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Black CatsA black cat is a common symbol of Halloween, because traditionally, a black cat is a common symbol of witchcraft.
Cats have long been associated with witchcraft because of their purported psychical and magical skills. Cats are often included in a select group of animals called a familiar, a spirit who obeys a witch, conjurer, etc., and serves and helps that person. Witches considered cats to be magical partners and practioners. Thus cats often participated in magical spells and rituals. Black cats were reputed to be especially desirable partners for witches because of their ability to remain unseen in dark places. During the Middle Ages, Germanic peoples and the Normans attributed bad luck and ill omens to the presence of black cats, most often as harbingers of impending death. This is where the superstition regarding a "black cat crossing your path" finds association with bad luck. Ownership of cats was often cited in witch trials, with the mere association with cats being cited as evidence of working with Satan. During the witch-hunts, cats were often punished, along with their owners, by being burned alive. Black cats, in particular, were often killed outright. Some witches were purported to have the ability to shapeshift into a cat up to nine times, in reference to the common lore of a "cat having nine lives". For a black cat fairy tale see King of the Cats. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Black Cat" and from Cat-Purr.com
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