Black Cats

Black cats are usually portrayed with its back arched, claws out, and occasionally wearing a jaunty pointed hat. Local news channels warn us to keep black cats inside on Halloween just in case the local hooligans decide to get up to some nasty hijinks.
But where did the fear of these beautiful animals come from? Anyone who lives with a cat knows how fortunate they are to have a cat in their life -- so why are they considered unlucky?

 

Divine Cats:

The ancient Egyptians honored cats of every color. Cats were mighty and strong, and held sacred. Two of the most amazing goddesses in the Egyptian pantheon were Bast and Sekhmet, worhsipped as long ago as 3000 b.c.e. Family cats were adorned with jewelry and fancy collars, and even had pierced ears. If a cat died, the entire family went into mourning, and sent the cat off to the next world with a great ceremony. For thousands of years, the cat held a position of divinity in Egypt.

 

The Witch's Familiar:

Around the time of the Middle Ages, the cat became associated with witches and witchcraft. Around the late 1300's, a group of witches in France were accused of worshipping the Devil in the form of a cat. It may be because of the cat's nocturnal nature that it became connected to witches -- after all, night time was the time they held their meetings, as far as the church was concerned.

 

Contemporary Cats:

Around the time of World War Two, when the American tradition of Halloween as trick-or-treat time really got underway, cats became a big part of the holiday decoration. This time around, however, they were considered a good luck charm -- a black cat at your door would scare away any evil critters that might come a'calling.
Most people are far less superstitious today than they were in the Middle Ages, but the black cat remains part of our late October decor.

 

Black Cat Folklore and Legends:

• Sixteenth-century Italians believed that if a black cat jumped on the bed of an ill person, the person would soon die.
• In Colonial America, Scottish immigrants believed that a black cat entering a wake was bad luck, and could indicated the death of a family member.
• The Norse goddess Freyja drove a chariot pulled by a pair of black cats.
• A Roman solder killed a black cat in Egypt, and was killed by an angry mob of locals.
• Appalachian folklore said that if you had a stye on the eyelid, rubbing the tail of a black cat on it would make the stye go away.
• If you find a single white hair on your otherwise-black cat, it's a good omen.
• In England's border countries and southern Scotland, a strange black cat on the front porch brings good fortune.

via about.com

Birthday of author Scott Cunningham in 1956

Author Scott Cunningham (June 27, 1956 - March 28,1993), created more than a dozen books on NeoWicca and modern Paganism. Born in Michigan, Scott spend most of his life in San Diego, California. In high school, he discovered Wicca, and was initiated into an eclectic Wiccan coven. In the early 1980s, he spent some time in a group led by author Raven Grimassi. It was from these experiences that Scott drew much of the information which was passed along in his books.

While Cunningham often comes under fire from lineaged Wiccans, who point out that his books are in fact about NeoWicca, rather than traditional Wicca, his works typically offer a lot of good advice for people who practice as solitaries. He frequently points out in his writings that religion is a deeply personal thing, and it's not up to other people to tell you if you're doing it right or wrong. He also argued that it was time for Wicca to stop being a secretive, mystery religion, and that Wiccans should welcome interested newcomers with open arms.

Interestingly, Scott was able to take his knowledge of natural magic and translate it into language that beginners to Wicca could easily understand. He shared his belief of the Divine, and of symbolism, and although he never dumbed it down, he managed to take complex information and explain it in a way that someone who had no prior understanding of Wicca could still absorb. It was this skill, perhaps, that made him one of modern Paganism's most popular writers. Even fifteen years after his death, Scott Cunningham's books continue to sell in bookstores around the world.

In 1983, Scott was diagnosed with lymphoma. He suffered from a variety of illnesses over the next decade, including meningitis, before passing away in 1993 at the age of thirty-six. Following his death, much of his material was repackaged by publishers and released posthumously.

-The Crafty Witch

Healing Spell

For the month of April I had opened up to some of my followers and asked what type of spells do they use and need on a daily bases or just in general - each blog post except for holidays or days of importance I will be posts a different spell every day.

Todays Spell

 

-The Crafty Witch

Protection Chant

For the month of April I had opened up to some of my followers and asked what type of spells do they use and need on a daily bases or just in general - each blog post except for holidays or days of importance I will be posts a different spell every day.

Todays Spell

Protection Chant

If you are feeling anxious, panicky or threatened, try repeating this chant quietly to yourself.

 
“Divine Goddess,
Goddess Divine,
Show me a way
Give me a sign”

 

 

 

*this chant can also be used for a "truth" spell

 

 

-The Crafty Witch

Sybil Leek's Six Tenets of Witchcraft (5 of 6)

Tolerance

Tolerance may be one of the least acted-upon principles of many modern belief systems. While many people espouse the virtue of tolerance, many refuse to be so, making blanket statements about people whose religion doesn’t coincide with our own. To tolerate someone else's belief doesn’t mean to put up with it begrudgingly; instead it means to accept their right to choose differently from us. We are all human beings, and all connected to the Divine; this factor makes us part of the cosmic whole. When in fact we look at the concept of "do no harm" -- and this includes with our words as well as our actions -- we must refrain from doing harm not because a rule tells us so, but because it's the right thing to do. After all, what goes around comes around.

 

 Reblogged From author *Pattie Willington

- The Crafty Witch