AKA Why historical attestation isn’t always the holy grail.

I have something to admit.  I’m addicted to finding anything rooted in history that may mention or give me insight into Bast-Mut.  Once I get the itch, I’ll dig into the deepest parts of Google in order to see what I can find, even if just a brief mention of “Mut-Bastet.”  I occasionally get jealous of those who have parent deities who have a long history and many records and myths.  It’s the woe of somebody who worships an “odd-god.”

To be fair, Bast isn’t particularly unknown, and neither is Mut.  The downside falls in the destruction of Per-Bast (Bubastis), so we don’t really have much to go on.  Mut is very prominent, but Bast-Mut is NOT Mut, not completely.  If there existed any record at all of Queen Bast of Bubastis, it’s gone now.  We have small hints of Mut-Bast over in Waset (Thebes), but primarily that was Sekhmet-Mut town.

When I get into my heavy “research mood,” I really have to try to remind myself of one simple thing:

Trust in my own experiences.

What am I hoping to gain by finding my Mother in historical texts?  Maybe an epithet here or there, but that is probably all I’ll possibly find.  What this research won’t tell me is how the ancients perceived Bast-Mut, nor how they experienced her.  You won’t find that stuff in any scientific material.  You have to live it.  Nothing I’ll find will replace any experience I’ve shared with Mom.

For those of you in the same shoes, it will do you well to remember this.  This is your path, and you will not find that in any Oriental Institute Publication.