The Goddess of Lesbians.

[Wynter]

The Goddess of lesbians, Bast. Bast, also known as Bastet, Pasch, Ubasti and Ba en Aset, is the Tameran (ancient Egyptian) Goddess of cats, dawn, civilization, home, bounty, plenty, enlightenment, art,
music, dance, creation, birth, fertility, sex, physical pleasure, lesbians, truth, hemp,
marijuana, drugs, the moon, and the rising sun. (http://radiant.org/bubastis/index.html)

She sure sounds fun. :)

Side note:
If anyone knows of any good beginners resources on Druid, Asatru, Egyptian/Kemetic Religion, I would really like to learn more about them. Perhaps then I could finally pick a religion and stay with longer than a year.

[adrian]

If i am a man and i follow these Goddesses, does that mean i am also a lesbian?
I have always believed that the Gods/Goddesses were about the spirit and connecting with diety>

[Earth Walker]

Originally posted by adrian
If i am a man and i follow these Goddesses, does that mean i am also a lesbian?
I have always believed that the Gods/Goddesses were about the spirit and connecting with diety>


A man may follow those Goddesses and not be a lesbian. It just means that there are some Goddesses
who are the Patron Goddesses of lesbians. :)

[Wynter]

Some one once asked if there was any deity with different sexual preferences, and I remembered Bast. I personally love Bast, although I'm not gay or bi.

[adrian]

so these goddesses who are the protectors of women and children are also patron goddesses of lesbians? Or is it that we perceive it that way? I need to research more, i haven't reached Bast, Hathor, or even Isis for that matter...with only two years study time i am still a child where this knowledge is concerned. May we continue to walk in light an learn from each other.... or rather, please teach me.

[winddancer]

As a former Priestess of Bast (She has since moved on to be Matron to my son), I would recommend anyone interested in Bast to look at this website:

http://www.per-bast.org

It is written by a Kemetic Orthodox Priestess of Bast, and has the most accurate research information on who Bast was, historically. It does address the issue of Bast being presented as a Goddess of Lesbians (which has no historical basis), and a couple of the other claims made by the radiant.org site in question.

Since I practiced historically researched Egyptian Wicca at one time, the information from the Kemetic Orthodox folks proved to be the best available.

I do advocate, however, working with Her in a one-on-one basis. She appriciates the color red, and incense with catnip in it (beware, though, catnip, when smouldered, smells a little like burning 'grass' (yes, I mean pot) just enough to make you a little queasy if you don't care for the smell. I cover it with cedar). Present libations of milk and catnip, and if you need stick or cone incense instead, anything with Fire connotations, Egyptian Temple blends, frankincense and myrrh, or lotus works as well.

Please feel free to email me with any questions, as I have worked with this Goddess for nearly 10 years, and continue to in a different way with my son (who calls her "the magick kitty").

[Wynter]

Thanks for pointing that out.

[bananabrain]

she does seem to have all the fun, doesn't she. i bet there's a male god somewhere who is, like, god of beer, kebabs, curry and rock music, the lucky sod. probably all his adherents are female too, the bugger. of course, that leaves the other members of the pantheon around going "ooh, what's left? well, there's cutlery, accountants, lentils and - hurrah - instant coffee".

bananabrain

[Kaylara]

ROFL!!!!!!!

Kaylara

[amberlaine]

Never met anyone quite like you, BB :D

[Lavender]

Originally posted by bananabrain
she does seem to have all the fun, doesn't she. i bet there's a male god somewhere who is, like, god of beer, kebabs, curry and rock music, the lucky sod. probably all his adherents are female too, the bugger. of course, that leaves the other members of the pantheon around going "ooh, what's left? well, there's cutlery, accountants, lentils and - hurrah - instant coffee".

bananabrain

BB, you sure have a way with words! :D

[bananabrain]

you're very kind. i think it must be a brit thing. however, i was reminded a little of the scene in terry pratchett's 'pyramids' (which takes place in an egyptian-style river kingdom known as 'Djelibeybi' - lit: 'child of the djel') where the gods start to materialise, causing the inhabitants to get rather upset, because 'bloody Hat the Vulture-Headed God of Unexpected Guests looks a lot better as a statue than he does as a 500-foot high creature standing in the middle of your bloody melon patch' or words to that effect. that particular book includes the aforementioned god of cutlery and a rather junior member of the pantheon known as 'Bunu, the Goat-Headed God of goats'. in any case, i urge you to read the book!

hey ho

bb

btw: nobody's ever explained to me what 'rofl' and 'roflmao' mean....

[Kaylara]

ROFL= Roll on floor laughing
ROFLMAO= Roll on floor laughing my ass off
FOMCL= Fell off my chair laughing

Hope this helps!

Kaylara

[bananabrain]

ta muchly. you are clearly much nicer than your pernese namesake - although why you would wish to take her name at all is entirely unclear..

bb

[Mairwen]

Moderator Mode

Okay gang. If we're going to talk about Gods and Lesbians, let's please keep it on-topic, k? I'd hate to have to shut down another thread.

Mari

[Celtic_Angel]

Originally posted by adrian
If i am a man and i follow these Goddesses, does that mean i am also a lesbian?
I have always believed that the Gods/Goddesses were about the spirit and connecting with diety>

Aren't all straight men lesbians trapped in mens bodies?

[adrian]

Originally posted by Celtic_Angel
[B]

Aren't all straight men lesbians trapped in mens bodies? [/B Point taken from that alternate view, but still i would rather see myself as a being of varied interest no matter if they were of a sexual perferance, it all falls under a spiritual experience
for me. I consider myself to be pretty open minded, i don't frown at anyones lifestyle; but spirit is spirit no matter what we do and i believe that if we can keep it on a spiritual level instead of catagorizing we would all be better off...all around.
Where would the prejudice be if we had to look at it spiritually?
If we all were to approach each so called "taboo" subject in the spirit would the outcome be different?

[Mairwen]

Originally posted by Celtic_Angel
Aren't all straight men lesbians trapped in mens bodies?

This is on-topic??

[Mairwen]

A lot of people think lesbians are nothing more than women who have been wronged by men ~ which 99% of the time can't be further from the truth.

Can we discuss gods and goddesses, please?!

[Yvonne Belisle]

I suppose that if you were male and looking to identify with a Goddess in some way, that particular point of view might come in very handy. I'm sorry to say that my ex had a habit of saying that line himself quite often and a large number of women tested him on it. It is definitely a different way for a man to relate but in some ways it makes a twisted sort of sense. Then too that could be a lack of sleep or the fact that I know C_A. Oh well I don't think I'm functioning at a level capable of explaining why it makes sense right now. Sorry Mairwen I tried. Brain just went to sleep on me.

[adrian]

This is all too much for me, i am a spiritual being having a human experience...nothing more.

[Mairwen]

Originally posted by Yvonne Thomas
Sorry Mairwen I tried. Brain just went to sleep on me.

Is okay, Yvonne. Get some rest! ;)

[Tigerwallah]

As I watch my own cats lounging on my bed, bathing eachother, I am reminded of what bohemian, pleasure oriented creatures they are. I believe that is what Bast is the goddess of...pleasure. Not of lesbians, drugs, sex, etc. Just of pleasure. All cats, even the large ones, when not hunting are interested in only one thing...comfort. A cat spends his/her days in the pursuit of luxurious comfort. All things that could be mistaken for drug use - think of the opium parlors of the middle east, lesbians - a playboy channel male fantasy, sex - the ultimate pleasure(?). For cats none of these things are as pleasureable as a good nap, in a soft spot with a friend to cuddle up to. So, this is only a guess, based on instinct, but I believe that the answer of what Bast is the goddess of is simple - indulgence and pleasure, but not with the Christian connotation of sin and glutteny.

[Mairwen]

Thanks, Tigerwallah! I think you may have hit on something there.

[adrian]

I agree! Cats are so mysterious and seem to know things we don't, yet they are so laid back and uncommitting to anything except the pleasure of relaxation. We can learn a lot from them in the way of stress reduction and just being...cats(humans).
Thank you tigerwallah, i must ponder this further it seems to be a lead in a direction i can use.
The ultimate pleasure??? Me thinks not, i have experienced some pretty intense spiritual moments in my rituals nonsexual in nature and nothing beats a nice mid-afternoon slumber in my opinion.
Cats? Spiritual beings having a cats experience...hmmm.

[Tigerwallah]

Originally posted by adrian
[The ultimate pleasure??? Me thinks not, i have experienced some pretty intense spiritual moments in my rituals nonsexual in nature and nothing beats a nice mid-afternoon slumber in my opinion.
Cats? Spiritual beings having a cats experience...hmmm. [/B]

That's why I left he question mark. For me the ultimate pleasure is a nap in the grass on a cool summer day, and maybe a reeses peanut butter cup.

[adrian]

Originally posted by Tigerwallah


That's why I left he question mark. For me the ultimate pleasure is a nap in the grass on a cool summer day, and maybe a reeses peanut butter cup. LOL!!! reeses??? one of my favorites! It seems like what we're getting at here is that it is the simple things in life that can be so rewarding, the small things that can give so much pleasure and it doesn't take a lot of energy.
So, are you on a blanket under a partially shaded tree? can you hear the birds singing in the background? Maybe near a small stream? Oh yes! Can't wait for summer!

[Earth Walker]

:confused: Okay gang, does any of this have anything to do with the topic?? Let's get back on track, okay? Please? Thank you!


Originally posted by Celtic_Angel
Aren't all straight men lesbians trapped in mens bodies? Aren't all straight women gays trapped in women's bodies?

[Mairwen]

Wow Mystique! I'm sorry! I must've hit the "edit" button instead of the "quote" button! :bad:

[Celtic_Angel]

Originally posted by Mairwen
A lot of people think lesbians are nothing more than women who have been wronged by men ~ which 99% of the time can't be further from the truth.

Can we discuss gods and goddesses, please?!

I apologize. *backs out of room* When I have something more appropriate to the subject I will contribute. Again, many apologies.

[Celtic_Angel]

I have been reading the site that Winddancer reccomended and I found something of interest that I'd like to quote here. I found it under the section of modern myths.

"Because of the heavy associations that the feline in the modern world has with females (a la the "sexkitten"), Bast is often accredited as a goddess of feminine sexuality. In this case is important to not place our modern biases on the way cats were viewed in ancient Egypt. Sensuality should not be mistaken for sexuality, and there is no evidence to support the latter in ancient Egypt. This also negates the effort to relate Bast as a "Goddess of Lesbians". While it's a nice--and somewhat politically correct--thought to do so, our sexual taboos are not transferable unto the ancient Egyptians'. The only reason that the Egyptians may have frowned upon same-sex relationships is because every person who could needed to breed, what with the high infant mortality rate common in most classical cultures."

I'm not trying to say that anyones view of Bast here is wrong!!! It is an interesting thought though when in relation to how we take our modern views and incorporate them with Gods of old.