#cat worship

The Nature of Cats & Magic

As I sit in my new garden, overwhelmed by the years of abandonment it has suffered and the work that needs doing to put it in order, I spy the occasional cat poking around the edges of the space. Though one or two seem to be domesticated there is a certain feral cat that comes to observe the changes I have been making to this long overgrown space.

Cats are creatures that move easily back and forth across the Veil. Their existence is one that lends itself to mystery and imagination. Where do they go when we are not looking, where have they been when they return covered in dust in the evening of a sweltering hot day?

In cultures across the earth the cat is seen as a creature related to magic. The feline is in many ways a form of fae, existing in a land of myth making and bedevilment as much as it exists here in our world.

The cat seems to have no problem moving back and forth across the transitory boundary between our perceived reality and the broader space that makes up what is called the beyond. Its nimble feet give it the necessary subtleness to cross that threshold, and it does so often.

But much like the fairy creatures that inhabit this world the cat is more than a cute companion, fluffy ears poking out from behind the hedges. It is a dangerous and sometimes spiteful creature that kills as is its nature. Taking lives both swiftly and torturously slow, the cat is the feared predator of many of the small things that scurry about our forests and gardens.

I do not mind these intrusions into my garden, after all these cats have been coming here much longer than I have. They may in fact have a thing or two to teach me about this space and its relationship to the boundaries I myself often cross. The feral one in particular seems to be aware of such activity on my part, having been caught spying from the shrubs as I performed a bit of ‘clearing out’ some nights ago.

Cats will often see that which we can only imagine. Stare directly at those things manifesting just beyond our own vision and call attention to presences we may otherwise not be aware of.

It is said in certain cultures that like the sidhe the cat hold a court and have a king. That they themselves come and go freely from an other realm of their own making. A cat land in which they are the rulers and peasants of a feudal kingdom of felines.

I harbour a common dream in which I visit such a place, but alas my human feet are not nimble enough to cross such a threshold. Instead I watch them as I drink my morning coffee and consider their intentions.

In many cultures there is a folkloric relationship between the cat and the witch. In fact the witch was often said to be able to transform into a cat to go prowling in the night. But I wonder if it was that the cat could transform into the witch to meddle more directly in the affairs of common men?

The kindred spirit of independence and curiosity that practitioners and felines share is one of common understanding. They know we know, and we know they know we know.

A cat familiar is one who has been ritually altered via the binding of a spirit to the form of a young kitten, but it is that physical container that informs the perception of the spirit residing in the cat and the familiar is as much a cat as it is something else. It sees like a cat, hears like a cat and ultimately comes to think like a cat.

Cats were in some cultures actually thought of as a type of fairy, with folktales of cat fairy beings being caught out by unwitting passers by and drawn into a narrative of courtly formalities that bewilder the fateful mundane who has trespassed into matters best left alone.

As I write the feral cat is in the bramble at the end of the walled garden. He seems impervious to thorns that left their claw marks on my arms and legs even with appropriate clothing. I was there looking for berries difficult to reach, he seems more interested in the voles that are also there for the berries. Plump and slow they make a likely lunch.

In the legends of our ancestors, from all around the world, it is made clear that one must never trifle with a cat. To cross a cat is to bring bad luck or a curse upon the heads of those who would do harm. The prophecy of impending death to those who would harm a cat is often brought by another cat as messenger. No good comes of gaining the ill will of a feline.

As we walk our paths through the world we encounter cats of all sizes and respects that seem aware of who we are and the things we get up to. They stare at us with decided intent, and our secrets are common knowledge to their people. How like the fairy who extort us with the deeds of our own doing that they have witnessed.

It is best to respect a cat in all matters, and to take guidance by observing its habits and routines. The witch would do well to pay more attention to the magic of the cat, as it often goes about a similar business to our own, with less effort in the bargain.