m y t h o l o g i c a l

Chysoberyl - increased personal energy, spirituality - intellect in efforts - brings awareness toward further development of spirituality - assists with progress toward excellence by helping one to understand and manifest states of perfection - increases generosity and charitably, forgiveness - brings peace of mind - assists with understanding of interactive relationships.

* Hardness
8.5.

* Occurrence
Found mostly in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and Brazil.

* Appearance
Yellow to greenish yellow to grayish green, displaying chatoyancy.

* Enhancements
Cat's eye is occasionally irradiated to improve asterism and color.

---

Bastet - The goddess Bastet was usually represented as a woman with the head of a cat. However, up until 1000 BC she was portrayed as a lioness. Bastet was the daughter of Ra, the sun god. It may have been through him that she acquired her feline characteristics. When Ra destroyed his enemy Apep, he was usually depicted as a cat. As portrayed as a cat, she was connected with the moon (her son Khonsu was the god of the moon). When shown as a lioness, she is associated with sunlight.

She was the goddess of many things including fire, cats, dance, sex, music, and good luck. According to one myth, she was the personification of the soul of Isis. She was also called the "Lady of the East". As such, her counterpart as "Lady of the West" was Sekhmet.

Bastet seemed to have two sides to her personality, docile and aggressive. Her docile and gentle side was displayed in her duties as a protector of the home, and pregnant women. Her aggressive and vicious nature was exposed in the accounts of battles in which the pharaoh was said to have slaughtered the enemy as Bastet slaughtered her victims. Bastet's cult center was located at Bubastis, in the eastern Delta.

[ return ]