When a cat crosses your path

When a cat crosses your path

Life in itself is a mystery. Add to it the deep-rooted superstitions and it becomes even more complex. You like it or not, there are many superstitions that exist in our society. Most of them were born to help mankind and were based on sound reasoning. But with time the logic was left behind and the belief became a superstition. The perplexity is one can neither believe them nor ignore them. Particularly those superstitions that predict future. Anything from a bird’s call to the falling of utensils can alter your life.

As far as superstitions go, fear of a black cat crossing one’s path is of relatively recent origin. It is also contrary to the revered place once held by the cat in Egypt, around 3000 B.C.

During the middle ages, the dread of black cats first arose in England. The cat’s characteristic independence, willfulness and stealth, coupled with its sudden overpopulation in major cities, contributed to its fall from grace. Alley cats were fed by poor, lonely old ladies, and when witch hysteria struck Europe, and many of these homeless women were accused of practicing black magic, their cat companions (especially black ones) were deemed guilty of witchery by association.

One popular tale from British lore illustrates the thinking of the day. In Lincolnshire in the 1560s, one moonless night a father and his son were frightened by a small creature that passed across their path into a crawl space. Hurling stones into the opening, they saw an injured black cat scurry out and limp into the adjacent home of a woman suspected by the town of being a witch. Next day, the father and son encountered the woman on the street. Her face was bruised, her arm bandaged. And she now walked with a limp. From that day on in Lincolnshire, all black cats were suspected of being witches in night disguise.

‘Breaking a mirror’, one of the most widespread bad luck superstitions still in existence, originated long before glass mirrors existed. The belief arose out of a combination of religious and economic factors.

The first mirrors, used by the ancient Egyptians, Hebrews and Greeks, were made of polished metals such as brass, bronze, silver, and gold, and were unbreakable. By the 6th Century B.C., the Greeks had begun a mirror practice of divination called catoptromancy, which employed shallow glass or earthenware bowls filled with water. A glass water bowl was supposed to reveal the future of any person who cast his or her image on the reflective surface. If one of these mirrors slipped and broke, the seer’s interpretation was that either the person holding the bowl had no future (because he or she would soon die) or the future held events so dreadful the gods were kindly sparing the person a glimpse of their fate.

The Romans adopted this bad luck superstition in the 1st Century A.D. and added their own twist—our modern meaning. They maintained that a person’s health changed in cycles of seven years. Since mirrors reflect a person’s appearance (that is, health), a broken mirror augured seven years of ill health and misfortune. The superstition acquired a practical, economic application in 15th Century Italy. The first breakable sheet glass mirrors with silver-coated backing were manufactured in Venice at that time.  Being very costly, they were handled with great care. Servants who cleaned the mirrors were frequently and emphatically warned that to break one of these treasures invited seven years of a fate worse than death. Such effective use of the superstition served to intensify the bad luck belief for generations of Europeans. By the time inexpensive mirrors were being manufactured in England and France in the mid-1600s, the broken mirror superstition was widespread and firmly rooted in tradition.

Questions About Cat Superstitions

Daniel asks…

Cat – Cat – Cat – Cat crossIng bad omen or a superstition spiritually?

Its quite a famous belief spread around all parts of India that when we head our way to someplace
important and if a cat runs across your way, its a bad omen, and the solution would be to go back home, sit for a while and then start again…

why this? Do anyone know reasons for this cat crossing? This is not a mere superstition… It has a little bit of logical background..!

Do you know ? if so, please share it with us.

Suzi Q answers:

It is a Superstition.

But we have to take it in positive manner. For example, if a cat crosses while going for a task, we have to take it as a warning that we missed some important thing to carry for effectively completing the task.

Http://aanmikam.blogspot.com/2011/03/blog-post_4124.html

Only some signals given by animals & birds before some havoc like Tsunami, Quake etc are proved to be true.

One mystery still I am wondering:

Observed phenomenon that is interpreted as signifying good or bad fortune. The many and varied omens that the ancients noted included lightning, cloud movements, the flights of birds, and the paths of sacred animals. Each type of omen was gauged according to specific meaningful characteristics, such as the kinds of bird in flight or the direction of flight in relation to the observer.

Long back I heard that the “who-o-o, who-o-o” type of sound made by Owls indicates certain events likely to happen. One day we heard such Owl “who-o-o, who-o-o” sound and my father started counting the number of repetition and it was 8 times.

My father told me there will be an unexpected death if Owl makes “who-o-o, who-o-o” sound for 8 times. Within few hours one lady in the opposite house who was admitted in hospital for delivery, was brought back as dead body with dead child. This was happened some where 40 years back.

Here there could be a possibility that owls may have the capacity to understand the event and tell in its way to the people. After all science is an observed facts later on proved with definition and reasoning!

Http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091225230408AAyjqok

Steven asks…

Black Cat meaning. . .?

Why is it that in Britain (and the rest of Europe I think) a black cat is a symbol of good fortune and having one cross your path is considered lucky whilst in the USA they think it bad luck??

Suzi Q answers:

Personally I think it’s a stupid superstition. A black cat crossed my path while I was driving and I stopped and it never got hit. This delayed my drive by a few seconds which might have saved my life. A truck just flew right by me and if I was a couple of seconds ahead, I could have been crushed.

Sandra asks…

What is the meaning of this? Black cat superstitions?

Okay, I read this online page about superstitions with black cats (being either good luck or bad), and it got me thinking. I love cats, and before I got a dog, I’d been feeding this stray cat, that I call K-nuckles, that came to my back door for food everyday. Anyway, the Halloween before last, my sister dropped me off home after taking my little nephew Trick or Treating. As soon as I got to my front gate, a black cat comes out of nowhere, meowing and clinging to me like I’m it’s mom. It even followed me up the porch stairs and into the house, rubbing on everything (including my mom and I) like it was it’s house! After my mom’s bitching, I put it outside. Growing worried, I came back after a few minutes, and it was still on the porch, waiting. After 30 minutes of convincing, my mom agreed that we could keep it as long as we could take it to Petco for a shot n stuff! Now, I had that cat for only FOUR damn days, before it disappeared after going outside one night to play with K-nuckles (I think K-nuckles did something to Shadow). My point is, what’s the significance of a black cat following you? Is it good luck or bad (cause my life’s pretty crap currently)? Does Shadow’s disappearance signify the leaving of good or bad luck? Are these kinds of superstitions even proven? Sorry for the long background story -_-;
Regardless of if the answer is yes or no, doesn’t matter, but it’s rather having an answer and/or explanation at all.

Suzi Q answers:

This is an old question that you posted again. I guess you want someone to say yes that there is some spooky things going on. But really nothing is going on and you let your imagination fool you so now you are scared of a little cat.
Just chill ok>?
There is no good luck or bad luck it is just a black cat ok?

James asks…

In England the black cats bring good luck, true or false ?

I don’t believe in superstitions, but my girlfriend does :). Here in Italy a black cat that goes accross a street, brings bad luck…but I read somewhere that in England is the opposite or rather cats bring good luck🙂
I am trying to persuade my girlfriend that it is only a folk tale 🙂
@Milton: I think the same as you, the problem is that the girlfriend of mine is terrified by black cats. If it was true that they bring good luck in England whereas in Italy not, would be easier to persuade her that these are really folk tales 🙂

Suzi Q answers:

Both, depending on your point of view.

All-black cats were once thought to be Witch’s Familiars and therefore evil. It became common for any black cat found to be killed, they would only escape death if they had some other colour on them, like a white paw or spot on their coat.

Hence “All-black Cats” became rare; therefore you became LUCKY to see one.

Joseph asks…

Cat superstitions: Why the creep do I kept seeing black cats across my path, morning or evening?

Should I believe about the good and bad lucks of cats crossing my path? It’s weird like it happened 6 times in a row…It is creeping me the hell out. I read different superstitions about cats, I do not know what to believe. There’s this weird event where I saw a black cat jumping like playing with something during a sunny day. There’s this spooky black ones where it stopped while walking my path and stared for quick second during the night. A white cat walking but then stopped to look at me with its shiny eyes in the night. Another incident where one morning I was driving, black cat just ran like a squirrel from right to left? Is it taking away my fortune. Does it all mean bad luck or good? Can anyone answer that? I can’t afford those Chleo palm reading card reading thingy. I’m really disturbed imagining my fate with those black cats.

Suzi Q answers:

Cats are just cats and have no special powers at all. I own 3 black cats and they walk infront of me all the time-no prob. You are going to worry yourself into an early grave. Thy being friendly to the kittys. Maybe find out where they call home and meet the people .Neighborhood cats are fun to watch, they have their own world.

Donald asks…

Information on black cat crossing your path superstition?

I was reading a book today which said that a black cat crossing your path is good luck, I always thought the opposite, which is correct?????? sources please

Suzi Q answers:

Depending on one’s area of the world (and the century one lived in), black cats portend either good or bad luck. Here are some examples, a couple of them quite involved, with some tongue-in-cheek asides.

In Asia and the U.K., a black cat is considered lucky.
In Yorkshire, England, it may be lucky to own a black cat, but it is unlucky have one cross your path.
To dream of a black cat is lucky.
On the other paw, seeing a black cat in your dream indicates that you are experiencing some fear in using your psychic abilities and believing in your intuition.

I wonder who makes up these things?
A funeral procession meeting up with a black cat is believed to forecast the death of another family member.
In 16th century Italy, people believed that if someone was sick he would die if a black cat lay on his bed.
In North America, it’s considered bad luck if a black cat crosses your path and good luck if a white cat crosses your path. In the U.K., switch the colors, I guess unless you live in Yorkshire.
Finding a white hair on a black cat brings good luck. Don’t pluck it though, or your luck may turn bad.
A strange black cat on a porch brings prosperity to the owner. (Scottish Lore)
A black cat seen from behind portends a bad omen. (And a black cat seen from the front is a GOOD omen?)
Ahhh…an explanation here: If a black cat walks towards you, it brings good fortune, but if it walks away, it takes the good luck with it.
If a black cat crosses your path while you’re driving, turn your hat around backwards and mark an X on your windshield to prevent bad luck. Oh my, what if you aren’t wearing a hat? Or you’re not carrying a felt-tip pen or lipstick? Please, don’t try this one at home!

Susan asks…

Do you get bad luck from two black cats crossing your path at the same time or across several days?

I had first one black cat one day and I thought – Great!!

Then two days later another black cat crossed my path; I thought Double-Great!

But in the course of superstition am I right in presuming this is good luck x2 or is it bad luck because 2 black cats crossing one’s path is said to be unlucky?
I’m not saying I necessarily agree with it – I’m just asking. Mind due it is very hard to disprove which is why superstition exists still today to many people and why very late at night in the dark it still plays on peoples’ minds.

Suzi Q answers:

They are cats. Plain and simple. Black cats are just a variety of Siamese that have body fur that is as dark as their markings. In fact, their siamese markings only tend to show up in direct sunlight or when the cat gets old and its coat starts to fade.

This superstition about black cats dates back to the dark ages when people did not understand simple things like the fact that a human, let alone a witch, cannot transform into, nor take control of an animal. It was believed at one time that black cats were this way.

So whatever color a cat is has no bearing on any of this. If that were true, nobody would own black cats. I had a black cat for 20 years and had zero problems with bad luck. And it crossed my path more times than I can count.

And that’s the best advice I can give

Paul asks…

Black Cat in m yard!! HELP?

okay so i was looking out the window and i saw a black cat cross from my yard to my neighbours…what does this mean?? I believe black cats are good and bad luck..what does this mean though..
and does anyone know superstitions for itching other than your right/left palm itching ? please and thanxxs

Suzi Q answers:

A black cat walking through your yard means that it was going somewhere and through your yard was the quickest way. I have a black cat and she seems to have attracted two black tom cats, so I regularly have three black cats in my yard. A black cat is no more lucky or unlucky than any other colour. (or could it be that I’m really a witch so attract black cats? He he he!)

Sharon asks…

Superstition, Good luck or Bad luck?

This has been bugging me for a while now. I’m not superstitious but I would still like to know. Because I keep getting different answers.

It is a white cat or a black cat which is supposed to be good luck?
Whichever one is good luck. Is the other bad luck?
I would also like to know if it is different depending on your race (if you know) .

***
I’m not going to pay attention to anyone who says I’m racist, because I know I am not. So don’t waste your time and mine. The most you’ll achieve from me is either a thumbs down (or in extreme cases reported).
***
Thanks to all who have answered so far.
(No thumbs down from me – all thumbs up)

FE Frog what you say is very true lol.

Suzi Q answers:

In America, a black cat is considered bad luck, while a white cat is considered good luck.

In most of Europe, a black cat is considered good luck, while a white cat is considered bad luck.

Cat superstitions vary from time period to time period, and place to place. Ex: In france it was believed that if you treated a cat well, he would reward you with good luck. In Ireland it was believed that a black cat crossing your path meant impending death in an epidemic.

Hope that helped 🙂

Nancy asks…

What superstitions do you follow on a regular or semi regular basis?

Do you knock on wood? Do you not like it when a black cat crosses your path? Do you have a good luck charm or ritual?
Anything else?

Suzi Q answers:

The main one that comes to mind is in regards to spiders, which I hate.. It’s an old gypsy superstition (I can’t recall where I first heard this) but you should pay attention to when you see a spider and it’s size.. If you see a small one in the morning, then you will have a little bad luck..the larger the spider later in the day..the worse off you will be.

Questions powered by Yahoo! Answers