Cats have always held a certain air of mystique about them and have long been associated with matters of the occult. As I have discovered over the years, cats themselves can be valuable in the workings of magick. Because of their uncanny ability to perceive that which people cannot, our feline friends have found their way into fact and fiction throughout the ages. In not so ancient Egypt, for instance, cats were at regarded as sacred animals. Much Egyptian art was devoted to the cat, including statues and carvings that are still being uncovered to this day.
Bast, the Egyptian goddess, is part feline and part human in form. Sacrifices were at one time performed to this daughter of Isis and Osiris in order to insure her blessings. The mummified remains of cats dating back thousands of years are also a testament to the sacred role cats once played for the ancient Egyptians.
In more recent times, cats have found themselves depicted as the witch's best friend. This is made noticable in the popular Halloween art of the day, such as the image of a cat sitting on the back of a witch's broom flying through the air; there is also the ever popular hissing black cat. Such illustrations are clear demonstrations of the role of the cat in folklore today.
During the witch trials of Europe, cats were sometimes viewed as being the physical manifestations of familiar spirits. Besides seeing them as merely a helping hand to the witch, authorities and common folk believed them to be devils incarnate. Such negative publicity proved to be detrimental in the end as the cats usually found themselves being destroyed along with their owners. It was only when cats had established their usefulness to man as walking rat traps that their alleged associations with the Guy Down Below were overlooked. Sadly enough, we still hear the occasional report of cats being maimed or tortured by ignorant folk due to those associations of the past.
Today cats have it surprisingly better. Aside from the cruelty of children and drunken college kids, they don't have much to fear from people. Luckily there are laws that protect these animals from certain unsavory elements of the human population. Nowadays it has become increasingly difficult to find a public sacrifice that offers up our feline friends to the gods. Nor are cats burned publicly with their owners for aiding and abetting a practitioner of the art.
The feline population has, over the years, gained quite a reputation for being the little psychics that they are. Have you ever noticed your cat staring intently at nothing and then following that particular nothing around with its eyes? Some may think that it's ordinary tabby behavior, and it very well may be. But what if your cat isn't crazy? Others may be more inclined to think that their feline companion has sensed something along the lines of the nonphysical.
My use of cats during magick has led me to believe a little of both. The first cat that I used for my workings played the role of a lookout. I would call upon entities and wait for her reaction. Asbelle, at that time a kitten, would begin watching things and become mildly agitated. It would be at that moment that I would move the ritual into full swing. For the few short years that I had the pleasure of working with Asbelle she proved to be a valuable asset and good company.
Besides serving the operator as an extra set of senses, cats can contribute to magick and ritual in other ways. Having a cat around during a working helps to improve the mood of the magician. This in turn relieves negative tension and more or less assists in certain forms of banishment. With the mood of the operator improved, such petty thoughts as jealousy, revenge and other things which make us human, are reduced in intensity as well. This allows us to focus on more important things, like for example, getting on with our lives.
Other things to consider in regard to the cat and the use of cats in magic include the kind of personality the animal possesses. A timid cat may become frightened too easily and seek to vacate the ritual area or hide beneath the nearest piece of furniture. A rambunctious animal, on the other hand, might make a nuisance of itself by climbing the curtains or the operator and otherwise acting like, well, an animal. The cat you choose also has to want to be there or at least not mind being there. Finding a willing participant will prevent unnecessary yowling at the door to the work area.
Before a cat is employed for the purpose of magick, one may choose to consider its magickal safety. There are many avenues open for one to travel in regards to the subject of magickal protection for your feline assistant. For instance, if your cat wears a collar, depending on the material with which it is constructed, symbols can be drawn in ink or scratched in with a sharp instrument to insure its security. Amulets and talismans may also be made to hang from the collar as does a pendant on a necklace. Symbols of protection and blessing which may be employed can be of Norse or Celtic origin such as the runes and oghams, for instance. If one prefers natural items, stones and crystals of various qualities and combinations, among other things, can also be used. Fumigating your cat with protective herbs isn't always the best idea. Cats, as I have discovered in the past, do not appear to particularly enjoy smoke. The fact of the matter is that they find it mildly offensive and are repulsed by it. Also, the confines of the magick circle cannot always be relied upon to serve as an active barrier of protection for a cat. This is because it may not be within the cat's intention to remain inside of the circle for the duration of the working.
Besides all of the previously mentioned methods for protecting your cat during a ritual there exists the agency of outside influence. Spiritual beings, in form that is, may be called upon to provide your four legged friend with the protection he or she deserves. Some such beings can be of either Elemental or Elementary quality. That is to say, they may be beings which occur naturally or ones which occur through the exertion of conscious and unconscious wills. I have found that petitioning to Bast works quite well in this matter and personally recommend that it be done alone or in addition to other methods of magickally protecting your cat.
Besides the magickal safety of the cat, the physical safety and the comfort of the cat need to be considered also, along with the well being of the work area. Cats have a tendency to brush up against things, knocking them over or off-balance. Items which lack stability, and which are in the path of an oncoming cat, need to be made stable. Such things as candle holders and glasses of liquid that may stain the floor or harm the cat or the operator are mainly what I have in mind.
Besides all of that, nothing is more distracting then a cat with hot wax on it. Since it is so, it should be guarded against. Burning too much incense can also prove to be irritating to a cat as cats don't smoke and for that matter need not be forced to. Tying knots to produce a desired effect can also prove to be somewhat difficult when you are working with a playful animal. In my work space, amulets that I use during ritual usually remain at their appropriate quarter before they are donned. My new cat, Lizzy, whom I use during rituals, has a problem with dragging those amulets away and making life more difficult than it needs to be. It is not unusual to find myself in a tug of war with the cat because of this.
It has also been my experience that cats will sometimes try to drink out of water that has been set out for the working. This can and should be prevented by placing a fresh bowl of water somewhere in the work area specifically for the purpose of watering the animal. It also helps if you point this out to the cat as they can be persistent in their wants and needs. Food may also be made available but cats are not always the most quiet eaters. Not to mention that the smell of some cat foods can overpower the scent of the incense, inspiring one to commit an oceanic ritual of sorts or conjure up a tuna.
Despite the occasional mishaps that working with an animal can bring, the rewards of doing so are well worth it. Such actions can serve to bring about a new appreciation for your cat as well as a better understanding. In comparison to working with people, cats definitely rank higher on my scale. People have to be taught, cats do not. People can be dogmatic, cats don't like dogs. People want results and poison the air with doubts which in turn undermine the ritual. Cats don't care about that and hence do not foil the efforts of the operator. In closing I would like to once again state that it is important that you consider the safety, personality and comfort of the cat you choose to use. Disregarding such things can lead to excessive and obnoxious cat noises as well as multiple lacerations and a disheveled work area.
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