Goddess: Bastet The Goddess of Joy, Music and Dancing Bastet, the cat-headed goddess, is the goddess of pleasures. To the Egyptians, cats were sacred; and temples kept sacred cats thought to be reincarnations of the goddess and the cats were mummified after death.  The town of Bubastis was the cult centre of this solar goddess.  She appears as a cat or as a woman with the head of a cat. Often she is shown holding a sistrum or rattle.  Sources: Farrar J, Farrar S: The Witches' Goddess, Phoenix Publishing, London, 1987. . Personal knowledge/traditions. Page last updated 4 Jul 2009 Website Design and Myths & Magic logo by Míchealín Daugherty Copyright © 2009 Ireland's OWN All Rights Reserved.