King. After that no one messed with her. When she is
queen she wears an aegis or breastplate surmounted over her lioness
head. She also carried a system in her right hand, and a basket in
her left hand. She represented the bounty of the harvest. Bastet was
a friend of humanity, she loved music and dance. She was a source of
joy and pleasure. Bastet protected people from sadness, hunger, and
illnesses from the body and mind. She also protected people from the
action of ghosts, evil spirits, and demons. She had a temple where
people worshiped her in Bubastisis city. People would say this
prayer, to show their love to Bastet:
Beloved Bastet, mistress of happiness and
bounty, twin of the Sun God, slay the evil that afflicts our minds as
you slay the serpent Apep. With your graceful stealth anticipate the
moves of all who perpetrate cruelties and stay their hands against
the children of light. Grant us the joy of song and dance, and ever
watch over us in the lonely places in which we must walk.
---A Prayer