The ability to see in the
dark, the lightning quick reflexes and glowing eyes all lend weight to the
superstition that black cats are unlucky. Cats will often freeze in place and
look at a disturbance that is almost undetectable to us, which many people believe
is evidence that the common housecat can see into the spirit realm. In fact,
that belief has endured for over a thousand years. No other domestic animal is
as mysterious, and thus the target of superstition, as the common cat.
Cats have the honour of being mentioned in several religions, and were even deified by the ancient Egyptians. The male cat was inextricably linked to the Egyptian god, Ra, and female cats with the god, Bastet. It was actually worse to kill a cat in ancient Egypt, than it was to kill a human being.
Besides ancient Egypt, the cat can be found in the ancient writings of Mohammed and Confucius. The Romans even took the cat under their wing, and identified felines with their god, Diana, also known as Hecate. This wasn't a good moment for the cat as a race, since Hecate was said to take the form of a cat when she left the underworld to visit earth.
Later, after the fall of Rome, the cat was thought to be the symbol of Satan in Europe. This belief naturally carried over to witches, who were thought to need a familiar if their magical powers were to be effective. Of course, the witch was also thought to be able to take the physical form a black cat.
In short, the cat has been deified, Satanized, Demonized and domesticated. It's really no shock that some of the folklore and beliefs from the past has leaked through to present day, making the cat one of the most feared, yet respected animals to walk the planet. Funny thing is used to have five of them, two of which were black. They walked passed me all the time and curses did not fall from the sky onto my house. Their nothing but moody teenagers!
Cats have the honour of being mentioned in several religions, and were even deified by the ancient Egyptians. The male cat was inextricably linked to the Egyptian god, Ra, and female cats with the god, Bastet. It was actually worse to kill a cat in ancient Egypt, than it was to kill a human being.
Besides ancient Egypt, the cat can be found in the ancient writings of Mohammed and Confucius. The Romans even took the cat under their wing, and identified felines with their god, Diana, also known as Hecate. This wasn't a good moment for the cat as a race, since Hecate was said to take the form of a cat when she left the underworld to visit earth.
Later, after the fall of Rome, the cat was thought to be the symbol of Satan in Europe. This belief naturally carried over to witches, who were thought to need a familiar if their magical powers were to be effective. Of course, the witch was also thought to be able to take the physical form a black cat.
In short, the cat has been deified, Satanized, Demonized and domesticated. It's really no shock that some of the folklore and beliefs from the past has leaked through to present day, making the cat one of the most feared, yet respected animals to walk the planet. Funny thing is used to have five of them, two of which were black. They walked passed me all the time and curses did not fall from the sky onto my house. Their nothing but moody teenagers!
If the Egyptians can vouch
for them, and I can vouch for them I think we can count this superstition
disproved.
Superstitions Revealed -Where Did They Come From?." Squidoo : Welcome to Squidoo. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <http://www.squidoo.com/Superstitions-Revealed>.
Superstitions Revealed -Where Did They Come From?." Squidoo : Welcome to Squidoo. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <http://www.squidoo.com/Superstitions-Revealed>.
I love this post, although I'm still very superstitious about cats, I liked the way you gave like the full history of superstitious cats, and then your own take on them. It's also a great idea for a passion blog because we hear so much about the variety of superstitious beliefs, and without truly understanding the background stories we fall victim to many of them. Since I was little I gained a fear of cats (my mom vows that it was from the womb) and to this day I'm still not a cat person. But I can take your vow on them, and consider that superstitions are all in our heads.
ReplyDeleteI definitely thought this post was entertaining. I have often wondered how black cats became superstitious. I have never found that I have gotten bad luck because of them, and I've been around them for my whole life. This was definitely interesting. I liked that you did the history of it. I learned something new!
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