06/08/2026
🐾 The Perfumed Protector: The Story Behind Why I Draw Bastet on Leather Pieces 🐾
Each of my craft and drawings have a story. A story that I always choose to keep for myself thinking that people will judge or object or laugh upon. While I silently draw/paint, I heal and everything I do has a deeper meaning that what it looks like on a first glace. Art is therapy!
It comes a time in life when stories must be told!
When I began drawing Bastet, I didn’t just want to draw a beautiful pharaonic cat. The goddess Bastet holds deep symbolic meanings and one of them is that she served as a protective goddess who safeguarded households from disease and venomous pests, presided over fertility and safe childbirth, and symbolized healing through sacred medicinal ointments. I chose to depict Bastet upon my natural leather crafts because she is ancient Egypt’s silent shield against sickness and shadow. Known to antiquity as the Perfumed Protector, Bastet’s spirit lives in the fragrant, sacred oils and healing ointments once kept in alabaster jars to soothe wounds and cleanse the air. Where there was burning fever, she brought a cooling breeze. Where pestilence crept through the dark, her watchful eyes guided away the invisible spirits of disease, transforming destructive chaos into a sanctuary of gentle, nurturing warmth.
One of Bastet’s oldest regional names in her cult center was Ubasti, which translates to "She of the Ointment Jar".
Antiseptic Protection: In Egyptian medicine, essential oils, infused ointments, and perfumes were not just cosmetic luxury; they were crucial medical barriers used to treat skin conditions, protect against intense desert heat, repel parasites, and embalm bodies for preservation.
Alchemical Healing: As the spiritual patron of these fragrant salves, Bastet oversaw the brewing of medicinal oils used by ancient healers to soothe inflammation and dress wounds.
By meticulously hand-painting her image onto this raw, enduring leather, I wanted to weave that ancient protective medicine into the present day. This piece can be considered a quiet guardian of health, harmony, and timeless well-being.
