Goddess of the Week: Bastet, Egyptian Cat Goddess of Protection & The Home
Bastet or Bast is the ancient Egyptian Guardian Goddess of Cats, Protection, the Home, the Moon, Domesticity, Pleasure, Love, Beauty, Femininity, Fertility and Motherhood.
Originally Bastet was a Sun Goddess and lioness. Over time she became ‘domesticated’ and morphed into becoming a Moon Goddess and a domestic cat whilst her sister Sekhmet became the embodiment of the Sun-Goddess mantle, representing the creative and ferocious/destructive aspect of the heat of the sun.
The cat is Bastet’s totem animal and she is often depicted with the head of a cat or shown with cats playing around her. She is usually depicted holding an ankh in one hand and a sistrum rattle in the other (an instrument which was believed to drive away evil forces). She also shares one of the same hieroglyphs for the bas jar, which held perfumes and ointments, so Bastet also meant "she of the ointment jar” or Goddess of Perfume.
Primarily, she is a Goddess of Protection and is associated with the Wadjet or ‘Eye of Horus’ 𓂀, the All-Seeing Eye that is a symbol of protection. Bastet can protect us from negative energy, influence and disease, particularly in our homes and physical environment. Cats are innately and instinctively protective animals - they can often sense ‘invisible’ negative energy that may be naked to the human eye and they usually have a knack for instinctively knowing what - and who - to trust. They’re extremely sensitive, agile, cunning and independent - all qualities that Bast embodies. In becoming the cat she was able to bring her protective energy inside and become the Protectress & Guardian of the Home & Hearth.
WORKING WITH BAST
You may feel drawn to Goddess Bastet when you are need of protection from negative energy, when you have gotten out of balance in some way and need to get more in touch with your feminine, sensual or instinctive side of yourself, to be more independent or when things have been dense and difficult and you may be in need of some levity in your life.
Bastet is the Goddess who can help us connect with our Feminine side - and bring it into balance. In the Wild Woman Oracle deck Bastet is depicted with her counterpart Sekhmet as ‘Ferocious Femininity’ - there’s a lion laying down at the front of the card with a lion cub as well as little cats playing around Her:
The Bastet & Sekhmet card from the Wild Woman Oracle deck by Cheyenne Zarate
Both Goddesses together embody the paradox of femininity: the ferocious strength and fierce protectiveness of a mother lion with the domesticated sensitivity, playfulness and affection of cats. This oracle card speaks to how very often as women this duality and seeming paradox within femininity can create conflict within us. In fear of one of those aspects we may veer too far toward the other end of the spectrum if we don’t have a healthy feminine foundation within. In a patriarchal culture, we very often haven’t been allowed to express a “gentle & strong, domestic & wild, humble & confident” femininity that’s fully comfortable with the paradox and knows instinctively which facet needs expression, when.
An imbalance of healthy feminine energy may cause us to sway too far into over-domestication, dependency and passivity and lose touch with our wild, natural and instinctive selves if subconsciously we have resistance to a strong, free and wild Feminine Archetype.
Alternatively, if we have no space in our life for self-care, for our sensual self, our emotional/intuitive side, if we’re constantly in fight-or-flight or warrior mode, burning through our sun or creative energy night and day we can quickly become burnt out if we’re not taking adequate steps to restore ourselves.
Of course certain situations in our lives call for an amplification of playful, gentle and sensitive cat-like Bast energy, whilst others may naturally call for the more ferocious, boundary-setting power-house energy of lioness Sekhmet. However if these two parts - solar and lunar - tip too far into either extreme for too long, we fall out of balance and can become burnt out or prone to lethargy, inertia or lack of motivation. Getting back into a harmonious equilibrium can be as simple as taking stock to notice where we’re out of balance and then ensuring we’re crafting our own ideal individualised routine, suitable for our bodies, that allows for a healthy balance and expression of both facets of our whole Feminine Self.
We all have masculine and feminine energy within us so this isn’t about gender (which is a social construct) but about the solar and lunar aspects of Feminine energy. In particular, as women, our bodies are more synced with the lunar tides - we don’t get a daily dose of solar or hormonal energy the way men do. Our hormones are affected by a monthly cycle that ebbs and flows with the ebb and tide of the moon - both that celestial object - and in particular our own moon cycle. If we routinely ignore that side of our selves and our bodies, by burning the candle at both ends or suppressing our physical, sensual, emotional, intuitive and spiritual needs our bodies are more prone to becoming taxed and burnt out potentially creating imbalance, inflammation or dis-ease in the body and mind.
Goddess Bast can also help us to re-connect to our senses. Cats are very sensual creatures, they like sitting by a window watching the world go by - intently noticing birds and butterflies and everything that passes their awareness. They like curling up to doze on a comfy pile of blankets (or your freshly washed laundry!), innately knowing when to be active and when to be at rest. If you’ve had a cat you may notice that they’ll be particularly drawn to you when you’re doing calm and restful activities such as listening to calming music, drawing, doing yoga, playing with tarot cards, meditating - they’ll often wander over and have a nosy at what you’re doing and sit and purr (often plonking right in the middle of your yoga mat or pack of cards!) . Cats - and Bastet - love restorative activities and you may be drawn to Bastet when you’re being nudged to connect to your senses and restore your body - particularly if you’ve been overtaxing your mental body.
Bastet is a Moon Goddess and Mother Goddess and can help us with nurturing ourselves, nourishment on all levels (food, energetic, sensual, spiritual), receptivity, fertility, intuition, reflection, processing our emotions and rest. She can help us to tune into the rhythms and phases of the moon (and our own moon cycle) and harness them to our advantage - using the new and waxing moon/the first week of our cycle for seeding new intentions and expansion, the full moon/the second week for manifestation and fulfilment, the waning moon/the ovulation week for release and banishment of what no longer serves and the dark moon/the menstruation week for withdrawal and deep rest.
🕯️RITUALS TO CONNECT WITH BAST ENERGY:
CAT-NAP more if you need extra rest especially during winter, periods of burnout or convalescing, naps are proven to help energy, alertness and learning however if you find napping makes you too groggy or stops you getting a full night sleep later then try Yoga Nidra which is a type of meditation that puts your body into a state of deep rest: 40 mins of yoga nidra is equivalent to 4 hours full sleep.
SENSUAL TIME - (I’m a Tarurus sun so forgive me this veritable essay of rituals but …ahem… *fluffs feathers, stretches arms out* this is the Taurus strong suit (ya ya along with being stubborn 💁♀️) when was the last time you tuned into your senses and asked them what you would most like to see/smell/taste/hear right now? Do you have a space in your home that is a little sanctuary of sensual pleasures? (even if it’s just one room like the bathroom or bedroom). If your relationship to yourself and your home is more functional than feng-shui, perhaps it’s time to try one a few of the below suggestions to tap into your sensual side or create your own. One of the best ways to restore your body-mind-soul is by tuning into your senses and honouring what brings you pleasure and joy (in a healthy balance with productivity and exertion).
Splash out a little on a really gorgeous candle with the most delicious scent you can’t resist (I personally love ones with warming essential oils like vanilla or cedar).
Slow-cook yourself a candle-lit meal or delicious dessert (not a diet one!) rather than rushing through the cooking process to quickly plug your hunger cook something that your taste-buds would light up about!
Bastet was the Goddess of Perfume so burn some essential oils to tap into her energy - lavender for calm and intuition, peppermint for clarity and for cleansing your space, lemon/citrus for upliftment & brightening
Have a bath with some candles and a few drops of rose essential oil which feels like being enveloped in soft, fragrant feminine energy
Play some lovely relaxing music in the house as you cook or go about your chores - notice how music can elevate and transport you in contrast to bingeing social media or listening to the news/information streams (it’s not to knock those things - they have their place of course - however connecting with our senses can be an antidote to sensory overload/overwhelm and to balancing our feminine energy)
Go further and create a little sanctuary in your home that helps you connect with your senses - carve out a space with some comfortable cushions, a plush rug, cosy blankets & pretty lanterns/candles and furnish with plants and flowers for a calm corner in your living room/ study to meditate/ do yoga / do tarot rituals etc.
PLAY MORE - can you embrace a bit more levity in your day to day and carve out 20 mins somewhere in your day or week to play/run about as cats do? Play some music and do some belly dancing or crank some moves, do some activity just for joy or go crazy-running (Phoebe-style from the Friends episode when she embarrasses Rachel) even if it’s round the house!
STRETCH & restore with a Restorative Yoga class - a slower, more restful, more passive approach to yoga that uses props and holds poses for longer helping to melt away tension and create space in the body
HOME PROTECTION RITUAL - do a sage or palo-santo smudge to energy-cleanse, physically clean and then whilst sprinkling a little salt at your entrance-way, call on Goddess Bast to protect your home and everyone in it.
BAST PROTECTIVE & CLEANSING MUSIC - lay down & listen or play about your home as you clean/go about any chores - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM3KQlNHus4
CREATE A BAST ALTAR - you could include the eye of Horus 𓂀, an ankh 𓋹 , pictures/figurines of your cat /cats 🐱 , a lovely candle, a physical item/touchstone that is symbolic of your home or your ideal home (a key-chain, a picture from a magazine that captures the feeling you would like your home to have, a fabric swatch of the exact fabric you would like your new couch to be etc) and any protection crystals (any of the black crystals particularly Jet, Obsidian and Tourmaline and Selenite for cleansing).
RESOURCES:
Wild Women Oracle - Cheyenne Zarate
Sacred Mothers & Goddesses Oracle -