The Ancient Egyptians revered cats more than any culture in history.
The Goddesses above are Sekhmet, who is lion-headed,
and Bast, who is cat-headed.
Bast is the Patroness of the Clan.
Hail Bast!
Bast is the Egyptian Goddess with the body of a beautiful young woman and the head of a cat. She held many, sometimes contradictory, roles. These beliefs were not all necessarily held at the same time, or in the same place. Beliefs shifted over several millennia, and over vast geographical distances.
Bast is the Goddess of cats, the rising sun, the moon, truth, enlightenment, lesbians, sexuality, physical pleasures, fertility, bounty, birth, plenty, the household and protector of the home, civilization, creation, music, dance, the arts, hemp, and battler of serpents which attack the sun god. Bast also represents the Maiden aspect of the Triple Goddess. She was viewed as the beneficent side of the lioness-goddess Sekhmet. See also Sekhmet.
Name Variations: Bast, Bastet (usually when in full cat form), Pasch, Pasht, Ubasti, Ba en Aset. Sometimes considered to be the Egyptian version of the Greek Artemis and Roman Diana.
Bast was the daughter of Isis and Osiris, the twin sister of Horus, and possessor of his "eye" the sacred and magickal "utchat". As time went on, the utchat became more associated with cats. It was often depicted as cat shaped in later art. It is probable that many of modern Indo-European names for the cat are derived from the word utchat: cat, chat, cattus, gatus, gatous, gato, katt, katte, kitte, kitty, etc. From "Pasht" we get the remaining Indo-European names for the cat: pasht, past, pushd, pusst, puss, pussy, as well as the word "passion". Bast was also married to of Ptah and mother of the lion god Mihos.
Her worship was centered in delta city of Bubastis.
Sekhmet (AKA Sekhmet, Sakhmet, or Sekhmet the Destroyer) is the Goddess of sunset, destruction, death, rebirth and wisdom. She is also sometimes defined as a warrior or huntress goddess. The cycle of life and death was created when the primeval Goddess Sekhmet-Bast divided into two sisters, Sekhmet and Bast. Another legend regarding her origins is that she was created by Ra from the fire of his eyes as a creature of vengeance to punish mankind for his sins. Later, she became a peaceful protectress of the righteous, closely linked with the benevolent Bast. The lioness-goddess, worship was centered in Memphis.
Sekhmet is typically shown as a black skinned woman with the head of a lioness. Her eyes and hair are often orange or red. Sekhmet represents the Crone aspect of the Triple Goddess.
Halloween was originally celebrated as the Feast of Sekhmet and Bast.
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