THE MYTHOLOGY OF CATS
Whilst conducting research for my book ‘Psychic Pets’ I encountered many people with mysterious stories to tell me about their pet cats. One such involved a stray feline that was found by the roadside on a reputedly haunted hill one evening on Halloween. The cat had been injured and was lying at the side of the road looking as if it had been hit by a motor vehicle. The lady telling me this story recounted how after she nursed this injured cat back to health and it became fully mobile it led her own family pet pussy away and neither were ever seen again.
Throughout history cats have been thought of as mystical creatures closely connected to the supernatural. In the county of Lancashire where I was born and still live there was recently discovered in an early 17th century cottage, buried inside the walls, the remains of a cat that had obviously been interred alive. That cottage was believed to be part of the infamous Malkin Tower at Roughlee where the Pendle Witches met to conduct their dark satanic rituals. Some believe that the cat sacrifice was used to ward off evil spirits, others believe that it was used as part of a ritual to summon demonic forces.
Here are some strange beliefs concerning cats that I have taken from history:
The Mythology of Cats
The ancient Egyptians had a cat goddess called Bast. There were many temples and even a whole city, Bubastis , dedicated to her worship. In May a festival was held in her honour.
All cats in the early Egyptian culture were considered to be sacred creatures that could speak to the spirits. To kill a cat meant certain execution.
One of the old Norse gods worshipped in Scandinavia over a thousand years ago was a goddess called Freya, ruler of fertility and death. Beautiful and generous, she was closely associated with cats and her chariot was drawn by them.
Certain Australian Aborigines have the wild cat as a totem animal that they believe represents the spirit of their tribe.
The Chinese traditionally believe the cat to be a creature of the night, an animal of darkness. In terms of Yin and Yang, the two poles of the life force, cats came under the heading of Yin, the dark and passive aspect.
In the Middle Ages, many people believed in witchcraft. Those accused were usually women, and their pet cats were said to be their familiar spirits. Especially black cats were believed to be the host to demons or devils that controlled the witch.
Under torture, some accused witches even claimed to be able to change themselves into cats and walk the night.
In 1718, a William Montgomery of Caithness, northeast Scotland , reported being attacked by witches who had changed themselves into cats. One moonless night, his story went, he woke to hear the cries of a pack of cats outside his home. When he went to investigate, a number of these tried to scratch him. Picking up an axe which happened to be lying nearby, he defended himself, killing two of the cats and injuring others.
The next day two old ladies from his village were found dead in their beds, and another had a wound in her leg which she refused to explain. William Montgomery asserted that these were witches who had turned into cats to attack him.
Cat superstitions
Black cats are, in many parts of the world, including Great Britain , thought to be lucky. However, in some other European countries and in the USA , black cats are considered bad omens.
You have probably heard it said that it is lucky to have a black cat cross your path. Well, it is not so simple. There is a belief that this is lucky only if the cat crosses from right to left. If it crossed from left to right, or halts and turns back half way, then bad luck is believed to follow.
In the USA , a white cat is thought to be lucky, but in Great Britain such creatures are considered bad news.
In many parts of the world, the behavior of cats is used to foretell the weather. When cats chase around in a hurry, dashing here and there, bad weather is supposed to be on the way. And when a cat is seen washing its ears, a storm is due. Some say that when a cat eats grass rain is imminent.
In China , it was believed that when the household cat rubs its face with its face with its paw, visitors are coming.
One strange belief about cats is that they can sense death approaching. Some believe that cats will not stay in a house that has death within. If there is illness in the house and the cat leaves and will not return, the sick person will surely die, they say.
Sailors at sea believe that ship’s cats are very lucky, though they never speak their names. If a ship’s cat falls overboard, it is believed that a violent storm is certain.
In the theatre, actors dread seeing a cat run across the stage. It is supposed to bring great misfortune to the performance.
Miners in the coal fields will not pronounce the word ‘cat’ while working underground.
In the tin mines of Cornwall , miners believe that if a cat is found down a pit, then tragedy must follow.
One old tradition is that if the family cat sneezes on a bride on her wedding day, she is certain to have a happy married life.
But cat sneezes are not always lucky. If a cat sneezes three times, then, according to tradition, all the members of the household will soon catch colds.
Cat cures
Often cats have been thought to have psychic healing powers.
An ancient cure for warts was three drops of blood taken from a cat and rubbed into the warts surface.
Another cure for warts was rubbing them with a tortoiseshell cat’s tail, though this was supposed to work only in the month of May.
Stroking with a black cat’s tail, on the other hand, was recommended for a sore eye.
Needless to say, such cures do not work at all.
Some people held that washing a sick person and then throwing the bath water over a cat transferred the illness to the cat. The poor creature must then be chased out of the house, if it hadn’t already run off in a huff.
Cat history
In the tenth century, Wales was ruled by King Hywel. Recognising the worth of cats as catchers and killers of mice, he made a law that no one may hurt or kill a cat on the pain of severe punishment. He was known as Hywel the Good, especially among cat lovers.
The pantomime story of Dick Whittington’s cat is based on fact. Whittington, three times Lord Mayor of London , did by all accounts own a black cat. And it is evident that it brought him great good luck.
The Polish-born Queen Marie of France, wife of Louis XV, made an order that cats were to have the freedom of the capital city of Paris . All French people were warned never to injure a cat, or else!
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