BEADMAIL NO. 18 Bewitching Puss

In Japan, a black cat crossing your path is GOOD luck! In Germany, it depends upon which direction the cat is walking: right-to-left is bad luck but left-to-right means good fortune is on the way! Pirates and sailors believed that a black cat on board ship would protect them at sea. Welsh and Scottish lore declared that a black cat’s arrival at a new home brought good health and prosperity, and a lady who owned a black cat would have many suitors. Tell THAT to the cat lady! But the witch hysteria of Medieval Europe changed the black cat’s image. Cats, like the women accused of witchcraft, tend to exhibit a healthy disrespect of authority (unlike dogs who fawn on anybody). Cats are stealthy. Black cats, in particular, with their glowing orange eyes, seemed mysterious, scary, and up to no good. They were suspected of being the familiars -- or supernatural servants -- of witches. In fact, a woman owning one or more cats became one of the surest signs of witchcraft. The Inquisition declar