Black and Prejudice

In bright contrast to this image of the "evil" black cat, there is a "good" black cat -- the antinomian lucky black cat of the African-American sporting and gambling world. This black cat does double-duty as a representative of the black arts (including the granting of invisibility and the return of lost love) and as a bringer of money luck.

In the form of a figural candle, the black cat is burned in rituals designed to increase gambler's luck. Hoodoo products, such as the Lucky Mojo Brand Black Cat Sachet Powder, Black Cat Bath Crystals, Black Cat Dressing Oil, and Black Cat Incense shown here, are also popular with gamblers, especially those who play at cards and bet the lottery. In addition, a popular style of mojo bag for gamblers is the so-called Black Cat Curio Bag, which is decorated with a small black cat charm on the outside and filled with a variety of luck-bringing roots and herbs, including John the Conqueror root.

THE BLACK CAT BONE SPELL

The notorious black cat bone charm. There are many root doctors who claimed that every black cat has within its body one bone that will either grant the owner invisibility or can be used to bring back a lost lover. To secure this bone, a black cat must be thrown alive into a cauldron of boiling water at midnight. The animal dies in agony, and the heartless practitioner boils the carcass until the meat falls off the bones. Some say that the special bone will be the top one left when the water boils away, others say it can only be found by placing each bone in turn beneath the tongue while an assistant stands by to notify the practitioner that he has become invisible, and still others swear that if all the bones are thrown into a stream that runs north (uncommon in most of North America), the desired bone will be one that floats on the water and heads south.

Once found, the black cat bone is carried in a mojo bag and anointed with Van Van Oil to bring back a lost lover. The oil or fat of the cat is bottled for use as a candle dressing and for anointing gambler's charms. Hurston claimed to have participated in the ritual killing of a black cat for this purpose -- but she did not reveal whether her lost lover returned to her. (For several much more congenial ways to return a lost lover, see the page on love spells.)

The reputation of the black cat bone spell is so great that even today, when animal sacrifice is not condoned by society, several hoodoo supply companies offer black cat bones and black cat oil in their catalogues.

During the 1930s, when the belief that an elephant statue with its trunk upward was lucky became endemic in the USA, the "trunk up" belief was spread to the black cat with "tail up" as well and magic candles in the form of a black cat with tail up began appearing in mail order hoodoo catalogues in the 1940s, if not earlier. However, tail up black cat statues did not become popular -- probably becasue there was so much "bad luck" attached to them in the general population -- so black cat figural hoodoo candles, which are generally burned for luck in gambling, are all that remain of this belief.

In researching the traditional formulas used for hoodoo style oils, incenses, bath crystals, and sachet powders, it became obvious to me that some sort of Black Cat Brand product would be wanted by gamblers and practitioners of the dark arts. There is a Black Cat formula that contains black cat hair and certain botanical substances and am selling this authentic preparation under the Lucky Mojo brand name.

At the time of this writing, three black cats supply all the hair used in these products, courtesy of their owners, who collect it while grooming them. These cats are Mama, Santana, and Little Black Cat (owned by my friends and family members). The Lucky Mojo Black Cat label is adapted from vintage packaging of the 1930s.

Remember black cats are the same as any felines - lovable, affectionate creatures, and when cared for, give years of companionship.

Do black cats mean good luck or bad luck? Black Cat information about the myths and superstitions surrounding Black cats.

Do you believe it is a sign of ill fortune when black cats cross your path? Or do you conclude the cat has dispensed a run of good luck, by passing in front of you?

Whether you believe black cats to be good or bad luck could depend on where it is in the world that you live, and even within different countries, differing beliefs exist, and superstitions concerning black cats.

If you live in the United States, or most European countries, a black cat passing in front of you will make you believe bad luck is foreseeable.

If you live in the United Kingdom, or in Japan, the idea of a black cat crossing your path is considered to bring good fortune.

Live in Germany and you will probably believe that black cats crossing your path from right to left, is a bad omen. But from left to right, and the cat is granting favourable times for you.

Italians believe if a black cat lies on a sick persons bed, death will follow.

In China there are those that believe black cats to be harbingers of famine and poverty.

Latvian farmers, that find black cats in their grain silos, dance with joy. They believe these felines to be the spirit of Rungis, a god of harvests. Crossing the path of a black cat, as opposed to it crossing yours, is generally thought of as inviting the very worst of luck.

In Scotland folks believe finding back cats sitting in their porch is a sure sign of riches, and happiness to come.