The beautiful Bastet

Bastet (Bast) was a daughter of Ra the sun god.  She was a protective goddess but could become her counter part Sekhmet the lion if the King needed protection.

Not only was she the protective goddess of the home, she was goddess of fire and had a very aggressive side as the lion.
When in the form of a cat she represented the moon and when she became a lion she represented the sunlight, so she was a very duel goddess.  Most Egyptian Deities were however.

Her original role did not include "cat as sex symbol," she was first a protectress for the Royal House and the Two Lands but also became Goddess of joy and protector of women.

Good offerings to Bastet include:
Thousands of small cat sculptures, sweet liquids and foodstuffs
mint, catnip, honey, raw meat,
perfumes and ointments (especially in the "bas" jars which are a pun on Her name).
Never offered: cats (The penalty for killing a cat was death!)

This is a description of her April/May festivals:
"When the Egyptians travel to Bubastis, they do so in this manner: men and women sail together, and in each boat there are many persons of both sexes. Some of the women shake their rattles and some of the men blow their pipes during the whole journey, while others sing and clap their hands. If they pass a town on the way, some of the women land and shout and jeer at the local women, while others dance and create a disturbance. They do this at every town on the Nile. When they arrive at Bubastis, they begin the festival with great sacrifices, and on this occasion, more wine is consumed than during the whole of the rest of the year."   -Herodotus

https://www.etsy.com/listing/505473637/bastet-w-cat-skull?ref=shop_home_active_3
http://roadstodeath.deviantart.com/art/Bastet-w-cat-skull-659942963




Resources:
http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/gods/explore/bastet.html
http://carolina-eade.deviantart.com/art/Bastet-97031410    If you like this image please visit her site!
http://www.egyptianmyths.net/bastet.htm
http://inanna.virtualave.net/bastet.html

A quick into to Foxes

https://www.etsy.com/listing/491978658/sugar-skull-fox-mask-in-digital-media?ref=shop_home_active_2

http://roadstodeath.deviantart.com/art/Foxmask2-659928988

My Fox Mask for the Sugar Skull Shop called ArtistsRetreat.

This was made to be more like a Japanese fox mask because i will be putting up a wolf skull as well; I also loved the fox masks and wanted to do one.


The white fox (Kitsune, Kumiho, Huli Jing) became part of Japanese religion unlike the Chinese foxes.  They are not always considered evil, the rice god Inari has fox servants and is believed to be a fox himself.

Very intelligent and magical, the Kitsune gain wisdom and magic that grows with age.  In some legends they can only take human form once they reach 100 years of age but in others it is sooner.

An interesting fact about the possession by a Kitsune (called Kitsunetsuki) was considered a mental illness in the Heian period.  The condition was also linked to Lycanthropy and was used to explain varying afflictions.

Though foxes are considered tricksters I find them to be good omens and helpful creatures if given the right gifts.

Offerings to the Kitsune:
Rice, sake, Inari-zuchi, any fried tofu, fox statues and sometimes plush foxes, 
Live foxes used to be kept at shrines but this is no longer practiced.  One shrine had foxes up until 1920.



Resources:
http://academia.issendai.com/fox-japanese.shtml
https://thestrangersbookshelf.wordpress.com/2013/09/04/folklore-tidbits-the-kitsune-japanese-fox-spirit/

Europa

The smallest moon of Jupiter.
With a frozen surface and appearing dead scientists still suspect there is an ocean hiding beneath.  In 2013 water plumes were spotted but unfortunetly it has not been seen again yet.
She is one of the most reflective moons in our solar system.

Nasa and the European Space Agency have plans for missions to Europa in 2030, I hope they can succeed.

Europa is tidally locked; only one side ever faces Jupiter so she really does have a true dark side.
Temps at the equator never rise above -260°F (-160°C).  At the poles temps never go above -360°F (-220°C)

Simon Marius and Galileo Galilei discovered the moons but only one published.  Galileo called them the Medicean Moons honoring Medici.

This is the setting for my story.  Most creatures live underground but a few live on the ice.  Might update this with more info on her as i research it.  To have a moon as your setting does require understanding it a little ;)

Source: www.space.com
Images: www.solarsystem.nasa.gov     www.fisica.cab.cnea.gov.ar