The number of countries celebrating this day increases every year. Lovers of animals say that black cats particularly have to be defended against human superstitions, as they continue to be exterminated because they allegedly cause bad luck. Defenders of animal rights point out that these animals require special care during the celebrations of the Halloween because cases of their ritual slaughtering are still reported.
Cat superstitions
‘My mother always told me that when a cat will cross your path in the morning, the whole day will be bad,’ says Krzysztof, a Wroclaw taxi driver. ‘That’s why, when such a beast runs across the road in front of my car, I pull in and wait until another car overtakes me and, so to say, takes this bad luck away,’ he adds with a sour smile. And there are lots of superstitions associated with the black cat. It is said, for instance, that when black cats wash behind their ears, rain is on the way. And we should also expect rain when a cat’s eyelids become larger. If a black cat sits down on a tomb, this means that the person buried there was possessed by evil forces after death. Fortunately, not all of these superstitions are ominous – there are also favourable prophecies. For instance, girls should be glad about the presence of a black cat in their homes because this will earn them popularity with boys. An unknown black cat sitting on the porch of the house means the good luck and prosperity of its owners, and three black cats seen at one time are a harbinger of success.
Egyptian origins
The cult of cats dates back as early as ancient Egypt. The Egyptians regarded these beautiful animals as divine creatures accompanying Bastet – a goddess with the head of a female cat. Cats were also worshipped because they were believed to possess strong spiritual powers. Until today, archeologists have discovered mummified corpses of these animals – they were usually buried in main chambers together with pharaohs.
Witch’s companion
In subsequent times, cats began to be associated with evil powers and black magic. In Vikings’ beliefs, gods were divided into two groups: the Aesir and the Vanir. The former were responsible for mundane matters, whereas the latter took care of the pleasures and charms of life. One of the Vanir was Freya – a goddess of wealth and fertility, who travelled in a chariot drawn by two black cats. When the times of Christianisation began, the Church condemned Freya for licentiousness, arousing fatal passion and practicing sorcery. At that time, black cats began to be regarded as witches’ servants and companions.
Devil's pet
The contemporary bad reputation of black cats and the tendency to disseminate it are mainly the consequences of witch hunt in the Middle Ages, which took its toll both in Europe and in America. Cats were believed to have supernatural powers and the ability to notice even smallest movements, so they were considered to be able to observe the world of ghosts and demons. And, because black cats are completely invisible at night, it was also believed that a witch possessing such an animal could turn into it to bring harm to people under the cover of nightfall.
Famous black furs
One of the most famous black cats is probably Rademenes. This black cat from the cult Polish TV series ‘7 życzeń’ [Seven Wishes] quickly became famous not only among young viewers. Bonifacy from the Polish cartoon ‘Przygody kota Filemona’ (The Adventures of Filemon the Cat) is a somewhat less friendly character, but he definitely possesses all qualities of a cynical tomcat. As the older companion of Filemon, Bonifacy tried to convey the most important wisdom of life to him: the best way is to oversleep everything. Behemoth, a cat from ‘The Master and Margarita’ by Bulgakov, is a more gloomy yet largely famous character. It is a real demon assuming the shape of a black cat or a man with a cat’s face. As a cat, he surprises average Moscow inhabitants with his unusual tricks, e.g., when he is buying a ticket, talking to a tram driver, drinking vodka and chasing it with pickled mushrooms, playing chess and beheading Bengalsky – the master of ceremonies at the Variety Theatre. Another famous cat character is Salem from the sitcom ‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch’. This talking tomcat with a perverse name loves long telephone conversation. He usually caused much trouble to his female caretaker, but he always managed to land on its four paws. When talking about famous TV black cats, we must mention also Luna from the popular anime series ‘Sailor Moon’.
A cat is just a cat
For lovers of cats, it does not matter whether a cat is black, white or brown. A black cat murmurs just like any other cat, oversleeps the most part of his life in the same way and is equally crazy about nepeta, so associating them with bad luck and misery is simply unjust and unfair.
