Day 16, and we are halfway to Halloween!

“Black cats and witches are an iconic Halloween pair, thanks to their long history dating back to ancient times. Long before trick-or-treaters and buckets full of candy, cats were often depicted as the supernatural companions of witches. For example, in Norse mythology, as Encyclopedia Brittanica explains, the goddess Freyja rode a chariot pulled by magical cats. Freyja was in charge of death and the afterlife and known for practicing witchcraft.

 
Witches and cats were also famously entwined in the European witch trials of the Middle Ages and those in Salem, Massachusetts. Heretics suspected of witchcraft were often identified by the fact that they owned a cat — or other animal — that was believed to do the witch’s bidding. Some even believed that cats were actually witches in disguise.

Why is it that witches were supposedly fond of cats and not cows or rabbits? The truth is that witches were believed to have “familiars,” or animal companions, of all kinds. Cats and dogs were the most common familiars, but many small animals, including toads or mice, were also used by those practicing witchcraft. Cats were more often associated with evil than other animals because of their nocturnal and independent nature.”*

Ancient Egyptians viewed black cats as divine and believed that gods lived within them. In certain parts of 19th century Europe, black cat sightings were actually considered good omens. The Irish believed that a black cat on your porch was good luck, and in Japan black cats are similarly revered as symbols of prosperity.**

So keep this little black cat close to you, and believe they bring luck not just during Halloween season, but every day of the year.