BLACK CATS AND DARK SPIRITS
AND LINGERING SUPERSTITIONS? (Trigger Warning regarding historic treatment of cats and humans below)
In an earlier post I wrote about WHITE CATS AND BRIGHT EYES. Today I’ll look into the dark and tragic history of black cats.
Black cats have been both worshipped and feared since time immemorial. Like white cats in mythology they could assume the shape of human deities. Their shape shifting abilities were often attributed to the changing phases of the moon. At times their black color linked them to the dark side of the moon and the moon gods, for good or evil.
Black cats might receive the most popular cat award for being the subject of mythos and legends; as well as the victim of social unrest. So many powers have been assigned to them that whole books have been written about mythologies of their origin, and their place in human cultures. In some societies, their assumed powers healed humans. With their ability to see well in the dark, and being the color of a moonless night, they were admired, even worshipped, for their hunting prowess.
When did people begin to regard cat colors as significant to their behavior, their connections to the spirit world, their magical effect on humans?
As human communities in Europe became more crowded, there was a greater opportunity for the population of rats to grow and prosper, even more so when trade with the Far East opened up. Rats followed the shipments of grain and other foods, riding uninvited on ships bound for Europe. The fat and happy rats dispersed upon reaching port. Cats naturally killed and fed upon them. I do not know how successful cats were in keeping the rat population under control during the so-called dark and middle ages.
What did happen was a growing suspicion among humans that witches were the cause of the plague: The Bubonic Plague: named for the bubos, or swellings, that covered the skin of those infected. The plague germ was carried by the bit of a flea, a flea riding on the back of the black rat: Rattus rattus.
For hundreds of years during the European Medieval Period, thousands of mostly poor girls and women were accused of poisoning the milk from cows, of causing still births and other various ailments to vex their neighbors. With a simple glance from a suspected witch, a victim might run to the local priest or sheriff with a frantic accusation against the woman. If the single woman owned land, she was even more of a suspect.
An exception to this hysteria can be seen in Medieval Wales. Wise women, healers and soothsayers were more admired than feared. Such a person often hung a broomstick above their doorway. Among the Welsh, only a handful of women or men were accused of, let alone punished for, practicing witchcraft.
However, cats, especially black cats, became known as the witch’s familiar throughout most of Britain and Europe. When accused and convicted women were burned at the stake, their cats were often thrown into the pyre as well. Some powerful religious leaders decreed that black cats were actually the devil personified, thus it seemed necessary to hold special events where caged cats were slowly roasted to death, their howls indicating the destruction of the evil within. Dark Spirits surely reigned for hundreds of years as fearful or power-hungry humans allowed this to happen. I’m guessing the rats were ecstatic as the numbers of their common enemy decreased.
The recognized breed of truly black cat today is the Bombay cat, bred from an American domestic shorthair and a Burmese. There are several other breeds and types of cat that are mostly black.
Today, black cats may sometimes be at a disadvantage when humans shop for a cat. Some animal shelters report that more black cats are euthanized than cats of other colors. Some statistics indicate that black cats may be harder to be chosen for adoption. Why?
You can find many sites with statistics on rescued black cat popularity. The reasons black cats may be less desirable to humans seeking a pet could possibly be traced to their history of persecution during the Middle Ages. Our society abounds with images of “scary” black cats, which encourages the fear some people still harbor that these cats exhibit supernatural powers. Obviously, Halloween symbols of the witch and her black cat persist every October in many countries.
The long-lived family lineage displayed in Burley, Hampshire, England, has obviously been protected by a black cat!
As I read through these historic accounts, I am fascinated by the connection between centuries’ old superstitions and today’s “tribal” fears. Cats could be accused of helping a woman sour the milk of her neighbors’ cow. Yet no witnesses ever saw such a cat hovering over the cow, although cats did love to lap up the milk spills. No one, that I know of, witnessed a woman, or a man, flying into a neighbor’s house to sicken a child, or to cause a stillbirth, the black cat in their arms, its amber eyes winking to complete the spell.
More often, the origins of superstitions of folks long ago probably sprang from a good storyteller, an imaginative child or group of children. (Salem, Massachusetts, mainly seventeenth century). Powerful groups have been known to foster a belief to further their own influence. Some of these legends might be viewed as the original and persistent human conspiracy theories.
Most of the riddles, poems and stories about cats that have survived the centuries were probably meant to entertain, to frighten or to control others. Think of Little Red Riding Hood. And yet, strangely, with the witch and cat burnings of medieval times long past, even today a hysteria can take over a social group. History is a great teacher. History can show us where the Dark Spirits lurked.
From being placed on a sacred pedestal thousands of years ago, to being thrown into the fire to perish with their loving mistress or master, cats have seen all sides of human nature. Even so, they still accept us!
Humans throughout history have had little to rely on in the way of scientific research. But they had intelligent brains and five senses. And humans, supposedly, are the ones who can examine observed and measurable data, who can prevent the Dark Spirits of fear, ignorance and hysteria from destroying their ability to reason.
Will your next pet be a sweet, sleek black cat?
To all my many BRAND NEW SUBSCRIBERS and NEW FRIENDS from my first post: THANK YOU! I’m so grateful to learn from your comments and recommendations that you are enjoying my site. Most Fridays throughout the summer and beyond I will post a sidebar article like the one above.
Previous chapters of FELINE ONLINE AND THE CATS OF ANCIENT EGYPT are freely available on this site. Watch for today’s chapter:
The Haunted Greenhouse: Something or someone is lurking in Amanda’s Victorian greenhouse. With the tea party ladies due within hours, ten-year-old Emily is close to solving the mystery of why birds keep appearing on her neighbor’s computer screen.
CREDITS: Cover design and illustrations by Tamara Clark: tamaraclark.com
Big thank you to these photographers:
Top black cat photo: Julia Kadel: Unsplash.com
Second black cat photo: Raquel Pedrotti: Unsplash.com
Family history sign posted in store in Burley, Hampshire, England. Photo: Elyse Cregar
Third black cat photo: Janan Lagerwall: Unsplash.com
Sorting through the many available websites about cats is both fun and often daunting. These are just a few of the sites you might find of interest:
The Truth About Black Cats https://www.bcarl.net/post/the-truth-about-black-cats
Celebrate the Black Cat/Cat Care Society
Black Cats Struggle to find Homes:
Books referenced:
Dale-Green, P. (1963). Cult of the Cat. New York: Weathervane Books.
Howey, M. O. (1993). The Cat in Magic. London: Bracken Books.
Pintera, A. (1988). Cats: Hamlyn Colour Guides. Twikenham, Middlesex, England and Artia, Prague: Hamlyn.
My black cat (also Loki) is already a cherished family member, together with his black and white brother, Thor.
Loki seems to think *I* possess non-human powers, like seeing in the dark. 8 years on and he still expects that I will step over him in the dark. I can’t even count how many times I have told his trodden on self that I can’t see in the dark!!!
I adore my beautiful black cat! I love her very much. I was looking for a cat to adopt from the Humane Society, when I learned that there's still prejudice against black cats. I told the volunteer, I only want a black cat then, and I want the one that's been in the system the longest.
I honestly couldn't be happier. She's just a wonderful companion.