Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

BAST (aka Bastet)

bastet

Egyptian Goddess originally represented as a wild jungle cat. Bast's earliest role was as the protector and avenger of the Pharoah. The popular image of Bast appearing with the head of a cat, or as a house cat, did not even appear until approximately 1000 BC, after the Greeks had invaded. After the Greek invasion she was relegated to being a Goddess of pleasure (as opposed to the primal wild sensuality of her earlier form) and a Patron of marriage and childbirth. The Greeks considered her to be equivalent of Demeter.

She was also known as a Goddess of warmth and beneficial aspects of the sun's heat. In modern times she holds many roles, which include reverence to her as a protector of animals (especially cats) and of familiars.

In her earliest form she was very similar to Sekhmet, who she was later merged with in some parts of Egypt. Her name means "to tear apart". Appearing as a lioness, she is said to be the mother of the lion god Maahes, by the god Ra. She has also been referred to as the 'eye of Re' and coupled with Tefnu. In Memphitic tradition she was apparently siad to be the mother of Anubis.

Her feast day was celebrated with processions, music, dance, a trade fair, and orgies. The centre of Bast worship in Egypt was Bubastis (a name by which she herself was referred on occasion) and her priestesses are said to have dressed in red. Her worship was also common in Memphis.

She has been associated with hunting, music, dance, animals, and fire.

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one definition may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differing practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc