There are so many beliefs and superstitions about cats that it is hard to follow all of them but this is one of the famous ones. Are cat whiskers good luck?

Ancient gods, witches and other people who are believed to possess magical powers have been associated with cats all along history. Still there are people who believe in magic using cat whiskers in their spells or people keeping them near their beds or in their cars as good luck charms. So, are cat whiskers good luck?

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Of course it is hard to find when or where this belief about cats first began but it seems that ancient Egyptians were one step ahead of their European counterparts since Bast or Bastet, an ancient Egyptian Goddess that was depicted as the daughter of Ra and Isis, had the head of a cat and was considered the goddess of protection against contagious diseases and evil spirits among other roles and was the reason why cats were adored.

Science Shows the Connection of Whiskers to Magic

After scientists discovered why cats have whiskers and what whiskers do relating cats and magic is not so mysterious anymore. People knew that cats were able to go anywhere they would fit in and would stay away from tight spaces even they wouldn’t fit but did not know cats did that using their whiskers and it seemed pretty mysterious.

They also knew from their observations that although cats shed their whiskers, it was rare and what is rare also holds some mystery. Cats also protected the most valuable asset of humans from the most dangerous animals of the time: they protected food from mice and rats!

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So if there were cats around, people were lucky and did not lose their food to rodents. Since carrying something that belonged to a lucky animal would bring luck to humans, too and the rarest thing you can carry that belonged to a cat was whiskers, they believed that carrying whiskers brought good luck.

Actually cats and good or sometimes bad luck concepts were associated with each other by different cultures all around the world throughout the history but why such a common theme applies almost everywhere is still a mystery and what is being said is not more than theories as what might have happened.

Are Cat Whiskers Good Luck?

There is no way of knowing the answer to this question for sure however there are so many cultures that believe the cats are lucky animals. Still in Asia there are many cultures that believe in owning a certain breed of cat is good fortune such as Japanese Bobtail which is an ancient cat breed.

Cat whiskers are a part of this relation between cats and good luck which is cultural and historical.

What Is The Relation Between Cats and Witches?

Witches are generally depicted as having cats and were believed to establish a connection between this world and otherworld using cat whiskers that were shed naturally since cats were believed to have the power to travel between worlds.

They used to burn cat whiskers to enhance their spells, put cat whiskers near their beds to increase their magical power and put them in mojo bags with other ingredients to create good luck charms.

Conclusion on Are Cat Whiskers Good Luck

Still, there are many people keeping cat whiskers in their cars to avoid accidents or carrying cat whiskers on them for good fortune. Considering tortoiseshell cats are still believed to bring good fortune all around the world from Japan to U.S. to Ireland, this is a mystery that draws a lot attention.

Science has not been able to prove why some people are luckier than others or explain what luck is or how it works. What is baffling about the ancient cultures and their beliefs is they are somehow connected on some common themes all around the world such as cats being lucky.

Are cat whiskers good luck? Maybe we will never know the answer…

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Author Yusuf Can Ekinci

Father of two cats named Tzatziki & Ouzo. Our small family tries to live without harming any living being. I am a small time farmer who tries to apply natural farming methods. Favorite activities: watching wild life at nature, passing time at home with my cats...

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