The number thirteen, breaking a mirror, parting on a bridge, killing a spider, spilling salt, opening an umbrella inside, and more. Many are the superstitions I learnt and heard when I was younger that are so ingrained in our consciousness that they have at last become part of our culture and folklore, like seeing an owl or even gifting someone a new pair of shoes; however, today we won’t talk about any superstition but about only one in particular. A subject very close to my heart and something I wanted to write about for a long time: Cats.
Or, more specifically, Black Cats.
A superstition is an irrational belief that unseen forces like luck or magic can influence your life, or that actions that are not linked in any way to a certain outcome may have power or an effect on it. It’s an illogical idea passed on by word of mouth from generation to generation, deeply implanted in our minds and rooted in the fear of the unknown and what we call ‘fate’. Superstitions can stem from the desire for control, but, more often than not, although they have no scientific evidence or logical reasoning and even if we don’t actually believe in them, they stem from cultural traditions. As a matter of fact, although our brain tells us that there’s no truth in them, we tend to follow these superstitions because our gut tells us to, or because (like most people believed in the past) we’re terrified of the consequences if we don’t. We’ve gone over it a few times already throughout this blog, but, dear reader, let me repeat it once again. Humans are both complex and simple creatures. Simple creatures that are easily frightened, especially when they come face to face with fate, chance, the unknown, and what they can’t understand. And for superstitions, well, dear reader… it happened exactly as you think.
In the past (centuries or even millennia ago) people sought reasons and ways they could explain the unexplainable. Ways they could save themselves, and ways that, to our contemporary mindset, may seem utterly ridiculous and sometimes even outrageous. In eras of our history shaped by mythology, pantheons of gods, religion, or the dominion of the Church, it is no surprise that superstitions took root and evolved, threading themselves through generations until they no longer merely guided our lives but ruled them with fear.
And cats? Well, black cats… Perhaps they had the worst fate of them all.
Black cats appear in the mythology and folklore of many cultures around the world. Seen in both positive and negative light, the superstitions surrounding them are perhaps the most well-known. But before we delve deeper into the origin of the terror frenzy that painted black cats in evil and darkness, let’s analyse other perspectives. Perspectives that are both very similar and very different at the same time.
The connection between cats and the divine or supernatural can be dated all the way back to ancient times, like in Ancient Egypt, of course, where cats were held in high regard, treated like royalty, and were thought to bring good luck. The ancient Egyptians thought that all cats embodied their goddess Bast (or Bastet), a deity depicted with the body of a woman and the head of a cat, and they were considered so sacred that if one was killed, the person responsible had to be punished by law.
A similar depiction can also be found in both ancient Greece and Rome, where cats were associated with the goddesses Hecate and Artemis (or Diana for the Romans). In Japan as well, these animals are strongly linked with good luck, primarily because of the iconic legend of the ‘Maneki-neko’ or ‘beckoning cat’, where, according to the tale, a daimyo (regional ruler) was saved from death by a cat that beckoned him to enter a temple.
So, if we look for them, we can actually find many examples and depictions of cats as harbingers of not misfortune but, instead, of fortune and prosperity. However, like they say in my home country, “Not all that glitters is gold,” because, regrettably, dear reader, these beautiful creatures weren’t always painted this way.
In many countries across the globe, cats—primarily black cats—were seen as carriers of hunger and poverty, omens of bad luck and death, and, of course, little devils linked to Satan and witchcraft. But why is that?
It could be because of myths and legends like the Cat Sìth, a fairy creature from Celtic mythology (although it is intertwined with Scottish folklore), said to resemble a large black cat that could stand on its hind legs with a white spot on its chest and glowing eyes, often associated with death, rituals, and witches. Or it could be because of the king of disruption and destruction, a figure and presence you could find in almost every article I wrote.
The Church.
The Church and its horrendous habit of demonising everything that crossed in its path. On June 13, 1233, Pope Gregory IX instigated the first bull of his papacy. A decree that not everybody knows, but whose contents have shaped the course of history, altering forever the way we see cats.
The Vox in Rama (or ‘Voice in Rama’, as in the city of Ramah in ancient Judah) came as a response to rumours of satanic cults in Germany by the area of the inquisitor Conrad of Marburg—a questionable individual whose methods for identifying heretics were completely unreasonable. The bull (unsurprisingly) supported Conrad and all his endeavours in eradicating the sects, and it marked the first official piece of legislation to associate cats—especially black cats—with witches, Satan, and evil. It goes into full and disturbing detail about the so-called rituals of these cults, portraying the devil as a figure half-cat and half-man. The descriptions are depraved and utterly outrageous, and, although the bull was not solely aimed at condemning cats, it unfortunately created the image of this innocent animal as a satanic symbol.
It even claims that, during these rituals, witches paid homage specifically to a black cat, and it even describes Lucifer himself as dazzlingly beautiful from the waist up, while from the waist down, after his fall from heaven, “his skin is coarse and covered in fur like a cat”.
The fact that some people still believe these lies is utterly horrifying. And having said that most pagan religions viewed cats as sacred and harbingers of good fortune, it must come to no one’s surprise that perhaps all of this was actually, once again, an attempt to eradicate and condemn pagan beliefs. An attempt that, regrettably and exactly like the Witches Trials, became one of the most successful ones in history.
So, while more and more people were being falsely accused of witchcraft, cats began being killed solely for existing. Historians like Donald W. Engels believe that the Vox in Rama acted as a death warrant for cats, and he may be very well right, for the torturing and killing of cats spread through Europe like the pest, becoming even a festival in some of those countries. Other scholars also believe that these persecutions were one of the reasons for the Bubonic Plague in Europe in the 14th century, but even though there’s no evidence for it, it certainly gives us much to think about.
Unfortunately, the hysteria around black cats did not die down, but it reached the Americas with the Puritans, where cats were considered the ‘familiars’ of witches and most people were convinced that they were used for spying, dark deeds, and communicating with the devil. By the end of the Renaissance, the belief that a black cat crossing the street was meant to bring you harm or bad luck became quite popular, and, although the Vox in Rama is never even mentioned today, black cats are still feeling its effect. They are still feared, avoided, and killed for a superstition and reputation they did nothing to earn.
Did you know that the least adopted cats are black ones?
It’s devastating, really. All for a papal bull no one even remembers.
I genuinely hope with all my heart that this awful superstition surrounding black cats will soon disappear. They don’t deserve it and never have.
In the meantime, however, let’s debunk some of these myths and set things right.
Does seeing a black cat crossing the street mean impending doom? No, of course not. A cat crossing the street only means that it wants to cross the street. I’ve encountered hundreds of black kitties trying to go across the road, and do you want to know what happened? I’ve stopped to pet them. That’s what happened.
Do cats have nine lives? No, unless you consider how incredibly agile and flexible they are. The first allusion to a cat having nine lives seems to have appeared in a 1584 book titled ‘Beware the Cat’ by William Baldwin. Considered the very first example of English fiction, in his satirical work the author expresses the idea that a witch could take the form of a cat up to nine times. However, even before that, a common belief in Scottish and Celtic folklore was that the Cat Sìdh was also a witch that could transform into a cat up to nine times. So, who knows? It could come from both of them or neither, but still, it doesn’t make it true.
Are black cats the familiars of witches? Sometimes! Witches and communities that practise magic do indeed exist out there. They could have familiars, and some of them could be black cats. It doesn’t mean, though, that these adorable creatures are linked with witchcraft. It only means that, like all the other pets, they are absolutely lovely.
Do black cats then bring bad luck? Of course not! I do believe in fate. But I do not believe in bad luck. The past may have condemned cats as omens of misfortune and death, but not anymore.
So, dear reader, if you ever see or encounter a black kitty, don’t be scared. They are just like all the other cats. They have cute button noses, adorable toe beans, stunning silky fur the colour of night, and a meow ready to melt your heart.
Like all the other cats, they are amazing. And like all the other cats, they are absolutely purr-fect.
Up, Three Black Cats by Carl Kahler (19th century)
Sources:
Black Cats and Evil Eyes: A Book of Old-Fashioned Superstitions by Chloe Rhodes (2012)
How Black Cats Became Associated With Halloween
The Eccentric Story Behind History’s Most Fabulous Cat Painting
Classical Cats: The Rise and Fall of the Sacred Cat by Donald W. Engels (1999)
The Origin of Cats’ “Nine Lives”
Superstitions About Black Cats
The fascinating history behind the popular ‘waving lucky cat’
The Library of the Unseen 
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Penny for your thoughts…