Green irises glaring in the night, the rustling of a nearby bush—what could that possibly be? When it emerges into the light, you sigh in relief. It was just a black cat.
A black cat’s reputation stems from Greek mythology. Hera, the queen of the gods and the goddess of marriage, turned her servant Galinthias into a black cat (or weasel in some myths) after she foiled Hera’s plan to stop Heracles’ birth. Galinthias, as a black cat, then served Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft. Truly, a witch’s assistant is a black cat!
With witchcraft being associated with the worship of evil and the occult, black cats earned the modern superstition of being the harbinger of bad luck. A superstition goes, if a black cat passes in front of you, you will experience misfortunes in your life. Some people remain adamant with this perception of black cats. Consequently, they have the lowest rate of adoption among other cat colors due to this.
Tales of old fall away in contemporary times. The black cat has been anthropomorphized into a personality on TikTok: it pertains to someone who is sassy, sometimes feisty when the situation calls for it, and holds a mean poker face at rest. Often, these “black cat” personalities would be accompanied by a friend, usually a “golden retriever”—the energetic and bubbly one. In pop culture, these are: Thor and Loki from Marvel, Wednesday and Enid from Wednesday, and Will Solace and Nico di Angelo from The Percy Jackson series.
True to the appearance of a black cat, these people would often wear black, gray, and sometimes dark colors. They may wear silver jewelry or have painted nails, having an outward appearance of someone who is “emo” or “goth”. If you, or someone in your life, fits this description perfectly, why not get a Jelli M1 mask in Midnight? Get it in a bundle of 2 so you could be the golden retriever to their black cat (or vice versa). Despite the intimidating first look, they are one of the most loveable people you would meet—just like the actual cat.
While many people still do not appreciate black cats for their witchy history, remember that they are still animals! At the end of the day, these cats are simply misunderstood due to a superstition. Just like any other cat, they simply need to warm up to you if you pay attention to them. Embrace their charm and give them some love—they might just become your new favorite companion!