I read a post here saying Sekhmet and Bast were "sisters"...this is a misconception. Sekhmet was linked her Het-Hert (Hathor)...[Trust me I have been interested in Ancient Egypt since I was 5, have read countless books and websites and my religion is Kemetic Reconstructalist...and Sekhmet is one of my patron dieties...] Here is some info about it:
"However at no time in the history of Kemetic religion were Sekhmet and Bast associated in a "sister-sister", "mother-daughter", "aunt-niece" or "big bad lioness/nice kitty" context." (
http://www.per-bast.org/bast/essay9.html)
Summary of the "Eye of Ra" (where Het-Hert became Sekhmet and then Het-Hert again) [Het-Hert is Hathor]
"A famous myth involving Het-Hert in Her vengeful aspect as Sekhmet is that of the Destruction of Mankind. There are a number of versions of it found in various royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes. In this story, Her Father Ra dispatches Het-Hert as His Eye in order to punish the transgressions of mankind, who had become willful and rebellious. Hethert turns into the lioness Sekhmet for this task, slaying men and leaving them in pools of blood in the deserts to where they had fled. In the process She becomes overzealous and nearly wipes out humanity. In order to stop Her, Ra sends for His high priest at Iunu (Heliopolis) to obtain red ochre from Elephantine, which is ground and mixed with beer. Seven thousand jars of this mixture are spread over the land of Kemet, turning it into what looks like a sea of blood. When Het-Hert awakens in the morning and sees it, She begins drinking voraciously. In the process, She becomes quite intoxicated and is unable to continue slaughtering. She is coaxed to return to Her benign aspect of Het-Hert, and mankind is saved." (
http://www.hethert.org/eye.htm) [notice there is no mention of Bast...]
"For example, Het-Hert (Hathor) is mostly concerned with prosperity, love, joyfulness and motherhood; She becomes Sekhmet when swift action is required to defend Her children from enemies. Sekhmet is an aspect of Het-Hert, but a Name in Her own right, with a unique appearance and traits." (
http://www.seshat.org/seshat/page5.html)
"Hathor, as the Eye of Ra, "becomes" Sekhmet in the story "The Destruction of Mankind". Engraved into one of the shrines of Tutankhamen's tomb, the story tells how Hathor, at the request of her father (Ra), turns into Sekhmet in order to punish humans for transgressing against him. When she nearly wipes out all of humanity, Ra tries to stop her and, failing in that, contrives to get her drunk, whereupon she immediately forgets what it was she was doing and goes back to being Hathor. Hathor also appears as a minor character in "The Contendings of Horus and Seth". Her father (Ra) falls into a black mood so Hathor sets forth to cheer him up. Removing her clothing, she dances around his throne until he smiles again." (
http://www.sgcstargate.com/Hathor.html)
".. As Sekhmet, she [Het-Hert] represents the fiery burning rays of the Sun that can cause the crops to grow as well as the deserts to spread."
(
http://www.het-herumusic.com/page%201a.htm)
**
So as you can see, there is no link between Sekhmet and Bast-as sisters or other halfs- Long ago, people linked them because they are both Feline dieties and both Bast and Sekhmet (and many others) were given the title "Eye of Ra" so they assumed they were "sisters"...hopefully this will help clear up the misconception on here and such. It really annoys me when people get it wrong...but I guess its not their fault, but the original person who said it way back...
