It’s nearing that time of year when pumpkins and all things witchy start cropping up, well, saying that Halloween goodies have been available to purchase in the shops for weeks now, jostling on the shelves next to the Christmas decorations!And of course the image of the Black Cat will be appearing on decorations for this Halloween time.
Pet shelters refuse to re-home black cats at this time of year due to the practice of sacrificing the poor pussies, so it is advisable to keep your black cats safe during Halloween celebrations.
In an effort to dispel these myths and superstitions surrounding the black cat National Black Cat Day is celebrated annually on October 27th.
Of course they are battling hundreds of years of folklore, good and bad concerning these animals. Most of this folklore is so ingrained in humans one has to wonder whether it will ever disappear from our lives.
I found this while researching the subject of cats, not too sure about the validity of it though as it seems so barbaric.
During the 16th century cat burning was part of the entertainment at the Midsummer Fair in Paris. In 1758 the Benedictine Dom Jean Francois wrote an account of the spectacle. A stage was built so that the merry makes could lower a net containing dozens of cats into a bonfire; this became known as The Great Cat Massacre.
Other celebrations took place at the summer solstice where citizens danced and jumped over the flames and threw in objects of magical powers ( see below) to avoid disaster and obtain good fortune for the coming year. A favourite object to throw in were cats, either tied up in bags, suspended from ropes or tied to a stake. During this time Parisiens apparently incinerated cats by the sackful while the ‘cat chasers’ of Saint Chamond would set a cat alight then chase the poor creature through the streets.
Fortunately these practices were abolished in the late 1700’s.
In Ypres, Belgium the residents threw cats from the Cloth Tower until it was outlawed in 1837. Apparently it was to signify the rejection of Paganism and the worship of Frejya.
The custom started again in 1938, luckily toy cats were thrown from the tower not the real thing!
More than 3,500 women and children plus their cats were murdered in the witch hunts of 16th and 17th century Scotland. Many were convicted on flimsy evidence such as owning a black cat, making herbal remedies and possessing a wart...
But you will be pleased to know in 2004 that 81 of them had been pardoned in a special ceremony in Prestonpas; no withes hats or broomsticks allowed at the event though.
Considered lucky and unlucky depending on your point of view and where it is encountered. Walking towards you is considered lucky but if one crosses your path that is extremely unlucky. Some people were so superstitious that they would return home if a black cat crossed their path, especially if they were involved in dangerous occupations.
In Wales however it is a different matter; black cats are traditionally believed to be good luck especially if one deigns to live in your house. They are also considered to be good weather predictors.
The black cat has often considered to have certain powers, probably why it is always linked with witchcraft. A stray black cat, especially at night, would be avoided as it could be a witch in disguise, or a familiar or even a demon disguised as a cat.
From the early 13th century all black cats were treated with suspicion. Which was rather unfair as there were more black cats than other colour due to the black gene being more dominant in the cats DNA. To make them seem even more spooky they have golden irises due to the high melanin pigment.
During witch trials both in Europe and in the USA the so called witches best friend, or familiar as the witch finders declared, would be burnt alongside the poor unfortunate women.
The idea that the cat had special powers probably originated in Egypt with the Cat Goddess Bastet. Depicted as a woman with a cats head she first appears in the third millennium BC.
In Egypt all black cats are believe to be descendant of Bastet and are thought to possess supernatural powers. Perhaps because of this it was considered to have the power to cure ailments.
Many ancient remedies often use body parts of a cat for a cure all; from rubbing a stye with a cats tail, eating a stewed black cat to cure consumption, drinking its blood to bring good health and of course a burned and ground down cats head to cure eyesight!
Perhaps the above are some examples of folklore we can dispense with!
There are other less painful, for the cat, to treat illnesses. According to some, human illnesses can be transferred to a cat or dog by placing your finger in the animals ear until your affliction is gone. It supposedly will reappear in the cat.
Another strange superstition which I have never heard of before is that cats cannot be left alone with a corpse. They are excluded from the room where the corpse is laid out to prevent them jumping over or onto the corpse. In some case if this did happen the cat would be killed instantly otherwise it would bring bad luck: the soul of the dead person would be in endangered or the next visitor to view the deceased would be the next to die.
As well as being unwelcome near the deceased they are also unwelcome around babies as it was always thought that cats could suck the breath from a new born.
This superstition is said to have originated with Lilith, the dark goddess of Hebrew mythology, Adam’s hated first wife, who according to Hebrew tales was a vampire. Her name is usually translated as “night monster.” She took the form of a huge black cat called El-Broosha, and in that form sucked the blood of her favorite prey, the newborn infant.
There was a cult associated with Lilith which survived up until the late 7th century. The evil she threatened, especially against children and women in childbirth, could be counteracted by the wearing of an amulet bearing the names of certain angels.
