Cats in Mythology and Legend
Cats have been a large part of society since all the way back to the
Ancient Egyptians. They have been considered mysterious and graceful, and at
some points in time this got them associate with witchcraft and the devil, but
by others they were worshipped. Not only are they held in high regard in the
real world, but poets and writers from all over the globe have written about
them and countless stories, myths and legends exist about them that go as far
back as far as 4000 years ago.
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| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastet |
Ancient Egyptians were the first to domesticate and
consider cats sacred. They believed that cats were the manifestation of the
goddess Bast, who was the goddess of protection, fertility, the moon and of
course to protector of all cats. There were many other goddesses’ that were
depicted as cats but Bast was the only who was a domestic cat. It was the
Egyptians that began the belief that is still around today: that cats have nine
lives. This was probably because of their nimbleness and graceful nature.
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| http://www.asmithandasavage.com/mammals-mammalia/a-taxidermy-kellas-cat-felis-silvestris |
In Celtic mythology Cat Síth were what was
believed, by some to be a fairies that haunted the Scottish moors, and by
others to be witches that could transform into a cat only nine times. They
resembled large black wildcats with white markings in the centre of their
chests and said to be as large as a dog. The appearance of these cats is
thought to have been derived from the features of the Kellas cat; a hybrid
between a Scottish wild can and domestic cat that is only found in Scotland.
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| http://www.redbubble.com/people/ingridthecrafty/works/9452749-celtic-cat-8?p=sticker |
Stories of these cats are more common in Scottish folklore, but also seen in
Irish and occasionally Welsh. The people of Scotland didn’t trust the cat Síth
and believed that they could steal the souls of the dead. They had many beliefs
as to how to keep the cats away from the corpse such as distracting them with
catnip, riddles and music and not lighting any fires near the body as it was told
that they were attracted to the warmth. On Samhain (Celtic festival marking the
end of harvest season) people would leave saucers of milk out for the Cat Síth
as it was said that they would curse any house that didn’t and the cow’s milk
would go dry.
Freya the goddess of love, beauty and fertility in
Norse mythology was associated with cats. Farmers would leave out milk for the
cats to ensure that Freya blessed their harvest. Also at a wedding ceremony if
there was good weather, it would be said ‘she has fed the cat well’ and if a
cat was to make an appearance at your wedding it was the sign of a very happy
marriage.
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| http://www.germanicmythology.com/original/FreyjasCats.html |
