Black Cat: Spirit Animal, Totem, Symbolism and Meaning
Black Cat Symbolism & Meaning
Do you have enough playtime? Need a bit of magic in your life? Black Cat, as a Spirit, Totem, and Power Animal, can help! Black Cat teaches you how to recognize the magic in your life and to be more joyful. Delve deeply in Black Cat symbolism and meaning to find out how this Animal Spirit Guide can enlighten, inspire, and uplift you!
Black Cat Symbolism and Meaning can be a bit hard to read. Throughout history, these beautiful creatures have been persecuted simply because of their black color. WhatIsMySpiritAnimal.com seeks to help educate folks about Black Cats. The bottom line is Black Cats are just as wonderful as every other feline. They are sentient beings with personality and a huge capacity for love. It’s utter nonsense to believe that Black Cats are bad omens. All animal spirit guides can appear to warn us of danger, but that does not make the Animal themselves bad omens. It’s the whole ‘don’t shoot the messenger’ thing, ya’ know?
The mysterious, magical Black Cat has conflicting symbolism depending on the era and culture you read about, but let’s start with a little science. Black Cats are not a specific breed, but simply a cat with genetically produced black fur pigmentation; this seems to happen more in males than females; this is the same combination of genes that gives most black cats their stunning golden eyes that seem to pierce the night.
The folklore of Black Cats seems to paint them as evil or wonderful. Scotland and Ireland generally held black cats in high regard. Their arrival at the home portended prosperity. For a single woman, owning a black cat was said to attract numerous suitors. Germans say that a Black Cat walking toward you or crossing left to right grants wishes. The rest of Europe was not so kind to our sable feline friend. Here and in Western superstitions, the Black Cat was a Witch’s familiar and represented bad luck, including potential death.
uring the witch hunts, Black Cats sometimes suffered the same dire fate as their witch companions. The Cat was either a demon or even another Witch who had shapeshifted to avoid capture. Felines could go where humans could not. Pope Gregory IX said that Cats were a link to the devil. This proclamation leads to the burning execution of over 900 Cats in France.
On a far happier note, sailors and fishers both treasured black Cats as lucky pets. In the home, the Cat’s Energy was said to protect the fisher at sea. On the ship, cats caught disease-bearing rats who could also destroy cargo. Two notable examples are Chibley, who rode the tall ship, Picton Castle putting in over 180,000 miles at sea, circumnavigating the globe five times. Also, Tiddles, who was born on the HMS Argus and then took up official station on the HMS Victorious traveling some 30,000 miles.
The most notable veneration of Black Cats comes from Egypt. There a Cat Goddess named Bast oversaw all matters of protection. Egyptian homes hosted Black Cats to win Her favor. In the wise words of author Terry Pratchett, “In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this.” The idea of housing a Black Cat for luck wasn’t unique to Egyptians. History tells us of King Charles I, who adored his Black Cat. Upon its death, he declared his good fortune gone. In an odd bit of synchronicity, he was charged with treason the next day.
Modernly, the sad truth is that seventy percent of abandoned Cats are Black; they are less likely to find a forever home than Cats of other colors and as many as thirty percent of the black feline population face euthanization. It led to various types of advocacy, trying to protect these beautiful creatures. In both the United States and the United Kingdom, there are special holidays set aside for Black Cats. October 27th is Black Cat Day in Great Britain and Ireland, and August 17th is Black Cat Appreciation Day in the US. In both countries, people are encouraged to adopt Black Cats with organizations like the ASPCA offering discounts or even free adoptions. If you are a cat lover, you don’t have to wait until those days to visit your local shelter or animal rescue group to find that new purrfect kitty for pampering.
Everywhere you go, you see Black Cats. They’re in TV ads, the paper, your cell phone apps, your dreams, and even wandering near you on the sidewalk. It appears that the Black Cat Spirit Animal has a message for you.
For Witches and Pagans, the appearance of the Black Cat Spirit suggests you focus more on your personal power and how you use it. Black Cats know magic, and this Spirit Animal is more than happy to assist your studies in that realm.
Another reason for Black Cat’s appearance may have to do with your sense of self. Do you feel shunned like the Black Cat, or left in the dark all the time? Black Cat Spirit understands these emotions and comes to aid your healing process. You are worthy of love and dignity. Do not let any social stigmas take that away from you.
The golden eyes of Black Cat Spirit Animal also symbolize the way in which you see things. Are you figuratively behind some black veil that keeps you from recognizing the truth in yourself and others? Black Cat shows you new ways of looking at the world and may even encourage Clairvoyant or other psychic aptitudes that boost intuition. The green eyes of a Black Cat might suggest it’s time to ‘grow’ your own personal form of magic.
There are other messages that Black Cat shares in common with all Cat Spirits. Remain flexible is perhaps the one that mews most strongly in your ears. By working cooperatively with Black Cat energy, you will eventually get back on your feet no matter what.
Those born with a Black Cat Totem Animal are wholly alchemical and enigmatic. Somehow they always seem to have their life together even when it looks chaotic. Some Wise People believe that this Totem speaks of a person with unfinished business from a previous life. If so, this influences the Black Cat person in everything they do.
If this is your Birth Totem, you tend to be a risktaker but need caution. Always consider consequences before you leap into that tree or sneak out the door. Sure, your senses are keen, particularly sight, but sometimes your playful, curious nature gets the best of you. That’s when you find yourself in a pickle.
Friends and family already know they can’t fool you. You always know when something’s afoot – it makes your proverbial whiskers tingle. They also know you have a passion for napping, snacking, and repeating. Black Cat people should seek healthy snacks, so they don’t get pudgy.
You would do well to remember that the color Black represents authority, elegance, and adaptability. All of these attributes are part of the Black Cat Totem. You can be a wonderful leader who rarely loses dignity under pressure. You also have the ability to roll with life’s twists and turns. Sometimes you even find them as fun as a knotty ball of yarn that you untangle meticulously.
The caution with the Black Cat Totem is that you can succumb to the idea that somehow you are bad luck to those around you, or somehow lesser to them. When that happens, reach out – get petted and pampered by those you love. You deserve it.