For centuries, the black cat has been a powerful symbol, representing a range of topics from witchcraft, Halloween, and they’ve even been used in advertising. The black cat’s connotation has often been negative, commonly seen as signs of bad luck in many cultures, and their association with witchcraft has fated them to be a permanent icon for Halloween and all things spooky.
The history of the black cat as an evil symbol originates in ancient Babylonian and Hebrew mythology, which often portrayed them coiled up like another symbol of evil, the serpent. Is it any wonder, then, that the black cat should be associated with witchcraft as well? The black cat was once thought of as a familiar of witches and some cultures believed that witches could change into cats. Some believed that witches could make this witch to cat transformation nine times, which may be the reason cats are still said to have nine lives. The witch hunts of the 17th century claimed more than the lives of the witches, but black cats as well who burned at the stake alongside their owners. Greek mythology also offers ancient evidence of the black cat’s evil. In Greek mythology a woman named Galenthias was changed into a cat and became a priestess at the temple of Hecate, the “Dark Mother.” Hecate was also known as the Mother of Witchcraft.
Ignorance breeds superstition, and the superstition surrounding the black cat is nearly as rampant as the feral stray cat population of today. There are folk tales about black cats all around the world. The Celtic people believed the black cat was a reincarnated being capable of divining the future. Germans of the Middle Ages believed that a black cat was an omen for death if it jumped on the bed of an ill person. The Normans thought that if a black cat crossed your path in the moonlight, you were destined to die in an epidemic. The Chinese believed that black cats could foretell poverty and sickness. In Finland, the black cat was thought to carry dead souls to the next world. In India, to liberate a reincarnated soul, a black cat was thrown into a furnace.
According to an article on the website best-cat-art.com, Pope Gregory IX even went so far as to declare cats (of any color) to be diabolical creatures, and cat owners were put to death on suspicion of being witches. Maybe Pope Greg the 9th was a dog person or allergic to cat dander but his declaration spelled doom for many Roman felines. Ironically now Rome is affectionately known as a city sanctuary for stray cats, taken care of by generous humans. These stray cats even have their own tourist calendar and those cats who live near the Protestant Cemetery even have their own website. Cats are lucky that Roman attitudes have come full circle since the days of Gregory IX.
Not all history of the black cat is bad. Both in Britain and Scotland the black cat is a sign of good luck if it crosses your path. And some myths say that dreaming of a black cat will bring good luck, possibly even prosperity if the cat ends up on your front porch.
With so many tales of both good and evil connotations, the black cat has an very marketable image claimed by advertisers and movements. Since the 1880s, the Anarchist movement has been associated with the color black and more specifically, the black cat due to a logo designed by Robert Chaplin, who designed it as a symbol of sabotage in regards to workers rights.
In 1843, the horror writer Edgar Allen Poe wrote a story entitled “The Black Cat” about a man who kills his wife, only to be caught when his black cat, who he entombed with his dead wife, notifies police by wailing behind the basement wall.
In the 1930’s the Wiccan religion adopted as their symbol the black cat. Since Wiccan is a religion of witchcraft (although not the same type of witchcraft associated with Halloween) it’s fitting that the black cat should represent them.
However you view the black cat and the powers it may or may not possess, one thing is certain. Although we consider ourselves living in a time of reason, superstition and folklore still drive some inner, irrational fears, especially around Halloween. Perhaps this is why black cats are less likely to be adopted from humane societies and why we tend to fear the color black in general, associating it with evil or the unknown. Until we can open our eyes to the neutrality and irrelevance of all colors, we will not be much unlike Pope Gregory IX with his silly declarations founded in ignorance and fear. If, this Halloween, a black cat crosses your path, don’t fear the worst. Instead, give him directions to your front porch.
