Ireland's
namesake, Eire, had a cat. Go figure a witch with a cat? But this was
a special cat. Eire gave her cat the gift of knowledge and
confided all the secrets of the cauldron to her prized companion.
When the time came to name the land we now know as Ireland came
about, this brilliant animal helped convince the powers that be
to name Ireland after her beloved owner. Cats have been associated with deities, witches and magick for centuries. Here
are some snippets of cat-related folklore.
Cats have been sacred to more than one religion, and at different
times and places have been considered both good and bad
luck-bringers. The Egyptian goddess Bast was both lion-headed and
cat-headed and attended by cats and therefore cats were sacred
and revered in Egypt; killing one was a heinous crime, and when a
household cat died mourning rites were performed for it. Cats
were often found in temples and were ritually fed; stray cats
were treated with honour and fed, and the household cat was
allowed to share the family's food. Cat amulets were produced and
elaborate cat-sized sarcophagi crafted for cats who had died, who
were often embalmed as humans were. Followers of the goddess Diana
also considered the cat sacred because she once assumed the form
of a cat, and cats were under her special protection. In
Scandanavia, Freya's chariot was drawn by cats. The Celtic
goddess Ceridwen was also attended by white cats, who carried out
her orders on earth.
Cats are traditionally associated with witches, and it is
generally assumed today that witches' familiars were (and are)
always cats. However, during the Burning Times any small animal
that was kept in the house was suspect, and records show that
accused witches were forced to confess having familiar spirits in
the form of cats, rats, mice, dogs, weasels and toads. It was
also firmly believed that witches could take the shape of cats,
and accusers sometimes claimed that they were followed or
tormented by witches in the shape of cats. In 1718 William
Montgomery of Caithness alleged that hordes of cats gathered
outside his house nightly and talked in human language; he
claimed to have killed two of them and wounded another one night
and awoken the next morning to hear that two old women had been
found dead in their beds and another badly injured.
In Britain and Australia black cats are considered lucky, and in
some places white cats are correspondingly unlucky. In many parts
of Europe and in the United States, however, it is the black cat
who is ill-omened. In Britain tortoiseshell cats will bring their
owners luck, and blue cats bring luck in Russia. An old saying
about black cats is that 'Whenever the cat of the house is black,
the lasses of lovers shall have no lack'. It was said that if the household
cat sneezed near a bride on her wedding day, she would have a
happy married life.
To meet a black cat is usually fortunate, especially if it
crosses one's path. In some districts the luck is only considered
released if the cat is politely greeted, or stroked three times. Sometimes
it is considered unlucky if the cat runs away from the person, or
turns back on its own tracks. To meet a white cat is bad luck,
except in those countries where white cats are the luck-bringers.
If a black cat comes into a house or onto a ship, it is
considered a very lucky sign, and the cat should never be chased
away in case it takes the luck of the house with it. Seamen avoid
the word 'cat' while at sea, but to have a cat on board is lucky, especially
if it is a completely black cat with no white hairs. To throw the
cat overboard raises an immediate violent storm; no sailor would
do such a thing to the ship's cat, and in fact cats are rarely
left on an abandoned ship but are generally rescued with the
sailors. In Yorkshire, if a sailor's wife kept a black cat, her
husband would always return safely from the sea; this sometimes
led to black cats being stolen.
Cat hair and bones were often ingredients of charms and spells,
and even now a few hairs from a cat are supposed to increase the
power of a spell, although this now appears more common in
England than in America where the hair of a wolf appears to have
taken over. In previous centuries the tail of a black cat was
believed to cure a stye if stroked over the afflicted eye, and a
tortoiseshell cat's tail was considered to remove warts. Three
drops of a cat's blood smeared on a wart was also considered to
cure it. If a person in the house was very ill, it was thought
that throwing the water in which the patient had been washed over
a cat, and then driving the poor creature away, would transfer
the illness to the cat and drive it out of the household.
It was said that every cat should be given two names; a country
rhyme states 'One for a secret, one for a riddle, name puss twice
and befuddle the devil'. This saying was based on the belief that
one person could gain power and ascendancy over another simply by
knowing his or her real name; by giving the household cat two
names, once for common use and one secret and never revealed to
outsiders, the pet which had the run of the household could be protected
from becoming a tool of evil or of outside infiltration.
A sneezing cat means rain on the
way, and three sneezes in a row portends a cold for the cat's
owner! A cat running wildly about
(known in our house as 'spacky cat') darting here and there and
clawing everything in sight means wind or a storm on the way;
when the cat quietens down, the storm will soon blow itself out. Cats washing over their ears has
long beed held to foretell rain; the old rhyme goes 'When Kitty
washes behind her ears, we'll soon be tasting heaven's tears'. A cat which rolls over and over
in the grass, claws the ground and behaves in a skittish manner,
is indicating that a brief rain-shower is on the way. When the cat is restless and
moves from place to place without settling, it is foretelling hard
winds. A cat who sits with its back to
the fire is said to be a portent of frost. When a cat spends the night
outdoors and caterwauls loudly, it may be foretelling a period of
several days' bad weather. To dream of a black cat is
lucky. To dream of a tortoiseshell cat
means luck in love. To dream of a ginger cat means
luck in money and business To dream of a white cat means
luck in creativity, spiritual matters, divination and spellcraft. To dream of a black-and-white
cat means luck with children; may also mean the birth of a child. To dream of a tabby cat means
luck for the home and all who live there. To dream of a grey cat means to
be guided by your dreams. To dream of a calico or
multi-coloured cat means luck with new friends and old ones. A dream of two cats fighting
means illness or a quarrel.
