Who is the Goddess Bast
Breathe deep into the body, into the heart, dance, sing and feast - it is time to celebrate all aspects of yourself with the Sensual Goddess Bast.
Sensuous and playful, catlike queen Bast hails from Egypt and is honoured as the Goddess of sorcery, joy, dance, fertility and the sunrise.
Her name has its roots in the hieroglyph of a 'bas' - jar with the feminine ending of 't'. These jars were heavy perfume jars, often filled with expensive perfumes - they were very valuable in Egypt and highly treasured. Bast became known as the perfumed protector. So even her name Bast hints at spoiling yourself with luxurious perfumes and baths.
In Egypt, Bast was originally a goddess of the sun, but later was changed by the Greeks to a goddess of the moon. In Greek mythology, Bast is also known as Aelurus.
In early stories she had the head of a lioness to show her power and ferocity, but later she had the head of a domestic cat to illustrate a gentler side. As a Goddess of fertility, women often honoured Bast by wearing an amulet showing the Goddess with kittens.
Cats were always highly revered in Egypt as they killed vermins and snakes, even cobras. More than 300,000 mummified cats were uncovered when Bast's temple at Per-Bast was excavated.
Honouring Ourselves
Bast is a multi-faceted Goddess, but definitely when honouring Bast we are honouring the finer things in life and celebrating the abundance of the universe.
Honouring Bast in our lives is a way of honouring ourselves. She is the Goddess of the sunrise, encouraging us to get up before dawn and celebrate the sun's first rays. She is the Goddess of fertility, giving birth to creative pursuits.
Loving Food
Though she has a celebratory, playful energy, being a cat in nature, Bast teaches us to be graceful and land on our feet in any situation. She is earthed in that her sensuality is expressed in the honouring of food.
"Our food, our body, and nature are all one entity. The flesh of our body is made of the same elements as the flesh of a melon. Our bodily fluids are composed of the same elements as the milk of a coconut," says Maya Tiwari, who believes that preparing and eating food with awareness helps us to rediscover our natural rhythms.
"Not only do food sadhanas (daily practices of cooking as meditation) impart rasa (taste or essence of life), they also nourish and influence our life force."
Maya Tiwari encourages us to eat with our hands, grind our own spices in a pestle and mortar and bring awareness to the sensual nourishment of food, not simply the physical nourishment.
Try this beautiful recipe for Zucchini Flowers Tempura from the Chakra Mantra cookbook to discover the sensuality of food.
Ingredients:
1 cup zucchini flowers (orange)
1/3 cup rice or wheat flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
2tsp baking powder
¾ cup ice water
½ tsp garlic powder/ white pepper
1 tsp fresh parsley minced
1 tsp lemon juice
3 cups veg oil
Blend all of the above except for the flowers in a bowl. Let stand for 15 mins until pasty. Use water if necessary to loosen batter. Dip flowers one at a time. Deep fry in high heat until golden brown, turning once. Serve hot.
Naturally as this recipe is from the Chakra Mantra cookbook, Patricia Stein suggests chanting 'Gobinde Gobinde Haree Haree' as you prepare this delicious meal to infuse the food with love and sonic vibration. This recipe is one for the sacral chakra - the chakra of sensual delights.
To celebrate other sensual delights you could learn to belly dance or to tango… belly dance again works on the realm of the sacral chakra getting us in touch with our hips, our bellies and our inner rhythm. Belly dancing was introduced originally as an aid to pregnant women to prepare them for giving birth.
Connecting To The Moon
As every culture has its Goddess of Love or Goddess of Abundance, you can find the Goddess Huitica from Colombia as the Queen of Pleasure or across in Persia, you find the Goddess Anahita mirroring the sensual pleasures of Bast. She is the Zoroastrian Goddess of love, fertility and pleasure - a moon goddess who shines light upon the darkness of our lives.
If you are a woman take a moonlit walk and fill up with the aura of the full moon.
"The full moon is the natural time for you to enjoy and celebrate your womanhood," says Maya Tiwari. "When the moon is full, you are under the influence of its cooling essence which inspires ovulation and heightens your sexual impulses and vitality. It is a time for sex, aromatherapy, fragrant baths and oil massages. Treat yourself with hearty ojas-producing (soul nourishing) foods such as pancakes, homemade breads, soups, risottos and pastas - wholesome ancestral foods that reinforce your spirit of abundance."
And whether you are woman or a man, you can connect to Bast's inspiration by taking a bath with the oil of sandalwood, musk or cedarwood and making this intention: "Bast carry the darkness away, So my body and spirit may revel in your pleasures,
Giving and receiving them equally."