When cats wore god robes

We have heard folklores and mythologies referring to pets and other animals being conferred the status of god all through human existence. Dogs, tigers, lions, jaguars, doves and pigeons have all been deified and worshipped across the world and religions. Cats are no exception to this interesting phenomenon in many cultures and belief systems.

We were also as fascinated to learn about these cat-gods when we stumbled across them:

Bastet

A much-revered Egyptian goddess, Bastet bears the head of a cat. She apparently was the goddess of perfume and ointment, two important components that went into processing mummies. Bastet was also the goddess of warfare depicted in early Egyptian mythology with the head of a lioness, but was later portrayed as someone with the angelic head of a domestic cat.

Mau

Mau is yet another Egyptian god. He is presented as a creature of light and dark in Egyptian mythology with the head of a big cat and moon-eyed. Mau is the Egyptian name for cat, which is pronounced as ‘mew’, the cat’s voice.

He is a feline born of duality – born male in one incarnation and female in the next. The sun god, Ra, was the male version, and the goddess of femininity and maternity, Bastet, was female. The male feline was often interpreted as Ra (and Mau).

Freyja

Scandinavian mythological goddess Freyja (also known as Frija) is venerated as the deity of love and fertility of both living creatures and their land. The story goes that she rode a chariot pulled by two huge cats the size of lions. An early form of Freya was Frya, an earth goddess. Some cat fanciers prefer to identify Freya’s cats as Norwegian Forest Cats. Freya had a special fondness for fairies and that breed is also known as the Fairy cat.