Superstitions regarding Cats

Today I'm going to be talking about some of the superstition regarding cats. Being a cat lover, I found the topic in general quiet interesting. Below are the most fascinating I was able to find.

As most people know, Ancient Egyptians worshiped cats, and as one of my favorite cat-related quotes go, "Thousands of years ago, cats were worshiped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this." Anyone who owns a cat knows this is true, but, back to the subject. =) Part of the reason why Egyptians worshiped cats were because of the cat’s "glowing" eyes. As I found from one of my sources, "This was because Egyptians worshipped the sun, and they believed that cats could retain the sun's power within their eyes. They believed this because of a retina adaptation called ‘tapetum,’ which is the phenomenon that causes cats’ eyes to appear to glow in the dark; anyone who has seen a cat has probably noted this phenomenon, wherein a cat’s eyes reflect a somewhat green circle of light." That's surprising to me since I hadn't really heard of that idea before doing my research, but it makes a lot of sense.

Another very interesting tidbit is that during the medieval ages just before the Bubonic Plague really started up, there was a lot of cat killing going on. And...guess what? That is one of the reasons why the Bubonic Plague was so devastating. Cats would have been important in killing the brown rats, which spread the black plague.

Another source has this to say about cats in the Middle Ages, "It was largely in the Middle Ages that the black cat became affiliated with evil. Because cats are nocturnal and roam at night, they were believed to be supernatural servants of witches, or even witches themselves. Partly because of the cat's sleek movements and eyes that 'glow' at night, they became the embodiment of darkness, mystery, and evil, possessing frightening powers. If a black cat walked into the room of an ill person, and the person later died, it was blamed on the cat's supernatural powers. If a black cat crossed a person's path without harming them, this indicated that the person was then protected by the devil. Often times, a cat would find shelter with older women who were living in solitude. The cat became a source of comfort and companionship, and the old woman would curse anyone who mistreated it. If one of these tormentors became ill, the witch and her familiar were blamed." That makes more since on why people thought they needed to kill cats at the period of time, but it's still so horrible!

Well, I hope you enjoyed this topic! I'd love to hear what you think about these beliefs as well as share your own. Have you heard of interesting cat superstitions or tidbits?

Interesting Links: http://cats.suite101.com/article.cfm/egyptian_cat_myths
http://www.cat-health-behavior.com/cats-history.html
http://maxellah.tripod.com/superstitions.htm

Class is over...

I had thought wrote a blog toward the beginning of the month about being involved in the excellent Empowering Character's Emotions class with Margie Lawson, but I guess I didn't. It was hosted by the PASIC chapter of RWA. Needless to say, it has been mind-blowing and intense with all of the great information! Margie is an excellent teacher, so if anyone is interested in taking her classes, which I will so be doing again in May, her website address is www.margielawson.com. Now I'm going to mosey on to bed in hopes of a productive day tomorrow. =)

Musical Inspiration

Music has always played an important part of my life. So, it fit that my debut release, Melody of Love, dealt with the music industry. It also was a lot of fun to write. It’s not uncommon in my household for someone to break into song at any given moment, whether human or feline.

When I'm at my computer, I can almost always be found with my headphones on. I rarely write without a "soundtrack" to the novel. Most of the time with a band that seems to portray a mood or emotion that resonates with the novel or even a specific character. I have gotten more ideas from listening to music than almost any other source, and in this way, it's almost like a muse to me. I love all kinds of music. It merely depends on the mood I’m in at the time.

The hero for Melody of Love came through listening to a band I was crazy about at the time called Trapt. Ever since I started going to concerts when I was pretty much in middle school/jr. high school, I've wondered what if I could one day meet my favorite singer, and what would happen if he happened to fall in love with me. The story brewed in my head for several months, while I consumed the band's music, focusing on the lyrics and relating them to my story idea, as if Alex Brown, the hero, was talking to me.

Finally, I wrote out the outline, which happened to be the first one I ever outlined, and the book came together in one month as a steady flow of words. The outlining helped a lot, but I also believe that just having the creative input of music helped ideas to keep soaking into my subconscious.

And to finish up my blog, I want to ask you guys, does music have as much influence in your writing as it does for me? If not, what inspires you while you're writing or pursuing creative endeavors?