For protection and blessings by the goddess Bast, of yourself and your cat pets, set up an altar with cat pictures and/or statues. These pictures and statues can be of any kind of cat, domestic or wild. Place a picture of yourself, your family, and some of your cats there also. Have two green candles on the altar. This ritual can be performed by itself or as part of a cast circle ritual.

Note: This ritual also calls for a sistrum, which is a sort of rattle made of metal, and deeply associated with the goddess Bast and Egyptian magick. If you don’t have one, use a bell or small wind chimes instead.

To begin the ritual, take the sistrum and slowly dance or walk around the ritual area, shaking the sistrum as you go. Begin and end in the East and move clockwise. Chant as you go:

Joy comes from Bast, the Lady of Cats
The goddess loves and protects all animals.
As a daughter/son of Bast, I call upon her
To pour out her blessings.

Return to the altar and shake the sistrum while you say:

Hail, Bast, Lady of Cats.
Hail, Goddess of earthly delights.
Teach me to rejoice in the being that I am.
Teach me to love and be happy.

If you have pictures of your cats, look at them now with love and happiness. If you don’t have pictures, call up their images mentally. Call each cat by name as if presenting him/her to the goddess. Be alert to the atmosphere around you, for you will very likely experience the presence of the goddess in some manner.

When you have finished, take the sistrum and go to the East. Shake the sistrum five times. Say:

The ears of Bast are sensitive
to every word of harm sent against me and my pets.
My cats and I are protected.

To to the South, shake the sistrum five times and say:

The claws of Bast are sharp in my defence.
My cats and I are protected.

Move to the West. Shake the sistrum five times. Say:

The teeth of Bast are bared to evil-doers.
My cats and I are protected.

Finally, go to the North and shake the sistrum five times. Say:

The eyes of Bast can see through darkness.
Nothing escapes her notice.
My cats and I are protected.

Return to the altar. Shake the sistrum three times. Say:

Listen well, all those who would harm me and mine.
Here is erected a mighty fortress, an unbreakable shield.
You cannot enter here. Your evil thoughts return to you.
The gate is locked against you.

Visualize a green light filling the room, caressing you and the pictures of your cats. Don’t be surprised if your cats themselves enter the room to soak up this blessing.

Lovely Cat-Goddess, I thank you for your blessings.
Keep us in safety, good health, and happiness.
Protect my little ones wherever they may roam.

Blow a kiss to the goddess and extinguish the candles. As a special treat, both to Bast and to your cats, present your pets with a catnip toy to play with.

From: Book of Shadows