Bastet

The goddess we most frequently call "Bastet" today was known as both "Bast" and "Bastet" in ancient Egypt.

"Bast" was her earlier name. It possibly meant either "Soul of Auset" (Auset being an alternative name for "Isis," who is sometimes considered her mother), or "devouring lady."

Later, priests called her "Bastet" to indicate that the "t" in her name should be pronounced. "Bastet" shares one of the same hieroglyphs for the bas jar, which held perfumes and ointments. So "Bastet" also meant "she of the ointment jar."

Bast was originally a lioness goddess, but as time went on, she was more closely associated with the housecat. The cat was her totem animal.

As one of the main goddesses of the Egyptian pantheon, Bastet had a huge number of attributes and aspects: