Bastet App
Oct. 25th, 2011 12:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
metemmodsPlayer Information
» Name: Ardruna
» Date of Birth: 09/30/1984
» Journal:mirisa_ardruna
» Contact: Email: ardruna@gmail.com, AIM: Mirisa Erato
Deity Information
» Pantheon: Egyptian
» Deity: Bastet
» Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastet, http://www.egyptianmyths.net/bastet.htm, http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/bast.html, http://www.pantheon.org/articles/b/bastet.html
» Divine Family: {mother & father} Ra, unspecified mother (possibly Sonra or Rat; in late interpretations, Isis); {spouse} Ptah; {siblings} Shu, Tefnut, Hathor, Sekhmet, Ma’at, Mut, Astarte, Horus (in late interpretations); {children} Khensu, Maahes/Mihos, possibly Nefer-Tem
» Mythology: Bastet is the cat-headed goddess worshipped at the delta city of Bubastis and the representative of Lower Egypt (counterpart to Hathor and Sekhmet, both representatives of Upper Egypt). Originally, she was depicted as being or having the head of a lioness or a desert wildcat, but later became more closely tied to the domesticated feline while Sekhmet became the more famous lion-goddess.
Bastet’s primary function was to serve as the “eye of Ra,” a distinction she shared with several other goddesses also identified as daughters of Ra along with Bastet. She was his primary avenger, and some sources say that it is she whom Ra sent to fight the serpent Apep (though other scholars claim this is Ra himself in feline form). Thus, she was considered a solar deity, first and foremost, a claim likely backed by the observance of cats basking in sunlight.
She is a counterpart to the lion-goddess Sekhmet, though Bastet represents more of the mild, fertilizing heat of the sun, rather than its fiery, destructive power. Among Bastet’s epithets is “Lady of the East,” marking her position in representing Lower Egypt, in contrast to Sekhmet’s “Lady of the West.” Both are listed as being wives of Ptah, and both are possible mothers to the god Nefer-Tem. In some tellings, the two were literally the same goddess at one point, until the destructive goddess was stopped from rampaging when she was tricked into drinking blood-colored wine, which put her to sleep, allowing Ra to separate them into two distinct aspects.
Bastet retained her martial associations, though. Her name can be translated as meaning “the tearer,” “renderer,” or “devouring lady.” However, the separate etymological elements of her name also refer to a bas, with a diminutive “-t” suffix, indicating a small jar, such as those used for perfumes. The claim that she may be the mother of Nefer-Tem, a god of perfumery, underlines this connection, and also reinforces her association with the domestic, civilized feline, and being rather on the small and sweet side, rather than the wildcat. In addition to her solar aspect, Bastet has some lunar associations as well, being the mother of the lunar cat-god Khensu, not to mention also the traditional association of cats with the moon, magic, and occasionally trickery.
Under the later Greek influence over Egyptian culture, Bastet’s warlike aspect coupled with these lunar associations made her seem to be an analog to the Greek goddess Artemis. The Greeks believed that, like Artemis, she thus required a twin-brother male solar counterpart, which was assigned to her in the form of the god Horus, thereby also adopting her as a daughter of Isis. With this association, Bastet was considered to be representative of the soul of Isis herself, and her name adjusted to reflect this (“ba-Aset”). Unlike Artemis, though, Bastet was not a virgin goddess. In fact, with her close ties with Hathor, Isis, the moon, and her additional epithet as “the lady of Sept” (that is, the star of Sothis), she also has a strong association with female sexuality, fertility and motherhood, and was commonly depicted as being surrounded by kittens to reflect this. The practice of bringing cats into rooms where women were giving birth to bring luck and ease the delivery comes from the worship of Bastet in this aspect.
Character Information
» Played By: Catherine Zeta-Jones
» Journal:eye_of_ra
» Current Name: Katriel “Kitty” Richmond
» Birthdate: 08/01/1975
» Height: 5’5”
» Distinguishing Marks: Pierced earlobes
» Family: {mother & father} Sam and Levana Richmond; {marital status/spouse} single/NA; {siblings} twin brother Lawrence; {children} none; {pets} 2 Egyptian Maus named Midnight and Dancer
» Occupation: Security director for the MGM Grand Casino/Hotel; runs a small side business selling perfumes. Occasionally moonlights as a cat burglar.
» Currently Residing In: Las Vegas, Nevada
» Ability: Bastet has superhuman physical attributes, giving her senses on par with a cat’s of hearing, smell, vision (including night-vision), balance, strength and agility. She also has excellent battle instincts.
UPDATED ABILITIES: Bastet gains the ability to communicate via mental link to the world's feline population--sort of like a Kitty Cerebro, if you will. She can thusly send and receive messages, and she can give orders (though, being cats, there's no guarantee the orders will actually be carried out). She does get a boost to her existing abilities, with keener senses, a stronger and more flexible body and becoming all the more effective in a fight.
Additional Attribute: She has gained an actual purr that can be heard when she's feeling content.
SECOND UPDATE: She gains a Fertility aspect! Women who spend time around Bastet have an easier time conceiving, and pregnant women near her have smoother gestations and deliveries. The effect is cumulative.
» History: Bastet was reborn in Mecca in 600. She spent much of her youth in and around temples in the area, and was married at the age of 19 to one of the followers of Mohammad, having several children by him. She often worked to take care of the cats in the group as they traveled, and it was at her suggestion that Mohammad cut the sleeve of his prayer robe so as not to disturb his cat Muezza.
She was again born in 1650 England, the daughter of an amateur astronomer. Occasionally, as tangent to her father's work, she was able to brush elbows with the likes of Newton, Leibniz, and other scientists, though, being a woman, they often paid her little mind.
Another lifetime for her began in Poland in 1820. As a girl, her family moved as part of the Polish Great Emigration. She spend some time in Paris, and then came to the United States in 1840 with her new husband. They settled in Missouri, and were largely left out of the American Civil War, but Bastet herself worked as a schoolteacher for the local children.
England again saw her reborn in 1900. She spent a great deal of time traveling in this lifetime, mostly between Britain and the United States. She supported the British and American troops alike in both World War I and World War II, gathering intelligence, though she died in the 1950s of mysterious causes.
Most recently, Bastet has been reborn as Katriel Richmond (though she prefers to go by Kitty) on August 1, 1975 in Alexandria, Egypt. Her father is an Egyptologist and hobby astronomer of mixed English and Egyptian heritage, now working at Brown University, and she and her brother were born during a research excursion. Her mother is of Spanish and Jewish descent and works as a massage therapist. Her twin brother Lawrence has followed rather similarly in their father’s academic shoes and works as a docent for the Museum of Man in San Diego.
Growing up, young Kitty and her family often traveled, going on excursions, excavations and research trips. A good half of her education came from on-site learning with her parents and homeschooling, although she was enrolled in public schools whenever they planned to stay in one place for a year or more. Still, it seemed she went to a different school for every year or so of formal public education. She therefore found it difficult to make close friendships, but the advent of the Internet was a social godsend to her, enabling her to keep in touch despite the miles apart. Her undergraduate studies were done in Egypt, but she got her master’s degree at Columbia in New York City. She quickly decided she did not like the New York climate, and moved to Las Vegas right after graduation.
From her mother, Katriel learned a great deal about the human body: the muscles and nerves and typical points of weakness. She also learned about herbs and aromatherapy, and first began making perfumes for her mother to use when she was a teenager, but eventually starting selling them herself for a small profit.
Her upbringing surrounded her with ancient cultures, languages and mysticisms, particularly in relation to Egypt, and so she realized the truth of her nature from a fairly young age. She never mentioned it to her family, not even her brother, although she watched them intently for any signs that they might also be like her. To date, though, she has yet to notice any divine tendencies in them, much to her disappointment.
She also learned some clever ways to thwart ancient Egyptian safeguards and traps, and in her adolescence, she would occasionally indulge in bits of petty thievery just to see if she could get away with it. As the years went by, these capers and heists became more elaborate and daring, but they were not for personal monetary gain. In fact, the vast majority of the time, she would break in a second time to put back whatever she had “borrowed” in the first place. She used the knowledge and skills gained to help devise better methods of security, which helped her ultimately land a position as the security director for the MGM Grand Casino/Hotel in Las Vegas after she graduated from college. She still occasionally will partner up with other thieves to break into other establishments and then devise ways to prevent such heists from happening on her own turf.
» Personality: Even in the form of a mortal human woman, Bastet remains very catlike in her behavior. She is, by turns, playful, aloof, sympathetic, curious, demanding, etc. People often find it difficult to know what she is thinking at any given moment, and sometimes she will do things for reasons that are apparent only to her. She loves a good challenge, and has been known to do things just to see if she can successfully pull them off.
Her loyalties are her own, and sometimes she may seem fickle or even hypocritical in what she decides she does and doesn’t like. However, she is fiercely protective of anything she considers to be “hers,” be it her family, friends, her home or institution of employment. While she gets infuriated over anyone messing with her things, she has no problem sabotaging anything she sees as competition, and she’s been known to fight dirty from time to time.
Fiercely independent, she has never been one to settle down romantically in this lifetime, although she loves to be lavished with attention from lovers and admirers, and she can be very affectionate when rewarding that attention. She’s never felt any particular need to have babies of her own, but she loves kids, is a doting aunt to her brother’s children, and she is very indulgent toward her two pet cats, whom she considers to be her “children.”
She is also decidedly a creature who enjoys her comforts. Good food, nice clothes, luxurious surroundings, fine jewelry, exquisite perfumes—Bastet reborn loves the best the world has to offer, and she’s been known to get into snits if she can’t have what she’s used to. She’s certainly capable of “roughing it,” and can be quite resourceful, but she tends to sulk if she has to do without. She also has a strong distaste for being unnecessarily wet or cold.
» Other Notes: Katriel is fluent in English and Arabic, and has working knowledge of Hebrew, Spanish, Coptic and hieroglyphics. She has a passing familiarity with Koine Greek and Italian, but only knows some broken words and phrases.
She is straight, but if sufficiently intoxicated or intrigued enough by the possibility, she could be persuaded to engage in sexual activity with another woman.
She tends to eat a high-protein diet of lean meat, seafood and dairy, which tends to be low on fruits, vegetables and grains.
» Sample Journal: I admit, it’s always amusing whenever we get people coming in to speak with me. You know the sort—trying to sell me whatever the latest technology in security is these days. Of course, I listen politely. Or at least I pretend to do so. I can’t say my mind doesn’t wander a little every now and again. The best part, though, is always when they try to tell me that Such-and-Such Casino or Institution employs the same system. Well, well, now. Isn’t that interesting, hmm? At that point, I always have to thank them sweetly, tell them I need to think about it, but I’ll certainly get back to them within a few business days.
You see, they don’t understand that I need to try it out first. Give it a test run. Make sure it’s just as good as they make it out to be. And there’s really only one way to really be certain it’s not just hype. I have my own very special version of a test run: I have to break it before I can buy it. A pity for whomever they used for an example, because the next day’s news is almost certain to read how a cat burglar managed to get past all their fancy security. And I get to reap all the reward for it.
» Sample Log: "So... that's it? Nothing else interesting to tell your most favorite of sisters?" Kitty paced absently with the phone to her ear, occasionally pausing if something caught her attention for a second or two--dust mites, a flash of light on glass, the flick of one of her cats' tails.
"Kitty, first off, you're my only sister," Lawrence teased back, "I'm a museum docent. I fear we can't all have lives as exciting and glamorous as yours, sister dear, among all the bright lights of the city and the casino floors."
"Oh, I know. But, come on. Nothing even a little bit strange to share? You're a complete nerd, and I know you are. Geeky weirdness must come up at least once in a while," she said with a smile, idly playing with a bit of fringe on one of her pillows.
"Nope. Not today, anyway," Lawrence said.
"Well. That's too bad. You will let me know, of course, if something interesting happens, won't you?" she asked.
"Of course. The moment I fall under the legendary Chinese curse, you'll be the second to know. Anyway, love talking to you, but I have to go. Take care." There was a faint beep as the line disconnected. Bastet sighed, and glanced up at the moon outside her window. She kept hoping that Lawrence, her own twin, might have a little divine blood in him as well, but, so far, no such luck.
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» Name: Ardruna
» Date of Birth: 09/30/1984
» Journal:
mirisa_ardruna» Contact: Email: ardruna@gmail.com, AIM: Mirisa Erato
Deity Information
» Pantheon: Egyptian
» Deity: Bastet
» Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastet, http://www.egyptianmyths.net/bastet.htm, http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/bast.html, http://www.pantheon.org/articles/b/bastet.html
» Divine Family: {mother & father} Ra, unspecified mother (possibly Sonra or Rat; in late interpretations, Isis); {spouse} Ptah; {siblings} Shu, Tefnut, Hathor, Sekhmet, Ma’at, Mut, Astarte, Horus (in late interpretations); {children} Khensu, Maahes/Mihos, possibly Nefer-Tem
» Mythology: Bastet is the cat-headed goddess worshipped at the delta city of Bubastis and the representative of Lower Egypt (counterpart to Hathor and Sekhmet, both representatives of Upper Egypt). Originally, she was depicted as being or having the head of a lioness or a desert wildcat, but later became more closely tied to the domesticated feline while Sekhmet became the more famous lion-goddess.
Bastet’s primary function was to serve as the “eye of Ra,” a distinction she shared with several other goddesses also identified as daughters of Ra along with Bastet. She was his primary avenger, and some sources say that it is she whom Ra sent to fight the serpent Apep (though other scholars claim this is Ra himself in feline form). Thus, she was considered a solar deity, first and foremost, a claim likely backed by the observance of cats basking in sunlight.
She is a counterpart to the lion-goddess Sekhmet, though Bastet represents more of the mild, fertilizing heat of the sun, rather than its fiery, destructive power. Among Bastet’s epithets is “Lady of the East,” marking her position in representing Lower Egypt, in contrast to Sekhmet’s “Lady of the West.” Both are listed as being wives of Ptah, and both are possible mothers to the god Nefer-Tem. In some tellings, the two were literally the same goddess at one point, until the destructive goddess was stopped from rampaging when she was tricked into drinking blood-colored wine, which put her to sleep, allowing Ra to separate them into two distinct aspects.
Bastet retained her martial associations, though. Her name can be translated as meaning “the tearer,” “renderer,” or “devouring lady.” However, the separate etymological elements of her name also refer to a bas, with a diminutive “-t” suffix, indicating a small jar, such as those used for perfumes. The claim that she may be the mother of Nefer-Tem, a god of perfumery, underlines this connection, and also reinforces her association with the domestic, civilized feline, and being rather on the small and sweet side, rather than the wildcat. In addition to her solar aspect, Bastet has some lunar associations as well, being the mother of the lunar cat-god Khensu, not to mention also the traditional association of cats with the moon, magic, and occasionally trickery.
Under the later Greek influence over Egyptian culture, Bastet’s warlike aspect coupled with these lunar associations made her seem to be an analog to the Greek goddess Artemis. The Greeks believed that, like Artemis, she thus required a twin-brother male solar counterpart, which was assigned to her in the form of the god Horus, thereby also adopting her as a daughter of Isis. With this association, Bastet was considered to be representative of the soul of Isis herself, and her name adjusted to reflect this (“ba-Aset”). Unlike Artemis, though, Bastet was not a virgin goddess. In fact, with her close ties with Hathor, Isis, the moon, and her additional epithet as “the lady of Sept” (that is, the star of Sothis), she also has a strong association with female sexuality, fertility and motherhood, and was commonly depicted as being surrounded by kittens to reflect this. The practice of bringing cats into rooms where women were giving birth to bring luck and ease the delivery comes from the worship of Bastet in this aspect.
Character Information
» Played By: Catherine Zeta-Jones
» Journal:
eye_of_ra» Current Name: Katriel “Kitty” Richmond
» Birthdate: 08/01/1975
» Height: 5’5”
» Distinguishing Marks: Pierced earlobes
» Family: {mother & father} Sam and Levana Richmond; {marital status/spouse} single/NA; {siblings} twin brother Lawrence; {children} none; {pets} 2 Egyptian Maus named Midnight and Dancer
» Occupation: Security director for the MGM Grand Casino/Hotel; runs a small side business selling perfumes. Occasionally moonlights as a cat burglar.
» Currently Residing In: Las Vegas, Nevada
» Ability: Bastet has superhuman physical attributes, giving her senses on par with a cat’s of hearing, smell, vision (including night-vision), balance, strength and agility. She also has excellent battle instincts.
UPDATED ABILITIES: Bastet gains the ability to communicate via mental link to the world's feline population--sort of like a Kitty Cerebro, if you will. She can thusly send and receive messages, and she can give orders (though, being cats, there's no guarantee the orders will actually be carried out). She does get a boost to her existing abilities, with keener senses, a stronger and more flexible body and becoming all the more effective in a fight.
Additional Attribute: She has gained an actual purr that can be heard when she's feeling content.
SECOND UPDATE: She gains a Fertility aspect! Women who spend time around Bastet have an easier time conceiving, and pregnant women near her have smoother gestations and deliveries. The effect is cumulative.
» History: Bastet was reborn in Mecca in 600. She spent much of her youth in and around temples in the area, and was married at the age of 19 to one of the followers of Mohammad, having several children by him. She often worked to take care of the cats in the group as they traveled, and it was at her suggestion that Mohammad cut the sleeve of his prayer robe so as not to disturb his cat Muezza.
She was again born in 1650 England, the daughter of an amateur astronomer. Occasionally, as tangent to her father's work, she was able to brush elbows with the likes of Newton, Leibniz, and other scientists, though, being a woman, they often paid her little mind.
Another lifetime for her began in Poland in 1820. As a girl, her family moved as part of the Polish Great Emigration. She spend some time in Paris, and then came to the United States in 1840 with her new husband. They settled in Missouri, and were largely left out of the American Civil War, but Bastet herself worked as a schoolteacher for the local children.
England again saw her reborn in 1900. She spent a great deal of time traveling in this lifetime, mostly between Britain and the United States. She supported the British and American troops alike in both World War I and World War II, gathering intelligence, though she died in the 1950s of mysterious causes.
Most recently, Bastet has been reborn as Katriel Richmond (though she prefers to go by Kitty) on August 1, 1975 in Alexandria, Egypt. Her father is an Egyptologist and hobby astronomer of mixed English and Egyptian heritage, now working at Brown University, and she and her brother were born during a research excursion. Her mother is of Spanish and Jewish descent and works as a massage therapist. Her twin brother Lawrence has followed rather similarly in their father’s academic shoes and works as a docent for the Museum of Man in San Diego.
Growing up, young Kitty and her family often traveled, going on excursions, excavations and research trips. A good half of her education came from on-site learning with her parents and homeschooling, although she was enrolled in public schools whenever they planned to stay in one place for a year or more. Still, it seemed she went to a different school for every year or so of formal public education. She therefore found it difficult to make close friendships, but the advent of the Internet was a social godsend to her, enabling her to keep in touch despite the miles apart. Her undergraduate studies were done in Egypt, but she got her master’s degree at Columbia in New York City. She quickly decided she did not like the New York climate, and moved to Las Vegas right after graduation.
From her mother, Katriel learned a great deal about the human body: the muscles and nerves and typical points of weakness. She also learned about herbs and aromatherapy, and first began making perfumes for her mother to use when she was a teenager, but eventually starting selling them herself for a small profit.
Her upbringing surrounded her with ancient cultures, languages and mysticisms, particularly in relation to Egypt, and so she realized the truth of her nature from a fairly young age. She never mentioned it to her family, not even her brother, although she watched them intently for any signs that they might also be like her. To date, though, she has yet to notice any divine tendencies in them, much to her disappointment.
She also learned some clever ways to thwart ancient Egyptian safeguards and traps, and in her adolescence, she would occasionally indulge in bits of petty thievery just to see if she could get away with it. As the years went by, these capers and heists became more elaborate and daring, but they were not for personal monetary gain. In fact, the vast majority of the time, she would break in a second time to put back whatever she had “borrowed” in the first place. She used the knowledge and skills gained to help devise better methods of security, which helped her ultimately land a position as the security director for the MGM Grand Casino/Hotel in Las Vegas after she graduated from college. She still occasionally will partner up with other thieves to break into other establishments and then devise ways to prevent such heists from happening on her own turf.
» Personality: Even in the form of a mortal human woman, Bastet remains very catlike in her behavior. She is, by turns, playful, aloof, sympathetic, curious, demanding, etc. People often find it difficult to know what she is thinking at any given moment, and sometimes she will do things for reasons that are apparent only to her. She loves a good challenge, and has been known to do things just to see if she can successfully pull them off.
Her loyalties are her own, and sometimes she may seem fickle or even hypocritical in what she decides she does and doesn’t like. However, she is fiercely protective of anything she considers to be “hers,” be it her family, friends, her home or institution of employment. While she gets infuriated over anyone messing with her things, she has no problem sabotaging anything she sees as competition, and she’s been known to fight dirty from time to time.
Fiercely independent, she has never been one to settle down romantically in this lifetime, although she loves to be lavished with attention from lovers and admirers, and she can be very affectionate when rewarding that attention. She’s never felt any particular need to have babies of her own, but she loves kids, is a doting aunt to her brother’s children, and she is very indulgent toward her two pet cats, whom she considers to be her “children.”
She is also decidedly a creature who enjoys her comforts. Good food, nice clothes, luxurious surroundings, fine jewelry, exquisite perfumes—Bastet reborn loves the best the world has to offer, and she’s been known to get into snits if she can’t have what she’s used to. She’s certainly capable of “roughing it,” and can be quite resourceful, but she tends to sulk if she has to do without. She also has a strong distaste for being unnecessarily wet or cold.
» Other Notes: Katriel is fluent in English and Arabic, and has working knowledge of Hebrew, Spanish, Coptic and hieroglyphics. She has a passing familiarity with Koine Greek and Italian, but only knows some broken words and phrases.
She is straight, but if sufficiently intoxicated or intrigued enough by the possibility, she could be persuaded to engage in sexual activity with another woman.
She tends to eat a high-protein diet of lean meat, seafood and dairy, which tends to be low on fruits, vegetables and grains.
» Sample Journal: I admit, it’s always amusing whenever we get people coming in to speak with me. You know the sort—trying to sell me whatever the latest technology in security is these days. Of course, I listen politely. Or at least I pretend to do so. I can’t say my mind doesn’t wander a little every now and again. The best part, though, is always when they try to tell me that Such-and-Such Casino or Institution employs the same system. Well, well, now. Isn’t that interesting, hmm? At that point, I always have to thank them sweetly, tell them I need to think about it, but I’ll certainly get back to them within a few business days.
You see, they don’t understand that I need to try it out first. Give it a test run. Make sure it’s just as good as they make it out to be. And there’s really only one way to really be certain it’s not just hype. I have my own very special version of a test run: I have to break it before I can buy it. A pity for whomever they used for an example, because the next day’s news is almost certain to read how a cat burglar managed to get past all their fancy security. And I get to reap all the reward for it.
» Sample Log: "So... that's it? Nothing else interesting to tell your most favorite of sisters?" Kitty paced absently with the phone to her ear, occasionally pausing if something caught her attention for a second or two--dust mites, a flash of light on glass, the flick of one of her cats' tails.
"Kitty, first off, you're my only sister," Lawrence teased back, "I'm a museum docent. I fear we can't all have lives as exciting and glamorous as yours, sister dear, among all the bright lights of the city and the casino floors."
"Oh, I know. But, come on. Nothing even a little bit strange to share? You're a complete nerd, and I know you are. Geeky weirdness must come up at least once in a while," she said with a smile, idly playing with a bit of fringe on one of her pillows.
"Nope. Not today, anyway," Lawrence said.
"Well. That's too bad. You will let me know, of course, if something interesting happens, won't you?" she asked.
"Of course. The moment I fall under the legendary Chinese curse, you'll be the second to know. Anyway, love talking to you, but I have to go. Take care." There was a faint beep as the line disconnected. Bastet sighed, and glanced up at the moon outside her window. She kept hoping that Lawrence, her own twin, might have a little divine blood in him as well, but, so far, no such luck.
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