does it come from the common stereotype of cats being a witch’s pet, riding along on her broom…
or did that stereotype originate from the cat burning incidences of the middle ages?
Because cats had long had a bad rap from superstition, just like snakes, most likely because Pagan cultures like the Egyptians revered them.
Rumors grew with the hysteria.
witches can usually have whats called a familiar..or animal helper. a cat may be one. there are no witches who can fly on brooms, this was another lie from the church.
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probably assumed that it was the most common form a demon or the devil would take to help a witch. also could be said that many old women who could be charged as a witch probably had a pet cat. thus the connection between being a witch and having a cat could be established.
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cuz i m sexy !!
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It’s possible that it came from the prominent place that cats had in many pagan religions. Whatever the pagans thought was good and important, if it couldn’t easily be adapted and incorporated by the church, was deemed evil and of the Devil.
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It was largely in the Middle Ages that the black cat became affiliated with evil. Because cats are nocturnal and roam at night, they were believed to be supernatural servants of witches
•Folklore has it that if a witch becomes human, her black cat will no longer reside in her house.
•Some believe that black cats are witches in disguise, or witches reborn.
•Others believe black cats are witches familiars (beings that aid witches in performing their craft). Not all familiars were black cats though; some were cats of other colors, dogs, pigs, or other animals.
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Because cat ladies are mean. The more cats they have the meaner they are. It is a badge of honor for cat ladies to have more cats. just saying..
but back to the question. Cats are considered familiars to witches. (I learned that from Charmed and Sabrina the Teenage Witch)
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i think they were dog people.
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possible reasons:
cats roam at night – the time associated with the workings of a witch.
black Cats in particular were seen as dark and mysterious and by some awsell as being bad omens, unlucky and signs of evil or workers of the devil, so they were attached to witches in that manner also as propoganda by people wanting rid of them
many older widdows accused of witchcraft and herecy may well have owned pet cats simply for company.
cats were sometimes viewed as supernatural beings and possibly even the reincarnated souls of witches or withces in disguise. many also believe that cats can walk between the two worlds and so by they will not disrupt the energy if they should walk into a witche’s cast circle many are depicted as witche’s "familiars"- or helper spirits.
cats are sacred to the goddess, one reason being that their eyes reflect the moon and the goddess’s sacred symbol is the moon. cats were alsom highly sacred in ancient egypt. the cat goddess bastet is a commonly invoked to protect felines in the home as she was their guardian.
I have lived with many cats in my time as a child and have had my own cat Angelica for 6 years, she is a black domestic shorthair and often sits in circle with me while i am working, she just kind of wonders in. cats for me are very spiritual and beautiful creatures, clever , agile and independant and that’s why I love them.
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witch with a cat : )
Because cats had long had a bad rap from superstition, just like snakes, most likely because Pagan cultures like the Egyptians revered them.
Rumors grew with the hysteria.
References :