“She’s even got a cat”, Keria Metz whispered.
And I bet it’s black.”
– Baptism of Fire

“Only You Understand Me”

The Greek goddess Hekate is one of the earliest symbols of a witch and her cat. (We will be celebrating the Night of Hekate next month.) Goddess of witchcraft and Magick, her kinship with cats is legendary.

As Goddess of threshholds between the living and the dead, Hekate shares this unique connection with cats, for it’s said they traverse this Veil as messengers – and at Samhain this Veil is at its thinnest.

During the Witch Trials of Medieval Europe, the cat endured an especially strange reputation for shape-shifting from witch to feline and back again. The poem “Cat Nights” by V. Neumann speaks of a little-known Irish legend which said that a witch could turn herself into a cat eight times, but on the ninth time she couldn’t regain her human form. The saying “A cat has nine lives” can probably trace its origins to this legend.

It’s not so easy to knock the life out of a cat or a witch.
– The Tower of Swallows

The cat has been revered as sacred but has also been cast out of the home, eyed with suspicion by society, and, at various times in history, condemned by the Church as the incarnation of the Devil himself.

Like the Witch, cats are viewed as outcasts. Independent Rebels.

‘Kayso, today we are celebrating National Witch Day. What’s up Witches! I have mentioned before that I’m a Hedge Witch. Hedge witchcraft is usually practiced by solitaries (as opposed to witches who belong to a group or coven) like me, and involves deep study of plants and the natural world. They find magickal intent in day-to-day activities and are intensely connected to Nature and animals. We are mostly self-taught. Additionally, a type of witch who can “hedge jump,” or travel between different worlds. (Although I haven’t experienced this since I took acid in High School.) My aptitude for divining through Tarot most likely is tied to my Irish Traveller ancestry. Also cursing.

Ireland’s got its fair share of famous witches, too.

• Florence Newton (fl. 1661) – also known as the “Witch of Youghal”.
• Bridget Ellen “Biddy” Early (née O’Connor or Connors; 1798–1872)
• Dame Alice Kyteler (1263–later than 1325)
• Petronilla de Meath (1300-1324)
• The 8 Witches of Islandmagee
• Bridget Cleary (née Boland; 1869–15 March 1895)

Those who had been toad [placed under a spell] were altered in some way that was irreversible.
– The Book of Magic

It’s hysterical what people did (do?) to ward off Witches.

• Witch cakes (which look like a spiky bagel) were crafted and suspended behind the door.
• Butter churns were made from mountain ash because many farmers believed that the wood of the mountain ash, or wiggin,” would keep their farms safe from witches’ mischief.”
• Leave a broom lying across the doorway.
• Witch bottle
• In the British Isles, it was believed that the Rowan tree protected against witchcraft and enchantment.

In closing, I’ll leave you with this. It is a character in the novel Triad which is about a woman named Branwen who is possessed by a witch named Rhiannon. The song was written by Stevie Nicks.

Video courtesy of CroNix99

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