Here’s where most people get it wrong. Bastet didn't start as a gentle domestic shorthair. She started as a lioness.
Bastet retained her lioness heart. She was a gentle mother—until her family was threatened. Then, she became the , the slaughterer of armies. Ancient Egyptians prayed to her for protection from plagues and venomous creatures. If you wronged a household under her watch, you weren't just dealing with a scratch post. who is the cat goddess
This is the wild part. When a pet cat died, the family would shave their eyebrows in mourning and mummify the cat—sometimes with a little mummified mouse for the journey. But Bastet's temples took this further. Pilgrims would buy bronze statues of the goddess or pay to have a kitten mummified as an offering. In 1888, a farmer in Egypt uncovered a catacomb containing . Here’s where most people get it wrong
But as Egyptian society mellowed (and realized that cats were pretty great for killing disease-carrying snakes and rats), Bastet mellowed too. By the New Kingdom, the lioness tamed into a domestic cat. Her cult center at became the Woodstock of the ancient world—a festival of music, wine, and dancing in honor of the goddess of joy . Bastet retained her lioness heart
So, who is the Cat Goddess? She is the warmth on your lap at 2 AM. She is the silent shadow that chases away your anxiety. And she is the snarl that warns the universe not to mess with her people.