09/25/2024
POV: Black cats are bad luck
Around 12 AD, Pope Gregory IX (Catholic Church) decides that black cats are an incarnation of the Devil and that they were Satan himself tormenting people on Earth. Pious people who followed the Pope, began burning them alive to show devotion to the Pope….aka a sacrifice.
With the decrease in cats, there was an increase in rodents which then carried the Plague. Once again, blamed on cats.
Cats were also later associated with witches when they were thought to be a witch's familiar after doing her bidding. 16th century Italy, Germans, thought that crossing a black cat’s path was bad luck like finding a dead crow or a raven outside your door.
The Welsh believed a Black cat being around the house of someone who just passed was a sign that the person’s soul was being carried to hell. Any other color was a sign that they were going to heaven.
Meanwhile, other societies considered Black cats to be a major sign of prosperity and luck.
In Japan, you may see cat figurines, which are symbols of an abundance of love, passion, suitors and abundance of good luck in general. In Russia, they are a sign of prosperity and good fortune.
In Kemet, they were considered the physical form of the goddess Bastet and a huge form of prosperity and good fortune. The Irish see Black cats as a good omen for harvest and abundance.
Sailors had Black cats on board for safe passage and would not take trips without one.
Not everyone saw Black cats as an omen of bad luck. To this day, Black cats are the least adopted and the most likely to be abandoned.