What with Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Covid-19, property taxes, the price of gas and all the other “fun stuff” we had to endure last year (with no end in sight), it came and went, and I totally spaced it. I’m talking about Black Cat Day, October 27th. Bet you never heard of Black Cat Day, so I’m about to enlighten you cat lovers out there. I have two of the bewitching varmints and so does my son, and we can attest to the fact that there is nothing scary, evil or bad luck about black cats. Well, maybe only when they walk across you keyboard.
According to Greek Mythology, black cat superstition in Western culture dates back to Ancient Greece. The story goes that Zeus, one of the Greeks’ gazillion gods, had a wife named Hera. She got miffed at her servant Galinthias for impeding the birth of Hercules and turned him into a black cat. Written records link black cats to the occult as far back as the 13thcentury when Pope Gregory IX issued a document called “Vox in Rama” on June 13, 1233. In it, black cats were declared an “incarnation of Satan.” The decree marked the beginning of the inquisition and church-sanctioned witch hunts. It was Initially designed to squash the cult of Luciferians in Germany, but quickly spread across Europe. But it wasn’t only the connection they fabricated between witches, cats, and Satan that the early Christians feared. They also saw them both as threats. Cats, much like the little old ladies who were accused of witchcraft, tend to exhibit a healthy disrespect for authority. They don’t cower when mistreated or fawn upon the unworthy like dogs have a tendency to do. The church wouldn’t tolerate independent women; and that went for their independent pets too. When, or wherever it started, it makes me wonder if anyone back then had the intelligence God gave that proverbial species of ant!
The special day to celebrate these beautiful, sleek creatures was October 27th in 2021. We missed it! But fret not, dear hearts. We can do it up right in 2022 by marking our 2022 calendars on August 17 as National Black Cat Appreciation Day and October 27th as National Black Cat Day. Theses days also seeks to raise awareness regarding the low adoption rate for black cats. Looks like an IQ lower than one’s shoe size was apparently hereditary!
So, get out there and promote the adoption of black cats or Witch Allie will put a spell on you! Incidentally, spread the word that they’re like potato chips; you can’t have just one!!!
Happy New Year!
Witch Allie
With You, We Can
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