Black Cats

As a cat lover who has been owned by several black cats over the years, I confess I have a special fondness for these shiny furred beauties. At the moment I have a long haired, gray fuzz ball named Smokey and an orange tiger that has an enormous personality named Rocky.
But today want to write about the Black Cat traditions.

Black Cats as Witches’ Familiars
           It was largely during the Middle Ages when the black cat became associated with evil.

         Because cats are nocturnal and roam at night, they were believed to be supernatural servants of       witches or even witches themselves.

       Folklore has it that if a witch becomes human, her black cat will no longer live in her house.

       Some believe that black cats are witches in disguise or reincarnated.

       Still others believe that black cats are witches’ familiars (creatures that aid witches in performing their craft)

        During the Witch Hysteria when “witches” were rounded up and executed, often their pets were killed along with them because of tier association as “familiars”.

　

Different Areas of the world have different outlooks on black cats.
In Asia and the U.K.. a black cat is considered lucky.

In Yorkshire, England it may be lucky to own a black cat , but it’s unlucky if one crosses your path.

To dream of a black cat is lucky.

A funeral procession meeting up with a black cat is believed to forecast the death of another family member.

In 16^th century Italy, people believed that is someone was sick he would die if a black cat lay on his bed.And the list goes on and on, some getting very convoluted or preposterous like : If a black cat crosses your path while driving, turn your hat around (what if you aren’t wearing a hat?) backwards and mark an X on your windshield to prevent bad luck.

So before I get into any longer beliefs or rituals, I think it’s time to wrap up this post.