If you weren’t aware that March 28^th is Respect Your Cat Day, meow is the time to wake up! This “invasive alien species” (according to The Polish Academy of Sciences) has had the upper paw since the Purramids.

If you need a sign to know who’s in charge, please note the 3D Kitty Colossus on the 1,664 square-foot digital billboard in the Shinjuku district, Tokyo, Japan. Looming over an illusory ledge, this Catzilla mews and menaces passersby below. Also consider the outbreak of Cat Cafés, (141 in the U.S., 17 in Canada and counting) where you pay for the privilege of animals on the table, shedding into your pricey Cappuccino.

Please note that March 28^th is not “Cuddle” or “Squeeze Your Cat Day.” Only R-E-S-P-E-C-T and tribute will suffice, so bring out the catnip and caviar, and become acquainted with She Who Rules Your World.

Claw and Order

Unlike kindhearted dogs, cats suffer no fools, responding with a hiss and a swift swipe of rebuke. That said, it’s no wonder a sisterhood of feline goddesses protected Egypt for over thirty centuries. Depicted as having the form of beautiful women, they were lion-headed Sekhmet, “She Who is Powerful,” cat-headed Bastet (or Baast), “She of the Ointment Jar,” cheetah-headed Mafdet, “She Who Runs Swiftly,” and the lion-headed Pakhet, “She Who Scratches.”

Sekhmet, the elder of this pride, was the most savage - a warrior goddess riding the Solar Barge of Ra, protecting the Light with insatiable ferocity. She was also a goddess of medicine and healing. (One can imagine her claws as precise surgical tools.) Mafdet provided protection against scorpions and snakes, and Pakhet was the whirlwind lash of the desert storm. All were defenders of motherhood; quite fitting, as a Queen has four to eight kittens per litter, whom she protects, nurtures and instructs on how to survive.

Bastet was a different breed, compared to her more war-like sisters. Initially, she was an alternative expression of Sekhmet, as they shared a near-identical origin story. But as “Perfumed Protector,” Bastet took a more refined, domestic turn. The human-bodied goddess was also depicted as a cat, appearing as alabaster amulets for expectant mothers. “She of the Ointment Jar” was a purr-veyor of refinements, such as perfume, medicinal unguents and balms. The word “alabaster,” the stone used for these containers, originates from Bastet’s name.

The goddess had morphed from lioness into domus cattus, which made her gifts more accessible, more relevant to Egyptian daily life. For example, cats’ hunting skills protected crops, grain storage and households from vermin. Offerings and indulgences (aka cat yummies) lured them towards domestication. Mice and rats were kept in abeyance, which decreased the chances of disease. The cat’s night vision, acute hearing, nocturnal alertness and stalking prowess were buffers against evil spirits. Cats brought companionship into the lives of both the poor and elite.  

Party Animal

Imagine yourself sailing down the Nile, as part of a vast flotilla of party people, to the biggest event of the year. You cavort with your barge buddies, like rowdy passengers on a Carnival Cruise. You’re on your way to the great city of Bubastis and the Bastet Festival! On reaching the shore, you’ll be swept up by a throng of an estimated 700,000 men and women, all ready to feast, drink, dance and get down. We have a record of this extraordinary melee, thanks to Greek historian Herodotus who writes, “…more wine is drunk at this feast than in the whole year.” Given the Egyptian practice of adding Blue Lotus (an aphrodisiac with psychotropic effects) to wine – it boggles the imagination. 

This divine madness is in honour of Bastet, who’s shaking her sistrum like nobody’s business.  Being beautiful, sensuous, fun-loving and fertile, she shares her gifts through music, dance and pleasure. Bubastis’ Temple of Bastet had a more elevated atmosphere, being a place of worship with a resident Oracle, appealing more to the sensibilities of Greek visitors. On more solemn occasions, you could visit the Temple to honour and inter your deceased cat. More than 300,000 cat mummies have been exhumed where Bastet’s temple-complex once stood.

The emphasis on wine and beer consumption pinpoints Bastet’s origin as Sekhmet, who became so enraged in battle, she couldn’t stop consuming blood, even after a battle had ended. The sun god Ra stopped Sekhmet’s rampage by tricking her into drinking wine (or beer dyed with red ochre), causing her to fall asleep. Thus, Egyptian binge drinking celebrated the end of a conflict.

What’s Up With Black Cats?

Since Egypt’s glory days, cats heeded the call to “Join the Navy and See the World,” by boarding trading vessels that took them to the Mediterranean, Europe and beyond, as they protected the ships’ crew, food, cargo and ropes from rats. Where cats landed, different places afforded different customs and beliefs – such as associating cats with witchcraft.

The Greek myth of the Goddess Hecate - She of the Crossroads, the Underworld and Magic – may have been responsible. The Goddess Hera, in a fit of pique (Is she ever not angry about something?), turned her servant Galinthias into a black cat. The banished Galinthias found sanctuary and purpose in serving Hecate. Hecate herself shapeshifted into a cat to escape the monster Typhon. (It’s also interesting that the name Hecate contains “cat.”) The Goddess of Darkness was the patron of felines, owls, snakes and dogs: creatures empowered by the night. Perhaps this was the origin of medieval superstitions, of women who turned into cats or employed their familiars toward malefic ends. Pope Gregory IX did not respect cats, which led to an explosion of rats and The Black Death, wiping out 1/3 of Northern Europe, from 1346 to 1352.

Never Trust A Barking Cat

Perhaps the black cat’s undeserved reputation can be pinned on one particular creature: Ovinnik. This Slavic black cat was actually a Domovor, a type of supernatural being entrusted with protecting households. Not only does Ovinnik bark like a dog, he’s the worst-case scenario of a cat with a grudge. He doesn’t care for dirty floors or profanity. While keeping tabs on who’s naughty or nice, he sees you when you’re sleeping. He knows when you’re awake. He’s waiting for the perfect time, when he’ll retaliate! Don’t expect a lump of coal – he’s more likely to burn down your farm. Fortunately, he can be bribed with pancakes.

As the saying goes, one must give the devil his due - especially to Ovinnik. Thus, we return to the subject of respect, to avoid such aforementioned disasters. 

March 28^th isn’t a random date, chosen for Respect Your Cat Day. On this day in 1384, England’s King Richard II passed an edict, declaring the consumption of cats illegal. Though Richard II was a land thieving, “volatile, extravagant and narcissistic” king who overtaxed his subjects, at least he got the cat part right.

Please remember that those litter-tracking paws follow in the footsteps of greatness. Whether your cat is an angel in fur, or the nemesis of all nice things, please give her due deference for the legacy of Warrior/Love Goddess, world traveler and survivor. Then, she’ll tolerate a cuddle and a squeeze. Love and hisses!

About the Author:

Lisa Iris is an artist and proprietress of MYTHOS Art and Counselling 289 High St., Fort Erie, ON. Her artwork is represented exclusively by crystalwind.ca and is featured in The Crystal Wind Oracle by Antonio DeLiberato.
Lisa enjoys opening her home to kindred spirits for conversation and for making magic happen.

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