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Cats have always been associated with Witches and black magic, especially since the middle ages. It is at this period in history from around 1400 onwards, that the Christian church in Europe began a hunting campaign against cats and witches; they were slaughtered in masses up to the point of extinction.

Many innocent men and women were accused by the church of witchcraft just for owning a cat, you could even be tortured for helping a sick or injured cat Elderly women living alone owning cats were often reported by their neighbors of being witches, simply because they had a cat!

The aloofness and independent nature of cats and the fact that they traveled at night simply added fuel to the fire. The persecution of cats lasted for 400 years. Cats have always been regarded as mysterious creatures with supernatural powers


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STABB

As we already know that cats were worshipped as Gods in Egypt.

What is everyone elses takes on cats and magic?

Cats are naturally a powerful being, so this does make sense

In books they are always acciateted with each other, yet cats are powerful go betweens with magic and current world. I love cats, not for this yet they seem more untune to our feelings .

Cats are not just beautiful,graceful and completely independent. But also like most animals they can sense and tell when somethings up,which some times we humans can not.

I'd take a dog over a cat for companionship and magic work any day. My cats tend to distract me while I'm meditating - they do the same thing when I'm reading.

cats are used in witchcraft because the cats heightens and focus the witches power

to me a cat is better for magic but i love cats no matter what they always seem to know when u are upset and they tend to cuddle and protect you when you are down or sick.yes i know some dogs do this also. but to me i believe cats have more heighten senses than dogs do.

they were also said to be the guardians of the underworld. which probably did not help them at all.

i loved my cats, i had 2 one was all black, i rescued her from a shelt. the other one i can only describe as a brendel type marking, i rescued her from the streets...anyway the black one dieda couple years ago from heart attack and the other went outside during a huricane....but i had strong conection with both and they enhanced my meditation and focus. also they helped with keeping negativeenergies out of my house.

Cats have a natural tie in to the other side. They sense things that we can't.

I think that all cats are great animals. Form the big jungle cats to the small domesticated cats. I think it is because cats are so mysterious in how they think that they have been used in and associated magic. I don’t think that cat’s have any more or less power than other living creature though. I like them I just don’t think they are magic.

Yes, but other animals like to participate in circle/majgik too. Not just Cats

I agree with Witchy1. Cats are Very independant and they are one of the most graceful animals I have ever seen.

I am aware that cats make great familiars but in all my years I have never owned one. I have only had normal cats.

As someone said above it's the independance of cats which caused alot of the issue, that and superstitions like black cats causing bad luck.

I love cats, and believe they have a great personal power that they share with their"masters." I am very aware of cat's in history. I have a books that you may like to find, and read. It is titled "Your Magical Cat." It has all the history and lore of the cat.

i totally agree with Tzaddi
as far as the magick goes, i feel that cats might have been on a different level of some kind its hard for me to exsplain, but its like vampires past tence to todays vampire lifestyles

IMO, it would be up to the individual on which animal is the best familiar for them. Cats are and always have been mystics. From Ancient Egypt to the Orient, cats have always been protectors from "evil" spirits.

Dogs on the other hand, were usually ment to be guardians of thrones of power, temples and domains. Such as the cerberus, or the sphinx. You may consider the sphinx to be feline, but I may contest the point.

Either way, as I have stated, IMO...It would be the choice of the individual.

"CATS RULE!!"

Yes, cats are considered to have the ability to see across to the otherworld. Did you ever see a cat stare intently at something that apparently wasn't there? I see that all the time.

Cats also serve as familiars - they aren't exactly 'magic webcams" but can report back to the witch certain feelings, energies, emotions, happenings from a remote place depending on the cat's and witche's abiities.

As is perhaps to be expected of an animal associated with the betrayer of Christ, the cats only enduring place in christianity is a negative one, because Cats had long been connected with Pagan cults, they began to fall under the suspicion as the church grew more powerful. In 962 in the French town of Metz as part of Lent hundreds of cats were burned to death. The cats were thought to be witches, a belief that may have come about due to a kind hearted official substituted a cat for a woman who was sentenced to be burnt at the stake. As the flames swept up, the cat jumped out of the bag in which it had been hidden and the citizens who were stood nearby assumed that the convicted witch had merely changed her form in order to escape, therefore all cats were suspect.



The cat playing a role in the rites of black magic.

God fearing christians believed cats were the messenger of the devil, all cats were looked on in suspicion, cat owners as well, church prosecutors looked for birthmarks shaped like cats paws, which were considered proof of being in leauge with the devil.

At the coronation of queen Elizabeth in 1558 live cats were stuffed into a wicker effigy of the pope then burned. In Picardy, Burgundy, Vosges, Alsace, and many other places cats were ritually burned on special occasions or for no occasion at all.Because cats were considered to be the devils representative, killing them was a holy duty.

On St. Johns eve all over France, well into the 19th Century, cats were burned on bonfires, bagsor baskets of live cats were suspended over the flames, whilst town people drowned out their pitiful cries by singing hymns, the ashes from the fire were thought to bring good luck, and people greedily gathered them when the coals had cooled.


http://www.literary-cat.cwc.net/Witchcraft_3.htm

Cat are lucky as their eyes reflect the moon's magical silvery light. The Black Cat has long been associated with the moon's magical power. Which has fascinated us over the centuries. So I feel that's one reason cats are associated with witchcraft.

The cat has always been considered a Moon creature, and sacred to such Goddesses as Isis, Bast, Artemis, Diana, and Freyja. When Diana became known as Queen of Witches in the Middle Ages, the cat was associated with Witchcraft and Goddess worship.

Followers of the goddess Diana also considered the cat sacred because she once assumed the form of a cat, and cats were under her special protection. In Scandanavia, Freya's chariot was drawn by cats. The Celtic goddess Ceridwen was also attended by white cats, who carried out her orders on earth.
It is generally assumed today that witches' familiars were (and are) always cats. However, during the Burning Times any small animal that was kept in the house was suspect, and records show that accused witches were forced to confess having familiar spirits in the form of cats, rats, mice, dogs, weasels and toads. It was also firmly believed that witches could take the shape of cats, and accusers sometimes claimed that they were followed or tormented by witches in the shape of cats.Witches regard their cat familiars as founts of wisdom and occult secrets. Cats can lead their mistresses in dreams to spiritual knowledge. They can foretell the future, predict the weather, and bless magickal endeavors, and represent the soul of magick, secrecy, and freedom.

I don't think that cats have any true power or connection to witches, even though they have been associated with witchcraft over the centuries. I believe cats are just good pets and that the people who accused others of witchcraft just used as an excuse they made up because they no other logical proof. Besides I'm not a witch, I have a cat. I love my Toby. ^_^

I think all animals, not just cats, can "feel" things that humans can't. I also think that the power any animal has is magnified by what the owner expects the animal to have.

Cats not only make the best familiars due to their being attuned to the other side but also because they can and often attach themselves to their humans. They are natural empaths, which also allows them to become and stay attached to the people that they chose as theirs.

Hmm, I dont know, cant say that I have high opinnion of these mamals, called Cats.

It seems to me more of a show off, to own a cat, a somekind of superstition.

But yeah, they seem pleasant on touch, but on the other hand, they are completly dissloyal, no matter what who says, Cats sticks to you, only when it suits them.

Aww Cats, I love cats.... They are such powerful beings in there own right, they can sense and see so much in spirits and the masters they associate with, I have several, and have always had a cat with me.

I am glad everyone enjoyed this post, I was just more or less curious as to see if who else had a familiar as a cat or who used something else.

I know I certainly am.
Wonder if the link between witchcraft and cats have anything to do with frequencies they generate.

Cats are just like any other creature, but are mostly the most common fimiliar for witches, along with crows, ravens and WAY many others!

I am not 100% certain, but I like to believe that cats can fend off evil spirits. I've always had cats around me and I wonder if they are the reasons I am not afflicted by the paranormal which others so often claim to experience.

I find it ironic that Christians believed cats were evil. They then went on massive hunts to destroy and kill them. Then the black plague broke out and was spread mainly by rats, which could have been controled by cats.

cats rule dogs drewl
cats have there history as we all know
and if there are histerians out there some where hideing im sure there cat/cats arre right there as well

cat's have always been somewhere in magic..they are a very powerful animal..and they have an insight that just goes with the lifestyle.

Just to play the Devils Advocate *chuckles to himself* - I've noticed alot of people writing that cats are magically powerful but not really offering an answer as to why. I'm half wondering if the reasoning behind having a cat when one is "into" the occult is just because (as was said above) it goes with the lifestyle.

Any animal can help with focusing if you are petting them in a rote manner. Continuous soothing actions can do that.
All animals have a 6th sense about things.
I do not think cats have anything overly special in the arena of magic, nothing other than tradition.

Perhaps WB,but I think it is more to it than that.to me ,there seems to be an original reason why they were thought of as powerful.
I think that reason would have to do with vibrations they can generate and detect.
There are many things that were believed majikal at one time that are now proven by plain ole science.However,there is that one element..the breath of life.Sound perhaps?
I think so.
As far as will,I believe too that if one can translate their will into certain wavelengths etc.....well,there you have it.Majick?
Hehe .

Oceanne - would the purring sound resonate at a decibel concurrent with the same ones which help lull us into a deeper meditation?

I would say so.hey seem to purr between 24 hz and 150hz.This range,between 20 to 50(50 being the dominant harmonic) is whats known as the anabolic range.

That is what puts them into the healing range.Im tyhinking that meditation ranges are from..I want to say 7 or 8hz up to maybe 13. And while it isnt in the normal purr range,it could still possible they produce something in that range.

But in honesty,I believe good meditation is matching range with the Earths mag field.But this isnt the right thread,I'll put it over in the nature of majick.

Ok,there is one link over there.I'll put it here too.
http://www-spof.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/wms1.html

does anyone think that cats have a special ability ? in anyways

I think cats natural independence and the fact that they choose you rather than you choosing them (if that is understandable), helps create a bit of a mystery around them. That and their bigger relatives have always filled the human mind and heart with admiration.

So in saying that I think some of the mystery in felines contributes to the ideal that they are magical.

A strange black cat on your porch brings prosperity. - Scottish superstition
A cat sneezing is a good omen for everyone who hears it. - Italian superstition . It is bad luck to see a white cat at night. - American superstition
Dreaming of white cat means good luck. - American superstition
When you see a one-eyed cat, spit on your thumb, stamp it in the palm of your hand, and make a wish. The wish will come true. - American superstition
If a cat washes behind its ears, it will rain. - English superstition
A cat sleeping with all four paws tucked under means cold weather ahead. - English superstition
English schoolchildren believe seeing a white cat on the way to school is sure to bring trouble. To avert bad luck, they must either spit, or turn around completely and make the sign of the cross.
A black cat crossing one's path by moonlight means death in an epidemic. - Irish superstition
It is bad luck to cross a stream carrying a cat. - French superstition
A cat on top of a tombstone meant certainly that the soul of the departed buried was possessed by the devil. Two cats seen fighting near a dying person, or on the grave shortly after a funeral, are really the Devil and an Angel fighting for possession of the soul. - Old English superstitions
To see a white cat on the road is lucky. - American superstition
To kill a cat brings seventeen years of bad luck. - Irish superstition
If cats desert a house, illness will always reign there. - English superstition
In Normandy, seeing a tortoiseshell for tells death by accident.
In the Netherlands, cats were not allowed in rooms where private family discussions were going on. The Dutch believed that cats would definitely spread gossips around the town.
When moving to a new home, always put the cat through the window instead of the door, so that it will not leave. - American superstition
In the early 16th century, a visitor to an English home would always kiss the family cat.
When the pupil of a cat's eye broadens, there will be rain. - Welsh superstition
In 16th century Italy, it was believed that if a black cat lay on the bed of a sick man, he would die. But there's also a belief that a cat will not remain in the house where someone is about to die. Therefore, if the family cat refuses to stay indoors, this is regarded as a very bad luck

Take a look at my profile to see a picture of my baby Jack. He is a rescue cat, a friend of mine brought him to me with his eye hanging out of his head and he's been with me ever since. I'm not sure what I think about familiars but I do feel that he knows what I am thinking. I do know that I keep a close watch after him at Halloween because I've heard about Black Cats disappearing on Halloween. He is a bit of a Psycho, don't ever try to take mouse away that he has caught!

I always felt cats make good familiars. Their natual hunter/ guardian image and the egyptian myths add to their mystic. I will alway love and enjoy cats. I even carry a small statue of Bast on my key chain (goodluck).

Dont they come from the whole egypt thing?

yes cats are higly assosiated with Egypt as one of my main Goddesses that I work with is Bast, she is the cat Goddess protector of women and children. Cats were worshipped as Gods and if you were to kill a cat, death was the punishment.

I didnt know cats were being slaghterd cause of witch craft very intressting, cats and dogs can hear and sence stuff us humans cant.

Ive heard of cats being worshoped in egypt but never knew about the slaying of them over witch craft.

Yes they were ... I think cat I think Egypt and Witchcraft black cat as a familiar

i understand there have always been stories on cats though out time, and how some places worship them, did you know in napel the most of them hate cats . didnt know that till a few of my friends from there came over . i know i have always had one from birth. sorry not much real juicy info to reply with , but i say it goes both way , back home my black cat mako worshiped me , they can catch squirrels and rabbits better than any dogs. well said my piece , gotta go .

alixaryon i atend to go your way on the cat thing .. im not into magic or nothing like that but the cat i have is a nucence.

my cat only likes me when he wants something and he is soft at the touch but as aqny thing else i have no clue..

I think it has something to do with the devil being a cat in the bible at one point. The color black has always been a dark related color and the people feared the night. It depends on the person and history of the place.

Cats have always had a powerful aura in the physical world. They are the center of being for all magikal and dreamlike events that take place in our world.

Cats and witchcraft are forever entwined.

i always thought that the black cat was a holloweens icon wich the holiday holloween was a paygans holiday called hollows eve untill the catholics stole it and turned it into a catholic holiday
but the cat is no more then just an animal
it aint no witch traped in a cats body thats a rumor

cats our very powerfull animals and can see the supernatural

It's all about them with cats, a quality to which I aspire. They are good mothers and incredible lovers when in heat. When I was a kid, I'd invite my friends over to watch my cat mate. We'd pop popcorn. It was a helluva show.

The Teutonic Mother Freya rode in a chariot drawn by cats.

The traditional witches' familiar was Greymalkin or Grimalkin, a "gray cat." Gray malkins = "pussies" or "catkins" on the pussy willow, sacred to witches and heralding the pagan games of May. The willow sacred to Hecate became a pussy-willow that bore "catkins" in the spring.

Witches were associated with the cat, and also the hare. Brought to England, cats were confused with hares as the Moon goddess's totems.

Both hares and cats have yonic nicknames: cunny, pussy.

Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets.

I think people like them more in magic and the actual cats :P They are a sleek, majestic animal. If you were going to use any domestic animal that was small and easy to handle- all signs point to using a cat. Yes, this goes back to ancient times- but I think these reasons are right on the money :)

Cats are there own, not obeying creatures like dogs. If you can not tame it to do your bidding it must be evil.. fools.

Cats like power. Be it from the heat from the refrigerator or practitioners of the arts. cats love healthy people with open hearts. People who have love and power to share. They tend to draw them selves close to these people and make them family.

many cats have lived with me over the years and I know one thing People don't pick cats cats pick people.

I love cats. I belive in reincarnation and I know I have been a cat more times then my old soul can remember and I think it shows in my personality now. I tend to be rather cat like and have meowed since I was a small child.. LOL its just natural for me. :)

Well personally I am a witch and I love cats SO very much they are beautiful I don't much like other animals as much I have 2 beautiful cats Ebony and Nightmare very eligant cats so I love them and I have had many cats I would never wish harm upon them...

That is very very true cats do pik their people. I have 5 and I also work with the local rescue/

when i moved to where i live my little cat was waiting for me.she ignores the other people who live here and loves only me.a friend thinks she was my wife in a previous incarnation.but i dont belive in that

thats true but across seas they consitter a white cat as bad luck

Check it out.
and everyone has been using their imagine as of late,so bare with me.But this really happened.
I sent this to a friend .


Seems he was interupted by his cat.he sent me this.

as soon as the sound came on he came running

and he jumped up on the desk and started to try to dig through the computer screen (he has no front claws)

he didn't look like he was in distress
but he kept turning back and looking at me
and then went back to the digging

until i turned off the sound.

then he casually wandered away without another never mind.

I personally just think they are connected by chance. But also I haven't read up much on it all so I'm not sure if that's all it is or not

Im wondering if it is because of this mechanism that cats might have,and the fact some witches were able to decipher that behavior..

Here are some more patterns created by sound.Its all sacred geometry...
The cat reacted when the sounds reached the freqs to create those.

I personally think that cats are the best creature to use or have by yourside during a spell of any kind for cats can scence evil spirits and can inform you when danger is in the room and that they are so intuned to middle earth and can feel thing we can't and find ways of letting us know in more ways than one...

I knew that cats have been worshiped in Egypt and ofcourse I knew about the witch persecutions that have taken place but I really didn't know that cats were slaughtered because they were though to be connected with witchcraft...
I think that cats are commonly associated with witchcraft because of their independent nature and they seem to be really intelligent creatures. Sometimes they even seem to be able to pick up on your thoughts, or emotions.

Yes cats can pick up on your emotions . I am very closely connected with my cats and when I am stressed so are mt cats. My one that usually sits when ever i do any spell work gets anxiety realy bad and its generally at the same time i do.

The colors changes meaning per culture. As an example many eastern cultures wear black for weddings and white for funerals where here in western culture its the other way around.

mine can tell when some chicken is coming up to three days before hand and hangs around meowing and not wanting to eat her pellets.she watches things move around the room i cant see.

I think cats role in witches hands/lap is to attract nocturnal energies, since the cat is a night being, wich automaticly would make the witches spells more powerfull and potent.

Probably the cats magical property might be used as a sort of magical channel, like a temple of meaning for a witch.

to the egyptians cats were the gaurdians of the underworld

well cant you have something other then cats?

Cats are very powerful creatures and into the magical realm . Some say you can see things in a cats eyes if you meditate long and hard enough like a trance. cats are insync ti the magical realm more than any other animal i know and I have had a few different animals and cats are the best when it comes to magic . I think thats why Witches have cats as familars cause they are into not only magic but also their owners feelings.

I love how my cat instinctively knows when I am doing spell-work or energy-work. She is called Samara, and is all black with gold eyes.

i agree with mistress blood diamonds, on this one .

A common theme in witch trial witness testimony was that of a strange cat which would enter a household at night to attack babies or smother sleepers. This theme was reinforced by confessions of witches. Some claimed to be able to shapeshift into the form of cats in order to reach their victims.

Cats freak me out like no other creature on earth (not wild cats, just the domesticated ones) for the simple fact that they are half dead already. I have been cursed by cats on many occasions, and they always seem to be out to get me. Being so lupine, it makes sense; but all the same, I HATE CATS!!!!

Cats are fascinating creatures with an inane sense of the supernatural. I find them to be wonderful, and truly miss the one I had.

Throughout my life I've always had cats by my side. They are more than my familiars and magickal aid. I have a sense of them being my spirit guide as well.

i am allegic to cat but know they can have some insidethem

cats have been around for ages and can bevery powerful creatures

i dont get it no animal is truely tied to darkness

Cats have been known to be a lot of wiccans/witches familiars, but on that same note any animal can be. It is movies and shows that have kept that cats are associated with magic when it all depends.

I've stared into my cat's eyes and seen other worlds and believed she could sense my feelings.

I've also seen her stare soulfully at a dust mote or a crack in the wall.

She's brought me mice and snakes, and is angling for a pigeon. she's licked the salt off my skin and the skin with it. She's a good mother, has a voracious sexual appetite, and is bonded to me. I admire her, and I do believe she tries to communicate with me, but I don't think she's magical.

i belive cat do have powers they can tell when the other side is around or if some one is in need of help i think they can heal the pain you fell just by being around you and giving you attention

In witchcraft cats are known as a familiar to some. Some witches would have a black cat. A black cat to some may mean bad luck, but they usually mean good luck. In Egypt, if I am not making a mistake, cats were supposed to be the guardians to the gate of the underworld.

I think that cats are another stereo type for witchcraft.

As much as I love my cats, and even as intuitive as they are, I don't believe they have play in the magik that surrounds me.

Nihonin,you think it is all just because cats are intuitive that they are hand in hand with witchcraft?
And that someone just sortof arbitrarily decided to link htem and everything has just kindof held fast all this time?

I don't think that at all. I think cats have been stereotyped with witchcraft since the beginning. Cats have always had a dark and mysterious nature. And people fear what they don't understand.

There are traits that cats have that humans don't so the ignorant people would attrbute those traits to the supernatural. Like the ability to fall on their feet, or seeing at night.

And since most of your "healers" or shamans kept pets, cats in this case, the people associated cats with those "shamans" or witches.

The intuitive part? My cats are very intuitive, but they hold no sway in magik for me.

I see. Your explaination helps alot,thank you.

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