The A to Z Blogging Challenge is underway! Woot!
Here at Untethered Realms, we're taking on the Challenge as a group. Each day, one of us will be sharing with you a fantastical creature that may be from one of our books, a favorite movie, or something we just came up with as entertainment.
Today is...
C is for Cat Sith
C is for Cat Sith
I love cats so when I learned about the Cat Sith I couldn't resist sharing it here in our A to Z of magical creatures. My cat Nate insisted!
The Cat Sith comes from Celtic mythology and is a black cat with a white spot on its chest. It is said to be as big as a dog and is usually found with its tail erect and its back arched, apparently the favorite threatening posture of cats both domestic and mythological.
According to legend, the Cat Sith haunts the Scottish Highlands and is a witch that can transform into a cat eight times. If the witch transforms into the cat form for a ninth time, she remains a cat for the rest of her life. This is thought to be the origin of the idea that cats have nine lives.
The Scots believed that the Cat Sith could steal the soul from a corpse before the soul could be claimed by the gods. Mourners held 24 hour watches called "late wakes" to keep the Cat Sith away from a corpse before it was buried.
Now that I've learned about the Cat Sith I feel compelled to use it in a future book. Nate will be happy. :D
When I saw this I though you were talking about the character from Final Fantasy 7, but this is quite darker. I love it.
ReplyDeleteBrandon Ax: Writer's Storm
Interesting stuff, Julie. Didn't know the origin of the 9 lives. Based on beliefs at the time, I understand why people would hold a wake.
ReplyDeleteI love cat siths! I have one in my book, although I renamed it as a Pinterlick. ;)
ReplyDeleteWhat a fascinating legend. I've not heard that before, because, like Brandon, I thought of Final Fantasy VII! Hehehe! A roommate of mine once had a black cat with a white spot on her chest. She was a sweetie, though, and never stole a soul... that I know of!
ReplyDeleteThat's a cool story.
ReplyDeleteThat is so very cool! Now I want to use a cat sith in a story too. :)
ReplyDeleteVery interesting, and most definitely needs to be included in a future book!
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ReplyDeleteVery cool creature! And a great story behind it. How cool would it be to be able to turn into a cat!?
ReplyDeleteCarrie~Anne at That Dizzy Chick
That is a cool creature. I kind of want to write about one too.
ReplyDelete~Patricia Lynne~
Story Dam
Patricia Lynne, YA Author
And here I thought George Lucas made up the word 'sith'! LOL
ReplyDeleteIt is a creature to get the imagination going.
ReplyDeleteThat is an interesting tidbit, Julie. I remember an old movie where a lady turned into a cat and did her killing deeds, at night of course. She looked like a panther, though.
ReplyDeleteThat makes 'cat lady' take on a whole different meaning. Glad you included the link at your blog!
I love cats too. As well as Celtic mythology, so this post was a nice treat for this morning. :) Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks all for your comments and for visiting us here at UnRealms! I tried replying to comments individually and Blogger decided to eat my post so I'm trying it this way instead. :)
ReplyDeletewitch to cat--makes perfect sense!
ReplyDelete@Catherine, doesn't it? LOL.
ReplyDeleteI like the sound of single white patch on its chest, although if its always got its back arched wouldn't that make it a bit hard to walk....
ReplyDelete@Brandon Ax Oh thanks for making the FFVII link for me! I knew I'd heard the name before too.
@Joey, LOL I don't know, cats kind of walk on their toes with their backs arched I think.
ReplyDeleteI really have to study mythology more. I had no idea about this one.
ReplyDeleteLove this story and wasn't aware of the Cat Sith. I wonder if Freya used these cats for her chariot:) I don't think so
ReplyDeleteHi Julie .. oh what a great story or myth ... Cat Sith - now I won't forget this ..
ReplyDeleteI bet Nate will be happy if you write your new story around Cat Sith ..
Cheers Hilary
LOVE the Cat Sith. And this witch would transform nine times without a second thought - turning into a cat would be a decided improvement.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, what a great future story!
ReplyDeleteNever heard of it till now!
@Melanie, I feel the same way, there are so many great stories I'd love to learn more.
ReplyDelete@Birgit, oh I doubt it LOL.
@Hilary, he will be thrilled. :D
@Elephant's, oh, you made me laugh with that LOL.
@Yolanda, I hadn't heard of it either, just love it.
Have read a lot on cats but missed this one. Tjanks. Our cat has a single black mark on her belly... heart-shaped so maybe she's not Sith...
ReplyDeleteHave read a lot on cats but missed this one. Tjanks. Our cat has a single black mark on her belly... heart-shaped so maybe she's not Sith...
ReplyDeleteawesome. i've seen this in a video game, but didn't know that it was mythology. i learned something very cool today.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard this before,, that's cool. Good luck with the rest if A to Z challenge.m
ReplyDeleteInterrrresting, very interesting!
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting creature, Julie! There are all kinds of directions you can go with it.
ReplyDeletelI love this creature. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete@roland, oh, I hope she's not LOL.
ReplyDelete@djinnia, so glad you liked it, thanks!
@Karen, thank you!
@Donna, LOL, I agree. :D
@Gwen, isn't it fun? I just love it.
@Teresa, thank you for coming by, glad you liked it!
Now, that's a cool creature!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great bit of lore. This creature definitely needs to be in a story!
ReplyDeleteI like knowing the origin of nine lives! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteYvonne
Very interesting post. I love learning new thngs and I love cats. I'm following your blog now. Thanks for visiting mine earlier today.
ReplyDeleteSunni
http://sunni-survivinglife.blogspot.com/
I'd never heard of a cat sith, but now I would love to use it in a story some day :) thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteNate knows his mythology. Ha, good choice today. I would watch my dead too if I thought the Cat Sith was lurking.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of the Cat Sith, but didn't know the story behind it. Glad I do, now. Interesting stuff. But then, most things catly are. ;)
ReplyDelete@Christine, agreed! :)
ReplyDelete@Kristen, I think so too, so fun.
@Yvonne, I thought the same, I'd never heard this before but it fits.
@Sunni, thank you for visiting and for following us!
@Cynthia, it seems like lots of us may be using it, I hope there will be some fun stories coming out of it. :)
@Sheena-kay, Nate is really proud of himself LOL.
@Sara, I agree, cats are awesome.
I didn't have the first clue about Siths, so this was fascinating. I can see why you'd like to write about one.
ReplyDeleteWow, I've never heard that before. Thanks for informing me.
ReplyDeleteI used to have that picture in one of my storybooks! It's from "King o' the Cats." Love that story!
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