Black Cats - Heralds of Evil?

“[...] one of the most remarkable black cats in the world - and this is saying much; for it will be remembered that black cats are all of them witches.”

(Edgar Allan Poe, Instinct vs. Reason)

All throughout history, cats have thrilled human imagination. No doubt, they are enigmatic beings. Black cats are especially ominous and often associated with the supernatural. This probably started in Old Egypt, but were black cats a bad omen there?

No, they weren't. All cats were highly regarded by the Egyptians, even black ones. They also held a black cat crossing your path as a particularly good sign. It may be related to that black, as a colour, symbolised positive things. The more modern symbolism holds that evil powers are black, literally or symbolically. In ancient Egypt the view of this colour was entirely different. Black [Egyptian "kem"] symbolised birth and fertility. The Nile's regular inundations left black silt, crucial for agriculture, it was the source of life for Egypt; and it was associated with the god Osiris, the black one, who was killed by Seth and returned to life by his own wife and sister Isis; and with the underworld, which every night gave birth to the sun. Black heralded something good; it was life.

Even later in history, one can find examples of black cats considered something good. As late as in the 17th century, the English King Charles I had a dearly loved black cat. When it died, he complained that his good luck had left him. The next day he was arrested, accused of high treason, later followed by a death sentence and beheading. Still today, a black cat is associated with good luck in England. So it is in most of Asia.

In Southern France, there is a tradition of the “matagot”, black cats viewed as magician cats, sometimes as money cats. If a “matagot” is treated with respect, the person doing so will be rewarded. Sometimes with wealth.

The chariot of Freya, the old Norse goddess of fertility and beauty, was drawn by two black cats. To be favoured by Freya with a good harvest, farmers set bowls of milk on their fields to feed her cats.

Moreover, in most Asian cultures, a black cat is seen as a good omen.

The view of black cats as evil can be traced to parts of Medieval Europe. They were seen as companions of witches, or even witches in the shape of black cats. When a black cat crossed your path, it was a very bad omen. It was a creature of the devil. This is the view that still prevails as a modern superstition in many countries.

In Celtic mythology and folklore, there is a black cat with a white spot on its chest. It is called Cat Sith, or Cat Sidhe. Legends about this cat occur in Ireland, and, above all, in Scotland. Sometimes it is said that it is a fairy (the name means fairy cat), other times it is seen as a witch that can change shape to a cat nine times. In the latter case, the witch, after the ninth transformation, would remain a cat forever.

In Scotland they believed that Cat Sith could steal the soul of a dead individual. This could be done only before the burial, so people kept watch over a dead corpse the time from the death to the burial. During these watches (Feille Fadalach), they tried to distract the interest of Cat Sith by playing music or games in another room. In the room of the corpse, however, there should be nothing that could attract the attention of Cat Sith, especially not fire. Through its warmth, it was believed that it could attract the cat.

There is a ceremony, called Taghaim, associated with Cat Sith. (Allegedly it was practised by Aleister Crowley.) The participants should burn bodies of cats for four days and four nights. The demonic Cat Sith would then turn up and grant any wish to the participants.

There is also the folk tale of The King of the Cats. It comes in different versions and has been used as theme by many authors. Although it is often described as English, it is possible that it stems from the Scottish Highlands.

The common theme of the story is about a man seeing eight black cats (sometimes with a white spot on the chest) holding a royal funeral and saying (or chanting) “the King of the Cats is dead”. Then, suddenly, his own cat jumps up and says, “Then I am the King of the cats!”, whereupon it disappears.

In the stories there are various added details, or versions where the man hear voices instead of seeing the funeral procession, and so on, but this is the basics.

Folklore also provides an explanation to why so many black cats have a white spot on the chest. It would be because superstitious people would have burnt, drowned, and in various ways killed so many black cats that they developed the white spot to hide the fact that they were black. A cat's association with witches was dangerous during the age of fanatical witch-phobia in Europe and America, roughly during the late 15th and the 16th century.

Finally, it can be interesting to know that solidly black cats probably are genetically healthier than other cats. It is due to their high level of melanin, the pigment colouring most mammals (including humans). Interestingly, studies have shown that the mutation causing the black fur affects the same genes as those causing HIV resistance in humans! It is still unproven, but it might be that a black cat has extra resistance to microbes in general.

It has also been shown that darker felines are more prone to cause allergic reactions in humans than lighter coloured cats. So, if you have an allergy and still absolutely want a cat, choose one that is light in colour - the lighter, the better.

The pigmentation is also associated with yellow eyes, rather than greenish. Black cats almost invariably have yellow eyes.

(This article is based on material previously published in Meriondho Leo)

Copyright © 2019, 2020 Meleonymica/Mictorrani. All Rights Reserved.

All my articles about Cats can be found here, and about Folklore here.

Interested in history, legends and myths, join my community History, Myths, Legends & Mysteries (be45).

You find all my writings on Read.Cash, sorted by topic, here.