Cats have been associated with deities, witches and Magick for centuries.

Here
are some snippets of cat-related folklore. Cats have been sacred to more than
one religion, and at different times and places have been considered both good
and bad luck-bringers. The Egyptian goddess Bast was both lion-headed and
cat-headed and attended by cats and therefore cats were sacred and revered in
Egypt; killing one was a heinous crime, and when a household cat died mourning
rites were performed for it. Cats were often found in temples and were ritually
fed; stray cats were treated with honor and fed, and the household cat was
allowed to share the family's food. Cat amulets were produced and elaborate
cat-sized sarcophagi crafted for cats who had died, who were often embalmed as
humans were. 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 Scandinavia, Freya's chariot
was drawn by cats. The Celtic goddess Ceridwen was also attended by white cats,
who carried out her orders on earth.

Cats are traditionally associated with witches, and 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. In
1718 William Montgomery of Caithness alleged that hordes of cats gathered
outside his house nightly and talked in human language; he claimed to have
killed two of them and wounded another one night and awoken the next morning to
hear that two old women had been found dead in their beds and another badly
injured.

In Britain and Australia black cats are considered lucky, and in some places
white cats are correspondingly unlucky. In many parts of Europe and in the
United States, however, it is the black cat who is ill-omened. In Britain
tortoiseshell cats will bring their owners luck, and blue cats bring luck in
Russia. An old saying about black cats is that 'Whenever the cat of the house is
black, the lasses of lovers shall have no lack'. It was said that if the
household cat sneezed near a bride on her wedding day, she would have a happy
married life.

To meet a black cat is usually fortunate, especially if it crosses one's path.

In some districts the luck is only considered released if the cat is politely
greeted, or stroked three times. Sometimes it is considered unlucky if the cat
runs away from the person, or turns back on its own tracks. To meet a white cat
is bad luck, except in those countries where white cats are the luck-bringers.
If a black cat comes into a house or onto a ship, it is considered a very lucky
sign, and the cat should never be chased away in case it takes the luck of the
house with it. Seamen avoid the word 'cat' while at sea, but to have a cat on
board is lucky, especially if it is a completely black cat with no white hairs.
To throw the cat overboard raises an immediate violent storm; no sailor would do
such a thing to the ship's cat, and in fact cats are rarely left on an abandoned
ship but are generally rescued with the sailors. In Yorkshire, if a sailor's
wife kept a black cat,
her husband would always return safely from the sea; this sometimes led to black
cats being stolen.

Cat hair and bones were often ingredients of charms and spells, and even now a
few hairs from a cat are supposed to increase the power of a spell, although
this now appears more common in England than in America where the hair of a wolf
appears to have taken over. In previous centuries the tail of a black cat was
believed to cure a sty if stroked over the afflicted eye, and a tortoiseshell
cat's tail was considered to remove warts. Three drops of a cat's blood smeared
on a wart was also considered to cure it. If a person in the house was very ill,
it was thought that throwing the water in which the patient had been washed over
a cat, and then driving the poor creature away, would transfer the illness to
the cat and drive it out of the household. It was said that every cat should be
given two names; a country rhyme states 'One for a secret, one for a riddle,
name puss twice and befuddle the devil'. This saying was based on the belief
that one person could gain
power and ascendancy over another simply by knowing his or her real name; by
giving the household cat two names, once for common use and one secret and never
revealed to outsiders, the pet which had the run of the household could be
protected from becoming a tool of evil or of outside infiltration.

The Historical Cat

The cat species began over 30 million years ago with the Saber-toothed tiger,
which hunted deer, antelope, horses and buffalo. It became extinct 11,000 years
ago.

Imperial Palace Of Kyoto, Japan:

In the year A.D. 999, a white cat imported from China gave birth to five pure
white kittens. Moved by this unusual event, the Emperor decreed that these
charming animals be brought up with as much care and attention as if they were
infant princes.

Law Of Manu:
In Orthodox Hinduism, it is specified "He who has killed a cat must withdraw to
the middle of the forest and there dedicate himself to the life of the animals
around him until he is purified."

Kadis
This ancient Nubian word is thought to be the origin of the word cat.

Herodotus:
The writings of Herodotus, a Greek historian who lived around 500 B.C., tell us
that the Greeks were the first to import Egyptian cats for the purpose of
protecting their harvests from rodents. They had to go to Egypt and steal the
cats because the Egyptians refused to let them go, which resulted in a series of
diplomatic incidents.

Grand Coulee Dam

This structure was built with the help of a small white cat. Unable to thread a
cable through 500 feet of drainage pipe, engineers tied one end to the cat's
tail and placed her in the pipe, and she brought it through, thus solving a
major engineering problem.

Egyptian Cats
During the reign of the great cat goddess, Bast, cats were given the very best
care their owner could afford. Sick cats were treated with the care usually only
given to children. They were adorned with jeweled collars, and pendants were
hung about their necks with silver, bronze, or golden chains. Sometimes the ears
would be pierced to hold gold earrings or jeweled studs. When a cat died the
whole family went into mourning and shaved off their eyebrows as a mark of
respect for the beloved pet.

Freyja:
The Nordic goddess of love and fertility is depicted riding in a chariot drawn
by gray cats. Farmers would leave out offerings of fresh milk for her cats,
hoping to ensure good crops and protection from bad weather.

Bible:
There is no mention of cats in the Bible. Scholars think this is because cats
were worshipped in Egypt at that time, and the cat was deliberately left out of
the scriptures to make sure those rival gods did not tempt people back to old
religions.

The Superstitious Cat

If a black cat crosses your path without harming you, it is said to mean you are
protected by the devil.

If a black cat walks into the room of an ill person, who later dies, it was
blamed on the cat's supernatural powers.

In some parts of the United States, a black cat crossing your path is considered
unlucky. In Britain and Ireland, it is considered good luck.

If a strange black cat enters your home uninvited, you will have great fortune
throughout the year. If you shoo it away, it will take its gift of good luck
with it.

A black cat aboard ship is a very good omen... if your man is a sailor, keep a
black cat in your home to insure his safety while at sea.

In the 1400s when witches were burned at the stake, their cats were ordered
burned along with them. They were viewed as not only her private link with the
devil, but it was also believed witches could turn themselves into cats and back
into human form at will.
Thus, in a superstitious society it became increasingly impossible to know if a
cat was really just a witch in disguise.

Another belief was that witches allowed their cats to suck their blood --
intertwining the vampire legend among the superstitious.

The many superstitions revolving around the black cat began as new religions
emerged -- ones that denounced all things considered holy by previous religions
(as in the ancient Egyptians belief in the Goddess Bast (a black female cat).

Black cats, with their yellow eyes and nocturnal habits, embodied darkness and
mystery, and became associated with the supernatural and evil. They gained a
reputation of being witches' helpers, reincarnated evil spirits and bearers of
bad luck.

The Homing Instinct of Cats (author unknown)

What do birds, bees, salmon, rats and cats have in common? (Besides being
members of the animal kingdom?) They all have a homing instinct - the ability to
find their way back home even after traveling long distances over unfamiliar
territory. Cats are well known for their ability to do this and we often hear
about them in the news or read about stories in books. In "Extraordinary Cats"
for example, a cat named Sooty finds his way back to an old home after his
family in England moved more than 100 miles away.

Then there is Pillsbury, the eight year old English cat who has made the eight
mile journey back to his former home 40 times. According to London newspapers,
he makes the trip, which takes him across busy roads and through herds of
cattle, at least once a week. Luckily, his owners always retrieve him.

Perhaps you've heard about Tigger, the three-legged cat who has made the
three-mile return trip to his old home more than 75 times!

BUT - perhaps the round-trip record is held by Ninja, the tomcat who moved with
his owners from Utah to Washington State in 1996. He disappeared shortly after
arriving in his new home, only to turn up at the old Utah address - 850 miles
away - one year later!

Just how these extraordinary cats can "home in" on their old haunts isn't
completely understood, but researchers do have some clues about how other
animals find their way:

For salmon, it seems that the smell of their home waters is key. For birds and
bees, navigating by the sun, stars, or moon appears to help. Other animals can
orient themselves with the help of magnetized cells in the brain, which act like
tiny compasses which help them decide which way is north. Sea creatures may even
use the sounds that rumble through the oceans as guideposts.

Do humans share the cat's amazing direction-finding abilities?

Researchers aren't sure, but so far, studies haven't turned up any magnetized
cells in our brains, although early navigators certainly learned to use the sun
and the stars to steer by.

"It is not yet clear exactly what kinds of unique navigational systems humans
may have," Patricia Sharp, an expert in neuroanatomy at Yale University, told
"Scientific American" "I suspect that humans have similar systems - but at
present, there is no evidence to support that suspicion." In the meantime, then,
perhaps we'd best just follow our cats.

I envy the cat! I have a hard time finding my car in the parking lot after
shopping at the mall. I have many good strengths and talents, but a sense of
direction is NOT one of them. I guess I need a guide cat!

Fascinating Feline Facts

Here's a collection of "fascinating facts about your frisky feline's physique

(say that three times fast!):

· Both humans and cats have identical regions in the brain responsible for
emotion.
· A cat's brain is more similar to a man's brain than that of a dog.
· Cats have 30 vertebrae, 5 more than humans have.
· A cat's field of vision is about 185 degrees.
· Cats have 32 muscles that control the outer ear (compared to human's 6 muscles
each). A cat can rotate its ears independently 180 degrees, and can turn in the
direction of sound 10 times faster than those of the best watchdog.
· A cat can jump 5 times as high as it is tall.
· Cats step with both left legs, then both right legs when they walk or run
(like a camel).
· In relation to their body size, cats have the largest eyes of any mammal.
· Most cats do not have eyelashes.
· A domestic cat can sprint at about 31 miles per hour.
· A kitten will typically weigh about 3 ounces at birth.
· The typical male housecat will weigh between 7 and 9 pounds, slightly less for
female housecats (well, I guess all of my kitties are "above average!").
· Cats take between 20-40 breaths per minute.
· Normal body temperature for a cat is 102 degrees F.
· A cat's normal pulse is 140-240 beats per minute, with an average of 195.
· Cat's urine glows under a black light.
· Cats lose almost as much fluid in the saliva while grooming themselves as they
do through urination.
· Cats do not have a collarbone, so they can fit through any opening the size of
their head.

Cat Spells

Cat Healing
Materials:

Statue of Bast and/or Sekhmet.

Picture of the cat to be healed, or at least their name written on a piece of
paper
Green thread
A blue or white candle
Incense (lavender, lotus, or myrrh)
Timing: Healing should be done any time it is needed; repeat the spell working
on the next Full Moon to reinforce and strengthen the healing power.
Set up a little altar or sacred space, arranging the statues to the rear of your
working area. Place the candle to the side of the statue or in-between if you
are using two statues. Light the candle and the incense. With the photo or paper
with the sick animal's name on it before you, ask the Goddess Bast to grant a
healing. Take as much time as you feel you need to express this petition. Sit
quietly for a time, visualizing a stream of healing blue light coming from the
candle and blending into the picture or paper before you. When the blue light
ceases, take the green thread and cut off a piece thirteen inches long. If you
are using a paper with a name written on it, roll the paper into a small
cylinder and wrap the green thread around it several times, tying it when you
are finished. If you are working with a photo, just loosely wrap the thread
around the photo. Do the thread wrapping while chanting:
“Lady of cats, large and small,
Answer my entreating call.
Cast out the sickness, bring in the Light.
Grant loving healing through Thy might.
Renewing green, healing blue,
I bind these energies into you.
As threads around your image wind,
Perfect healing to you I bind.”
Lay the thread-wrapped photo or paper near the statue, leaving it there until
the candle is burned out. Burn the thread and paper (if you are using a photo,
remove the thread to be burned and return the photo to the proper person) and
dispose of the ashes and candle wax.

Spell for Healing a Pet

Mix some healing oil, using:

6 drops Lavender oil
6 drops Camphor oil
6 drops Rosemary oil
1/2 ounce base oil (apricot kernel, jojoba, grapeseed, even olive oil)
Anoint a black candle, a red candle and a brown candle with this healing oil.
The black is for absorption of the negativity (the illness), the red is for
strength and health, and the brown is an "astral" or "significator" candle for
the animal. Place the brown candle between the black and red candles, and make a
ring of stones around the set-up, using stones or crystals that you associate
with healing (amethyst, quartz, agate...you choose whichever type or combination
of types). Place some of the oil in your hands, and begin to rub them together,
generating heat and energy. When you feel that you've built a small "bundle" of
healing energy, place your hands on your pet, stroking it and giving it the
healing energy you've built, making sure to concentrate on any areas where you
feel or sense the illness. Focus on the candles, continuing to maintain contact
with your pet, and visualize the strength from the red candle pouring into the
brown candle, and pushing
all the sickness into the black candle. Attune with the Goddess, and when you've
got a good grip on the visualizations above (and the animal!), say:

"Goddess, with your healing touch

Bless this animal we love so much.
God, with beasts as your domain,
Remove the sickness, heal the pain.
So mote it be!"

Continue the stroking and energy flow until you feel that the spell is done,
then allow the animal plenty of time to rest and heal. Obviously, if you wish to
perform this spell in a cast circle, that's your choice. If you wish to continue
the spell for a number of days (I'd suggest at least 3 days), and your pet has a
special place where it rests or "lives" (such as a cage, etc.), ring this area,
if possible, with the stones, place a red candle on one side of the area and a
black candle on the other (anointed with the healing oil); focus on the red
candle and project its energy into area with your pet, visualizing the illness
being pushed out the other side, since there's no room for it, and into the
black candle. Rub the oil onto your hands and stroke it into/onto the animal's
body as often as you feel necessary.

Spell To Become Closer To Your Cat

Preparation: You will need brown candles and the following herbs:
Catnip
Vervain
Gardenia
Saffron
Passion Flower
Consecrate each herb before starting. Take 1/2 of the empowered herbs and wrap
in a small square of brown cloth and tie it off with a brown cord or string.
Take the other half and make a smaller sachet for your pet. Wear yours four days
meditating with your pet at least once a day. You can tie the pets sachet on
while meditating. After those four days take all the herbs and burn as an
incense while sharing a meal with your pet.

Charm on Seeing a Cat

If a black cat should cross your path, you must greet the animal with courtesy,
and stroke it if you can, whilst saying this charm:
“Black cat, cross my path,
Good fortune bring to home and hearth,
When I am away from home
Bring me luck wherever I roam.”

Qualway Cat Spell

“I poke thee, now I don't poke thee,
I charm the quaff that's under the 'ee,
O qualway, O qualway!”
A gentleman must use a queen and a tom must be for a lady, and in both instances
the cat must be black.

Spell to Call up a Hearth Spirit - by Amisti

For your dwelling-place to be a true home, a household spirit needs to live

within its walls. So that a good brownie may be induced to take up residence,
take kitty on one side, and utter this magick charm over her head three times:

"Little one, without a name

Come inside and make much game,
I send my cat upon this errand
To seek you out till you be found
And may you of good heart be
A truly charming company. "

Then let kitty run off, and when she comes home again you must watch her
closely; you will see her skit and play, patting a little at the air, and
growing kittenish as though a child played with her. So by little signs and
signals you will come to recognize that a brownie has entered your house; and
you may be confident that he will soon make himself known to you. Never frighten
or abuse him, but thank him for the tasks he performs, and always praise his
handiwork.

The Veil of Isis Cat Spell - by Claire Nahmad

If anyone in the home should fall sick, take a crystal bowl filled with well
water and wash the hands and face of the patient in it. Then carry it to the
garden door, and call for the cat of the household. When she appears, say to
her:
“Cat spirit, bright as sixpence,
Chase the illness a long, long distance,
It's essence I hold in these drops of water,
May it be routed before next moon's quarter!”
Then you must throw the water away onto the garden, so that it passes over kitty
but does not fall on her. She will, as likely as not, run away as if in pursuit
of some spirit, and for this you must thank her three times over by using her
magical name. In throwing the water over her to the ground, you have created the
magical veil of Isis, which summons the negative influences of the illness and
draws it away from your loved one so that the cat may carry it away from the
house. Before the next moon's quarter, that is, before a week has passed away,
the one who has fallen ill should be on the mend.

Cat Blessing - From Gerina Dunwich's "EveryDay Wicca"

While this is specifically a Wiccan Blessing, it can easily be changed to fit

any path or Pantheon. And while it is specifically for cats, it could also be
changed for any animal.

Perform this Wiccan ritual on a night when the moon is full and shining
brightly, preferably the first night of the full moon at the exact moment the
moon enters its full phase.

If you desire, you may instead or also perform this ritual on your cat's
birthday (if the date is known), on the anniversary of when he or she first
became part of your family, or whenever you feel it to be the appropriate time.

Light some fragrant incense and place a gold candle (in honor of the Horned God)
and a white candle (preferably one in the shape of a cat) on the center of your
altar.

Cast a circle around your altar in whatever manner you usually cast it, and call
upon the four elements of Air, Fire, Water and Earth to be present and to serve
as guardians of the circle. Light the gold candle and then humbly invoke the
powers of the Horned God:
"O Great Horned God Consort of the Goddess
I Invoke Thee
And Invite Thee
Into This Circle"

Light the white cat candle and then, holding your cat gently in your arms, kneel
before the altar and recite the following prayer:

"O Great Horned God Father of the Woodlands

And Loving Lord of All Creatures
That Walk, Crawl, Swim and Fly,
A Threefold Blessing I Humbly Ask
Of Thee On This Special Day:
May This Cat's Life Be a Long,
Happy, and Healthy One;
May She Always Receive
Your Divine Protection;
And When Our Incarnations
In This World Cease To Be,
May We Forever Be Reunited
In the Great Otherworld.
So Mote It Be!"

After the prayer has been recited, gaze into the flame of the gold candle and
chant thrice the name of your cat, each time followed by the words: BLESSED BE.
Give the cat a loving kiss and place her or him down in the center of the
circle. If the cat chooses to exit the circle at this point this is all right.

Give thanks to The Horned God in your own words and bid Him farewell. Next, give
thanks to the four elements in your own words and then bid them farewell. Uncast
the magick circle counterclockwise, and say:

"In Perfect Love And Harming None

This Pagan Blessing Now is Done.
So Mote It Be!"

Cat Connection Spell

1 brown candle
2 T of catnip
2 pinches of mugwort
2 pinches of sweetgrass
A dash of lemon
Cloth pouch for you
Catnip toy or pouch for cat
The catnip is to create a psychic bond with your cat, the mugwort is to
strengthen your psychic bond, the sweetgrass is to aid you in the calling upon
of the cats spirit, and the lemon is for friendship and respect of your cats
spirit.

Light your candle and place it before you. Take each herb, one at a time, and
divide into two equal parts while empowering each with its meaning and
visualizing becoming connected to your cat. See and feel that connection the
entire time you work with your herbs.

Place half of each of the herbs in your pouch, place the other half in the pouch
or cat toy for your cat.

Keep your half of the herbs with you for three days and the cats pouch or toy
keep near the cats sleeping place for three day. During this time, you will
meditate at least once a day with your cat in mind. Feel what it is like to be
your cat. Examine the world through your cats eyes.

After three days. Bury both the pouches in your garden or burn as incense.
Knowing that you are now connected to your cat. Thank the powers that be.

Call on your cats spirit to aid you in searching for answers, comfort, finding
lost items, and protection. When you are finished needing her help, always
return her spirit back to him. Your cat will always be there for you when you
need her.

In using this for connecting with the spirit of cat passed on, place the herbs
where she may be buried, and follow the same process. Her spirit will live
inside forever.