Monday, September 22, 2008

Mystical And Mysterious Cats


Perhaps it is the haughty graceful movement or the frequent disregard for human contact that give cats the independent regal manner for which they are known.None the less throughout history cats have been considered special.

Ancient Egyptians refused to kill cats.They believed a cat captured the glow from the setting sun in their eyes and kept it safe until the sun rose again in the morning. When Egypt was attacked by Persia, the enemy tied cats to their shields. The Egyptians couldn't fight the invaders because they didn't want to risk injuring or killing the cats.

An old English folktale involves a maiden who had to spin 10,000 skeins of linen to save her lover from a sorcerer's curse. Her three kittens helped her by spinning it all. So a cat's purring is reminiscent of the hum of the spinning wheel.

Men of the sea have superstitions about cats. Many sailors believed that if a cat fell over the side of the ship into the sea, it would seek revenge by calling up a storm to sink the ship. Some fishermen will toss a little piece of fish back into the ocean "for the cat." This particular cat was really a witch who went to sea with her fisherman lover. When it was discovered that the lady was a witch, the other fishermen wanted to drown her. She changed back into a cat and caused a storm that destroyed the entire fishing fleet,

People in the Netherlands, don't discuss private family affairs in front of the family cat. The little gossip will tell everyone in town what's going on!

In Japan, it is thought a black spot on a kitty means that the feline is carrying the soul of a departed ancestor.
In Indonesia, the gray Korat cat, which is the color of a rain cloud, is sprinkled with water in a ceremony meant to bring rain for the farmers.

Blue cats bring good luck in Russia, but in China, old, ugly cats are thought to bring good luck.
Buddhists believe that dark-colored cats attract gold, while light-colored ones bring silver.
http://felinesophy.blogspot.com/2008/04/mystical-cat-superstitions-and-legends.html

http://www.sniksnak.com/lore.html

The sources above tell these and some superstitions about cats.The most well known of course is that a black cat crossing your path brings bad luck.There is the debate of whether a black cat represents evil.What do you think, cat lovers? Does your cat bring a touch of magic to your lifr?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Im on my way to being that crazy cat lady. No joke :)

Rosebud Collection said...

My daughter has a black cat and he is beautiful..Looks like the Halloween cat..Interesting reading about all the different beliefs..
Your blog is always a good read.

UniqueNurseGranny said...

Thank you for visiting.I appreciate your taking the time to comment.

jenscloset said...

I love that cat picture!

UniqueNurseGranny said...

Thanks.jenscloset.

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