Black Cat Conjure and Concealment
Voodooistic gatherings were characterized by the bloody sacrifice of black cats, chickens and snakes, by alcoholic debauchery, and by nude dancing induced by crowd hysteria. - California Folklore Society, 1964
There is an ancient popular notion that black cats are witches in disguise and if not witches, they are symbols of evil omens. In fact, beliefs about the maleficent black cat can be found all around the world. In Ireland, for example, when a black cat crosses your path in the moonlight, it means there is going to be an epidemic illness. Hundreds of years ago in Italy, it was believed that if a black cat lay on the bed of a sick person, that person would die. And of course, a most popular American superstition holds if a black cat crosses your path, you will be the recipient of bad luck. In other cultures, black cats are considered good omens. For instance, in Scotland, a strange black cat on your porch is a sign of upcoming prosperity. The Celts thought black cats were reincarnated beings able to divine the future. And, even as black cats were commonly believed to be witches’ familiars, they were also considered powerful and magical witches themselves, who had the power to transform into black cats for hag-riding and other nefarious purposes.
Near where I stood was an oblong table about eight feet in length and four in width. On its right end stood a black cat, and on its left a white one. I thought them alive, and, having a certain fondness for cats, stretched out my hand to stroke the nearest. The touch, that most philosophical of all the senses, soon satisfied me that they were fine specimens of negro taxidermy. (Buel 1883, 524).
In hoodoo and in New Orleans Voodoo, black cats are associated with good luck and have been advertised as such since the late 1930s. They are considered particularly auspicious for sports and games of chance. The tail of a black cat when pointing upward was considered lucky, and if you stroke a cat's tail nine times before playing cards, it is said to give you a winning edge in card games. The most famous of all black cat beliefs is the one that relates to the magic ascribed to the all-powerful black cat bone. In New Orleans Voodoo, every black cat has one special bone in its body that will either grant the owner invisibility or can be used to bring back a lost lover. Due to these beliefs, black cats were unfortunately sought out for their lucky bones and interred under front porches as well as in the walls of a home for protection, to draw good luck and to ward off evil.
Hag-Riding Black Cats
Black cats are associated with African American conjure in the context of haints, haunts, boo hags and hag riding. The term haints is an older term found in the South and is often associated with a specific color of blue that used to be painted on doors, window frames and porch ceilings. Some may not know why their grandmothers and great grandmothers painted the porch ceilings haint blue - particularly the younger generation - but, let there be no doubt, their grandmothers knew exactly what they were doing and why they were doing it. It was out of the fear of these restless spirits they called haints. The grandmothers believed that painting certain parts of the home haint blue would protect the family from being taken or influenced by these troublesome spirits of the dead. The haint blue color functions as a spiritual boundary, preventing evil from entering the home and thus, keeping the family safe.
Every night a black cat came and rode on the man's chest. He was told that it was not really a cat but a witch and was advised to set a trap for it in the usual way, that is, by thrusting a fork through a sieve, so that the tines would project inside of it. This he did, placing the sieve close beside him. The cat, in attempting to leap on his chest as usual, was impaled on the fork, and unable to get off. Next morning it was found that the next-door neighbor, a woman, was sick abed with a "misery in her breast," the location of the pain corresponding exactly to the wounded place on the chest of the cat. This neighbor died of the injury within a week. (American Folklore Society 1899, 145).
Haints
The term haints is an older term found in the South and is often associated with a specific color of blue that used to be painted on doors, window frames and porch ceilings. Some may not know why their grandmothers and great grandmothers painted the porch ceilings haint blue - particularly the younger generation - but, let there be no doubt, their grandmothers knew exactly what they were doing and why they were doing it. It was out of the fear of these restless spirits they called haints. The grandmothers believed that painting certain parts of the home haint blue would protect the family from being taken or influenced by these troublesome spirits of the dead. The haint blue color functions as a spiritual boundary, preventing evil from entering the home and thus, keeping the family safe.
Close-up of a mummified black cat face.
Black Cat Concealment
The concealment of ritual objects in buildings for good luck and protection has been documented across the globe. Most of the research has focused on practices in England, Ireland and Northern Europe. In Southern conjure, the act of burying, concealing and otherwise hiding ritual objects is called laying tricks. Laying a trick involves the deployment of a working so that it is essentially a magic spell that will continue to work for as long as it remains hidden. Concealment is also a method of ritual remains disposal. Moreover, the location of the concealment holds significance. For example, if the intent is to attract something, the object is buried under the front porch, steps, yard, or garden. If the intent is to keep something nearby, it is buried in the backyard. If the intent is to make something stop or to finalize a working, it is buried in a graveyard. Ritual items may also be buried in a graveyard if the intent is to enlist the help of Spirits to assist in the conjure or for the more nefarious purpose of causing illness or death of a target.
The available evidence illustrates that since medieval times, folk magic practices such as the concealment of ritual objects were widespread in the British Isles and northern Europe and persisted into the early twentieth century (Merrifield 1987). Moreover, these practices and the underlying beliefs in witches, demons, spirits and the supernatural accompanied immigrants to this country. Among the most unique cultural artifact found to be concealed associated with magic and superstition are the bodies of cats, referred to as dried cats, concealed cats, mummified cats and dessicated cats in the anthropological literature.
The available evidence illustrates that since medieval times, folk magic practices such as the concealment of ritual objects were widespread in the British Isles and northern Europe and persisted into the early twentieth century (Merrifield 1987). Moreover, these practices and the underlying beliefs in witches, demons, spirits and the supernatural accompanied immigrants to this country. Among the most unique cultural artifact found to be concealed associated with magic and superstition are the bodies of cats, referred to as dried cats, concealed cats, mummified cats and dessicated cats in the anthropological literature.
The body of a mummified black cat found under the front porch of a plantation home in the south. Notice how the front legs have been inverted with the legs removed and repositioned so the paws are in the shoulder sockets while the scapulars are in the position of the paws. Also, note the upturned tail.
About 10 years ago, an anonymous source contacted me about a mummified cat they had discovered under the front porch of a plantation home. Apparently, the owner of the plantation home had a child with one of the slaves. It appears the cat was carefully laid under the front porch in the crawl space but on top of the ground as opposed to being buried. While the practice of burying cats and black cats in particular under a home as a protective measure is well known, this cat was different for 2 reasons: 1) it was mummified and 2) the cat's front legs had been removed and turned around so that the paws were in the shoulder sockets and the scapulars were in the position of the paws. The individuals took the mummified cat to a veterinarian for examination. According to the doctor, the front legs had been wrapped in a cloth to hold them in place since they were reversed. The physician stated the xrays reveal that the limbs were precisely removed. Some hair found on the cat indicated the cat was, indeed, a black cat.
The entombment of cats in houses began to arouse intrigue in archaeologists after several specimens were found in the demolition of buildings in the twentieth century. Most of these discoveries were in Europe. For example, a cat of “ebony color” was discovered in the roof of a fourteenth or fifteenth century home in Bridgewater, Somerset, England. The specimen is described as having “its mouth open in a 'snarling' way, and its forepaws raised defensively as if striving to fight off an enemy” (Howard 1951, 149). That particular specimen was once housed in the Bridgewater Museum but has since been destroyed. In an old house built in 1590 near Burford, Oxdfordshire, England, two cats of undetermined color were found under the floor of a landing along with three playing cards of Queen Anne's reign (Howard 149). Another cat was found in I946 at Dalbacken Farm, in Sweden “when the steps to a front door, which had been put in place 25 years before, were removed. In a very contorted position, with head and tail raised, mouth wide open and claws extended, not at all a natural position of death” (Howard 149). This specimen is housed in the Uppsala Paloontological Institute in Sweden. Twenty-five such cases were examined by Margaret Howard from the Institute of Archaeology at the University of London in 1951, who subsequently posited three theories: (a) the cats were placed in buildings as foundation sacrifices; (b) they were intended as vermin-scares; and (c) they were accidentally enclosed, or trapped in cavities in the various buildings, which included homes and churches. None of the specimens included in this study were discovered in the United States. Also, though some were clearly placed and posed prior to entombment, none had the feature seen in our example with the front limbs precisely removed and reversed.
The first theory set forth by Howard may or may not explain the finding of a black cat entombed under a front porch in the American South. Nonetheless, foundational sacrifices would not be a far stretch for believers in African American folk magic, New Orleans Voodoo or Hoodoo in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. But how would we explain the leg reversal?
In Hoodoo, we look to the concept of the Law of Similarity in Sympathetic Magic for the whys of a given practice. Thus, reversing the legs may have been intended to keep a wandering lover home or to prevent a philanderer from straying. If it were a beloved pet who died, it could have been placed there to protect the home or to reverse bad luck or ill fortune. Further, we can look to the metaphor of shouldering some sort of burden and that burden being released by moving the shoulders to the feet; thus, removing whatever weight was on the family’s shoulders to the feet position where it can be run off, magickally speaking.
The entombment of cats in houses began to arouse intrigue in archaeologists after several specimens were found in the demolition of buildings in the twentieth century. Most of these discoveries were in Europe. For example, a cat of “ebony color” was discovered in the roof of a fourteenth or fifteenth century home in Bridgewater, Somerset, England. The specimen is described as having “its mouth open in a 'snarling' way, and its forepaws raised defensively as if striving to fight off an enemy” (Howard 1951, 149). That particular specimen was once housed in the Bridgewater Museum but has since been destroyed. In an old house built in 1590 near Burford, Oxdfordshire, England, two cats of undetermined color were found under the floor of a landing along with three playing cards of Queen Anne's reign (Howard 149). Another cat was found in I946 at Dalbacken Farm, in Sweden “when the steps to a front door, which had been put in place 25 years before, were removed. In a very contorted position, with head and tail raised, mouth wide open and claws extended, not at all a natural position of death” (Howard 149). This specimen is housed in the Uppsala Paloontological Institute in Sweden. Twenty-five such cases were examined by Margaret Howard from the Institute of Archaeology at the University of London in 1951, who subsequently posited three theories: (a) the cats were placed in buildings as foundation sacrifices; (b) they were intended as vermin-scares; and (c) they were accidentally enclosed, or trapped in cavities in the various buildings, which included homes and churches. None of the specimens included in this study were discovered in the United States. Also, though some were clearly placed and posed prior to entombment, none had the feature seen in our example with the front limbs precisely removed and reversed.
The first theory set forth by Howard may or may not explain the finding of a black cat entombed under a front porch in the American South. Nonetheless, foundational sacrifices would not be a far stretch for believers in African American folk magic, New Orleans Voodoo or Hoodoo in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. But how would we explain the leg reversal?
In Hoodoo, we look to the concept of the Law of Similarity in Sympathetic Magic for the whys of a given practice. Thus, reversing the legs may have been intended to keep a wandering lover home or to prevent a philanderer from straying. If it were a beloved pet who died, it could have been placed there to protect the home or to reverse bad luck or ill fortune. Further, we can look to the metaphor of shouldering some sort of burden and that burden being released by moving the shoulders to the feet; thus, removing whatever weight was on the family’s shoulders to the feet position where it can be run off, magickally speaking.
