Each year, according to Herodotus, hundreds of thousands of Egyptians sailed to her city of Bubastis, singing and clapping, and drank more wine at her festival than in all the rest of the year.
Origin & Traditional Use
Bastet was worshipped in Egypt from at least the Second Dynasty, first as a lioness and later, from around the first millennium BCE, as a cat or a cat-headed woman holding a sistrum. Her cult centre was Bubastis in the Nile Delta. She guarded the household against snakes and evil spirits and watched over women and childbirth, and ordinary homes kept small amulets of her.
Uses by Tradition
Witchcraft & Folk Magick
- Household protection: anoint a cat figurine or Bastet statue by the front door and renew it each new moon.
- Glamour work: a dab on the throat and wrists before going out, as an offering and to carry her poise.
- Peace at home: dress a pink or white candle in the kitchen after a quarrel.
Ceremonial & Occult Magick
- Devotion: anoint the brow before Kemetic-style prayers, offering cool water, perfume or a little beer in a dish before her image.
- Familiars: touch a drop to the collar or bed of a cat (not the animal itself) when asking her to watch over a household animal.
A Simple Working
- Set a statue or picture of Bastet on a small clean cloth.
- Anoint a white candle with Bastet oil, top to bottom.
- Place a small dish of fresh water and a few drops of perfume before her.
- Light the candle and ask her plainly to guard your home and those in it.
- Anoint the inside frame of your front door with a small dot of oil.
- Let the candle burn out and pour the water at your doorstep the next morning.
Pairs Well With
- A Bastet statue: the natural focus for her altar.
- A white candle: for prayers of protection and blessing.
- Rose petals: a fitting offering for her softer, sensual side.
- Frankincense resin: a temple incense for Egyptian devotional work.
Lore & History
Herodotus, writing in the fifth century BCE, put the number of pilgrims to Bubastis at seven hundred thousand, not counting children. Cats sacred to Bastet were mummified and buried in vast numbers at Bubastis and other sites. The Greeks identified her with Artemis. The oil is a modern blend made in her honour; her worship is what is ancient.
What You Receive
Bastet oil, available in 2 dram, 1 oz and 16 oz sizes.
Did You Know?
In 1888 an Egyptian farmer uncovered a burial of tens of thousands of mummified cats at Beni Hasan; many were shipped to England and ground into fertiliser.
| Weight | N/A |
|---|---|
| Size | 2 dram, 1 oz, 16 oz |
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