Pagan Blog Project - Week 3 - B is for Bast
I’ve chosen Bast for this week’s topic, not only because she is my Matron, but because there seems to be a massive amount of misinformation about her floating around on the internet. Too often I run across websites that describe her solely as a playful sex kitten. Herodotus’s account of her yearly festival celebrated in Bubastis is probably the main reason for this. I find it hard to believe that there is but one celebration in which the ancient Egyptian women let their hair down.
Let’s begin with the name. She is commonly
referred to as Bastet, though you can also find her under Ubasti and several
other titles. While it isn't possible to know exactly how her name was
pronounced, it was probably something close to “Oo-bahst-ee-yah”. I just call
her “Baast” (baa, like a sheep). It is believed that the name Bastet is an error.
According to per-Bast.org:
Toward the beginning of the New
Kingdom, the “t” at the end of words began to vanish from the spoken language
due to foreign influences. In an attempt to preserve the pronunciation of some
of the words, scribes added an additional –t to stress that it should be
pronounced. This is where we get the “double loafs” that spell out “Bastet”.
This was the scribes’ way of telling the reader to pronounce the word as “Bast”,
and not “Bas”, and it should not be taken to mean that Her name is pronounced “Bastet”.
Bast is one of many Egyptian
Goddesses referred to as the “Eye of Ra”. She has also been called “Lady of the
Ointments”. The hieroglyphs for her name begin with a bas-jar which we were used to store perfume. In her earliest depictions,
she was represented as a woman with the head of a lion or a desert cat. She was
not associated with the domesticated cat until nearly 2000 years later.
In her “Eye of Ra” persona, she is
protector goddess and avenger, a guardian of the Pharaoh, and she is anything
but cuddly. As a huntress, she must demonstrate strength and cunning. “One
passage has her ripping out the hearts of the transgressors of ma'at and
delivering them to the feet of the Pharaoh and Her father.” As time passed, she
began to be associated with Het-hert (Hathor) and several other goddesses. Her
role as protector spread and she became a guardian for pregnant women and
children, linking her to fertility as well as artistic and musical endeavors.
Bast’s connections with Sekhmet are
often confused. Some believe them to be sisters, other’s believe they are two
sides of the same coin; Bast as the “nice kitty” while Sekhmet displays a
fiercer side. They are separate entities; Sekhmet being another persona of
Het-hert. Both ladies were known to bring an ass-whoopin’ when needed.
In later times, Bast became
associated with the moon. The Greeks can be thanked for this association as
they linked her to their own lunar goddess, Artemis. Even in this we can see
the tougher side of our beloved Bast. “Artemis is not a ‘sexual’ divinity --
she is solitary, often harsh, celibate, and a hunter.”
This is not to say that Bast has no
capacity to display her sexy side. I am well versed in the often unexpected and
surprising ways in which the divine manifests. Hell, I have a Penguin guide
that goes by the name Apsu and seems to have absolutely nothing in common with
Tiamat’s cranky husband.
UPG time: Bast comes to me as a
sister or a friend. She is silent at times, out-spoken at others. She has a
fantastic sense of humor, but can be impatient and downright snarky when I’m
being dense. While she does not manifest to me in a particularly nurturing way,
that doesn't mean she can’t be comforting. During a recent journey in which I
was not making progress toward my goal, she came to me in silence, sat cross
legged behind me, and proceeded to braid my hair. She is will personified; a
fiery blast of feminine strength, courage, independence, and confidence. If you
haven’t met her, I hope you are able to someday.
 |
| Bast by: Susan Seddon Boulet |
Fleming,
Fergus, and Alan Lothian. The Way to
Eternity. London: Duncan Baird, 1997. Print
.
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