The Sacred Couple: Exploring the Relationship between Bastet and Anubis
Bastet and Anubis were not husband and wife in ancient Egyptian texts; instead, they personify the balanced forces of life (Bastet) and death (Anubis) whose paths occasionally cross in myth, art, and later popular retellings.
Why People Link Bastet and Anubis
| Question | Short Answer |
|---|---|
| Are Bastet and Anubis married? | No primary source lists them as spouses. |
| Were Anubis and Bastet lovers? | Classical myths are silent; the “love‑story” is a modern extrapolation. |
| What is their relationship? | Symbolic complements—she safeguards the living, he guides the dead. |
1. Meet the Deities
Bastet — Guardian of Life, Joy & Fertility
Epithets: Lady of the East, She Who Protects the Throne
Iconography: woman or fully formed cat/lioness, often with a sistrum.
Powers: shields households, mothers, and the Pharaoh; inspires music, dance, and celebration.
Anubis — Guide of Souls & Master of Mummification
Epithets: He Who Is in the Place of Embalming, Lord of the Sacred Land
Iconography: jackal‑headed man or full black jackal standing watch.
Powers: oversees embalming, weighs the heart, escorts the worthy to the Field of Reeds.
2. The Bastet and Anubis Relationship in Primary Sources
There is no canonical tale of an Anubis x Bastet romance. What texts do show is a theological pairing:
Dual Guardianship – Temple reliefs from Bubastis and Saqqara depict Bastet and Anubis flanking a royal cartouche, illustrating protection in both life (her realm) and death (his realm).
Shared Festivals – During the 26th Dynasty, priests from Cynopolis (Anubis’s city) joined Bastet’s priests at the great cat‑processions, symbolising cosmic balance.
The Coffin Texts (Spell 151) – Bastet wards off serpents “in the day‑realm,” while Anubis secures the “night‑passage,” underscoring complementary domains rather than matrimony.
Key Take‑away: The pair functions like the two halves of Maʿat—order through coexistence, not conjugal union.
3. The Modern “Anubis and Bastet Love Story”
Greco‑Roman syncretism: Late‑period writers fused deities into couples to match Hellenistic tastes; fragmentary papyri list Bastet among Anubis’s companions.
Victorian Egyptology: Romantic retellings in 19‑century novels seeded the bastet and anubis love story meme.
Pop culture & fan‑fiction: The shorthand “Bast & Anubis” or “Anubis x Bastet” thrives in games, comics, and TikTok lore, further blurring scholarship and storytelling.
4. Why the Pair Still Matters
| Aspect | Bastet | Anubis | Shared Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sphere | Fertility & joy | Death & rebirth | Eternal life‑cycle |
| Animal | Cat/Lioness | Jackal | Guardianship |
| Element | Solar warmth | Lunar coolness | Cosmic rhythm |
Invoking them together evokes the full arc of existence—from first breath to last step into eternity.
5. Frequently Asked Questions
Were Anubis and Bastet lovers?
Historically, no. Egyptian priests portrayed them working side‑by‑side, not as romantic partners.
Are Bastet and Anubis married?
No ancient marriage myth exists. Pairings in later fiction serve narrative, not theology.
Do temples show them together?
Yes—reliefs in Saqqara, Bubastis, and Deir el‑Bahri depict them jointly guarding pharaonic iconography.
Why do some blogs call them a “sacred couple”?
“Couple” refers to complementary energies, much like Yin‑Yang, rather than literal spouses.
6. Key Take‑aways for Students & Enthusiasts
Use the right question: frame research around “bastet and anubis relationship” rather than “marriage.”
Check primary evidence: funerary papyri, temple reliefs, Coffin Texts.
Separate myth from fandom: modern anubis and bastet love story retellings are creative but non‑canonical.
Final Word
In short, Bastet and Anubis illustrate how Egyptians stitched life and death into a seamless fabric—she nurtures the living heart, he measures it beyond the grave. Understanding their symbolic relationship—rather than chasing a romance that never was—honors the depth of ancient belief and keeps both deities enthroned where they belong: side‑by‑side, balancing the universe.
