Bast
Bast (or Bastet) is portrayed as a woman with a cat's head holding a sistrum, and is commonly thought to represent the beneficent powers of the sun.
While Bastet has a vicious side to her nature, where she decapitates the Underworld snake, Apophis, and destroys vermin, she was usually thought of as a kindly goddess of joy, music and dancing.
Her feast was celebrated with processions of flower laden barges and orgiastic ceremonies, consisting of music, licentious dancing and unrestrained wine-drinking. The sacred rattles, known as sistra were shaken as a sign of jubilation.
