Anubis (a-nóŻ˘us) - was the canine god of the dead. He looked after the place of mummification and supervised the priests embalming work. Anubis was a stern judge who weighed the dead persons heart. If the heart was heavier than the feather, then the
person would be dead forever but if it was lighter than they would enter the afterlife. If you are kind, and gentle on earth, Anubis will be
kind and gentle to you too. But if you are evil, Anubis will be evil too. He was the second son of Osiris, Horus' half brother and son of Nephthys. Anubis was usually
represented as a jackal and sometimes a man with a jackal's head. He wore a ceremonial collar or tie around his neck and held a flail or scepter.
Bastet was the Egyptian goddess who appeared in cat form.
The Egyptians highly revered cats; the word for cat, mau, also denoted light and was cognate with the word for mother.
The cat is a lunar animal and also a solar animal representing the power of the sun as reflected in nature. Since the cat is an earth animal, Bast is also an earth mother goddess, a giver of life and abundance. In touch with her wild, instinctual nature, she also is a protector of women during childbirth.
Like a cat, she is fiercely independent and belongs to no one but herself. Bast is one of the more joyful goddesses, her elaborate festivals in the town of Babustis were renowned for their joyful dancing. Embodying a cat's gentler aspects, Bast is a personification of life and fruitfulness. The quintessential life-affirming mother, she reminds us to be playful and relaxed like a cat and to find occasions to celebrate life.
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