Bastet was the cat-goddess of ancient Egypt — the goddess of home, fertility, women, childbirth, joy and the protective hearth, who began as a fierce lioness-goddess and softened over time into the beloved gentle cat, the protector of households and one of the most cherished deities of Egyptian daily life. She is the gentle, domestic counterpart to the fierce Sekhmet, the warm guardian of home and family.
The Cat-Goddess
Bastet (Egyptian Bastet, Bast) was depicted, in her most famous form, as a woman with the head of a cat, or as a cat itself — often a sleek seated cat, sometimes surrounded by kittens, sometimes holding a sistrum (a musical rattle). In her earliest forms she was a fierce lioness-goddess, like Sekhmet, a protective and warlike deity; but over the long centuries of Egyptian history she gradually softened, transforming from the fierce lioness into the gentler domestic cat, the warm and beloved goddess of the home. Cats were sacred to her and cherished throughout Egypt, kept in homes, mummified in their millions and buried at her great cult-center of Bubastis.
The Protectress of the Home
Bastet was, above all, the goddess of the home, the household, women, and family. As cats protected Egyptian homes and granaries from snakes, scorpions and vermin, so Bastet was the divine protectress of the household and its inhabitants, guarding the family from evil, disease and harm. She was a goddess of fertility, childbirth and motherhood, watching over women in labour and protecting children, and she embodied the warm, nurturing, protective qualities of the home and the mother-cat with her kittens. To have Bastet's favour was to have a safe, fertile, joyful household.
The Goddess of Joy and Festival
Bastet was also a goddess of joy, music, dance and celebration. Her great annual festival at Bubastis was, according to the Greek historian Herodotus, one of the most popular and exuberant in all of Egypt — an occasion of enormous crowds, music, dancing, drinking and revelry, with hundreds of thousands traveling by boat to celebrate. This festive aspect linked her to the joyful, life-affirming side of the divine feminine, the celebration of life, fertility and pleasure. Like Hathor, she embodied joy — but joy centered on the home, the family and the community rather than romantic love.
The Beloved Guardian of Home
Bastet endures as one of the most beloved deities of ancient Egypt — the cat-goddess of home, fertility, women and joy, the gentle protectress of the household, the goddess whose sacred cats were cherished throughout the land. She embodies the Egyptian love of the home and family and their deep affection for the cat; and she stands as the gentle counterpart to the fierce lioness Sekhmet — the same protective feminine power turned from the fury of war to the warmth of the hearth, guarding the home, the mother and the child with the watchful care of the sacred cat.
Once a fierce lioness, she softened into the beloved cat — the gentle guardian of the home, the protector of women and children, and the goddess of one of Egypt's most joyful festivals.