Black Cat Enchantment

October is my favorite month.  The weather looks like it is begging fall to come out and play and yet it looks back over its shoulder at summer as it scampers away with a sigh of sadness.  It is a time of hope to me and I welcome the change it promises to bring;  like gifts for Christmas. October is also the home of a favorite Holiday for me, Halloween and all the glorious themes that we associate with  Hallows' eve.  

Black Cats. 

I have a black cat. His name is Goblin and he came to live with me in October of 2002. I call him my House Panther and he has thumbs.  I did not choose him, he was meant for me. I was on my way to a clients and when I got there they were all outside in the boatyard chasing a mother cat and her three kittens to take them to a Shelter.  I offered to take one home and when they asked which one I said let GOD choose.  So the first kitten they captured was my little black one.  They had not caught any others before I left so he came with me. 

Black Cats 

More male cats are black than female cats.  Most black cats have golden eyes.

                                                              Bombay by Josh Norem
 Goblin has green eyes. 

Folk Superstition

Black cats symbolize good luck in Japan. 

                                      Hishida Shunsō (Japanese 1874-1911) ~ Kuroki Neko (Black Cat)

 Scottish folk believe a black cat arriving at your door brings prosperity. In Great Britain a black cat walking away from you takes away luck but a black cat walking toward you brings good luck with it.  Egyptians believed they could gain favor from the goddess Bast 

if they kept a black cat in their home.  Pirates believe that if a black cat walks aboard the ship and then suddenly departs the ship will sink. 

                                                       Vintage Halloween Greeting Card

In some cultures the black cat was associated with witches and demons. The Pilgrims who were extremely superstitious and would do and say anything to protect their new found religious freedom believed that they were spies and carried  messages from Satan. This vilification of black cats dates back to an ancient religious document known as Vox in Rama, a sort of death warrant for all black cats. 

This week enjoy Black Cat Enchantment.