"Is there a spirit inside the cat and does it hate me?"

A friend of mine returned from a visit to her boyfriend in England. She had a great time, save for her interaction with his cat.

It is unusual for my friend to be so incensed by a living creature, but she feels truly venomous towards it; she says she has looked inside the eyes of that cat and she sees venom and hatred and the presence of an evil spirit. She says it is a vindictive cat, and that it is trying to break up her relationship with her boyfriend, and it is succeeding.

Several incidents that took place at this visit have deeply ingrained in her mind that what she thinks is true. Here?s what she told me.

On her first day there, her boyfriend placed the cat out in his flat?s hallway so he would not disturb them for a few hours. The cat disappeared for the next 15 hours, even though there was really nowhere to disappear to. They looked for it everywhere. They thought the cat may have gone outdoors, but he?s an indoor cat and is terrified of going outside, so that seemed to be an unlikely scenario unless someone took him. My friend told her boyfriend that the cat disappeared on purpose to sabotage their first night together, to cause grief and worry to him for spending more time with her and putting him out in the hallway. Her boyfriend did not believe her and said it was all in her head. Then, at 5 AM, the cat mysteriously reappeared and started to meow outside his door. No doors were heard to open or shut before his reappearance. It?s still a mystery where the cat went, and how it came back, none of the neighbors knew. The cat was warm, so it wasn?t outside.

The next night, the cat incessantly scratched at the door of their bedroom at regular intervals through the night and meowed loudly at the girlfriend. My friend yelled at the cat in the middle of the night to make it stop. Her boyfriend woke up and they ended up in a terrible fight. The cat continued to scratch on the door every night thereon, waking up the girlfriend each time.

On the second last day of her trip, the cat pee?d on her pyjamas and her shirt, although his litter box was in a good enough condition to go. Both the girlfriend and the boyfriend thought it was just a one time incident.

On the last day, the cat pee?d on her hand bag, her suit case, her bag which was filled with her undergarments, and her dress. My friend was utterly enraged.

At the airport, she noticed that her handbag still carried the ?essence? of the cat, and so followed another argument between the two. Through the entire trip back, she lived with the essence of the cat, which eventually got into her hands, and drove her crazy.

Question asked:
?Is there a spirit inside the cat and does it hate me??
Feb 13, 2006, 7:54 PM, 74W22, 41N00 (Kinnelon, NJ, USA)
24 deg 30 minutes Virgo rising.

My friend: Mercury, interestingly positioned in HER sixth.
The Moon, interestingly positioned in the 12th.
I gave the 12th house to the cat, which is 6th (pet) from the 7th (her boyfriend), so the cat gets the sun.
I?ve been looking at this chart and I see no aspect between Merc and the Sun.
However, I do see the Moon posited in the 12th, coming to an opposition to Merc, and I wonder if maybe the Moon could be a significator of the cat?
If the cat is the Sun, I see it coming to a sextile to Pluto - hidden underworld - and it is sitting right on the cusp of the querent?s 4rth (her roots, deepest recesses of her soul), and to me that is saying something although I don?t know exactly what?.
Furthermore, the next aspect that the Sun makes is a square to Mars, another malefic.
Meanwhile, Mercury is in the 6th and about to conjunct Uranus and the Moon is in the 12th and about to come to an opposition to it.

Honestly, I?m confused, would really appreciate some insight on this. Now my friend is going paranoid because her bag still smells of the cat even though she threw it in the wash, and she?s afraid she has brought the venomous vibrations of the cat into her house and it will cause her further harm.

I have been reading Lilly ?If one be Bewitched or not?; I thought I would first assess if the cat is bewitched, and then see if there is any relationship between the cat?s 8th or 12th to the ascendant ? will it cause any harm to the querent (my friend).

According to Lilly,

?If people suspect their cattle bewitched, if they be great cattle, make the 12th house their ascendant, and the 11th their 12th house, and vary your Rules with Judgement?.

Since the cat is her boyfriend?s pet, I still end up giving the 12th to it (6th from the 7th), and proceeded to read the chart accordingly.

Based on this, I find that the cat is the 12th ? Sun
Cat?s 12th is the Moon if you use Placidus, and I think it?s the Sun if you use Regio
Cat?s 6th is Saturn
Cat?s 8th is Jupiter.

Lilly states

?If? the Lord of the 6th in the 12th?or the Lord of the 12th in the ascendant?in a Question where suspition of Witchcraft is, it is probably; otherwise not so?.

In the chart in question, Saturn (Lord 6) is in the cat?s 12th.
Lord 12 (Moon) is in the ascendant.

Lilly goes on to say:

?But the judgement succeeding I have found more certaine.
It?s a received, generall Rule amongst those Artists that know the Cabalisticall Key of Astrologie, that if one Planet be Lord of the ascendant and 12th house, that then the Sicknesse is more than naaturall:?

If we use Regio, then the Sun is the ruler of the 12th and the 1st, and so either way, it seems that the chart is indicating that the cat is bewitched.

I could not find further confirmations, but something at the end of the last paragraph caught my interest; Lilly states:

?In places where people are troubled with Witches, as in many places of this Kingdome they are, these Rules will hold: as also, if the Moon be in the12th, in Opposition to the Lord of the ascendant or the 12th.?

In this chart, the Moon is located in the querent?s 12th, and it is coming to an opposition to the ruler of HER ascendant, which is Mercury. So this would indicate to me that my friend is, in fact, being troubled by some spirit which is real.
What further alarmed me is that her ruler is located in her 6th (afflicated house), which is the cat?s 7th (house of open enemies), AND it is just one degree from conjuncting Uranus.

If you take the Moon to represent the cat?s 12th (the spirit inside the cat), then it still indicates to me that whatever is bewitching the cat is coming to oppose the querent.

Now I?ve been thinking to myself that there should be some relationship with the ruler of the 8th as well.

On further analysis, I find that the cat?s significator (the Sun) is immediately coming to a square to Mars (if you discount the sextile to Pluto first, which I don?t think I would because it is so prominent on an angle), and Mars just happens to be the ruler of her 8th!!!

I would really appreciate if one of the experts would step in and tell me that my analysis is all wrong!!! Is it?

I haven't looked at this chart but having lived with cats on and off for about forty years, I can assure you that this sort of behaviour is quite common. I have a cat who throws tantrums whenever he is locked out of the bedroom. He will start by scratching furiously for ages and end by literally throwing himself against the door continually. It is the funniest thing. Many a time he has had a shoe thrown at the door to try to make him stop. I was always happy to have all the animals in the bed but my ex hated it. We had five cats and two dogs. I also had a cat who would pee into bags and all sorts of things whenever he was distressed. This would include anyone new coming into the house. Cats will also disappear to sulk. Whenever I went away for a few days my girl cat would refuse to talk to me for some time, although when I went for three months she was relieved to see me and didn't sulk. They are quite different from dogs who are always just pleased to be anywhere near you. Cats can be very jealous and will behave badly. I doubt very much that the cat is bewitched but was just behaving like a jealous lover, which is unfortunate for your friend but part of cat behaviour.

I will have a look at the chart though.

I?ve heard plenty of cat stories. Cats are cats ? no need for spooks. This is why they are so awesome. No wonder they are associated with witches as familiars. My boy was the sweetest little thing, though. I?m sure he learned it from me.

I took a look at this last night. The chart is interesting, especially in regard to Lilly?s rules on judging witchcraft.

I took a slightly different approach because I see no need to turn the chart to find the cat?s signification. Small animals are 6th house and Mercury (asc-ruler) in the radical 6th shows the querent troubled by the cat (or bringing trouble to the cat). This still doesn?t free us from indications of malicious underhanded activity because the Moon is still in the 12th opposing asc-ruler, and the 12th ruler is sitting on the cusp of the 6th, describing malicious suspicions centering around the cat.

However, I agree with Sue ? this is a jealous cat behaving in an underhanded territorial manner because it sees your friend as a threat. I think your friend is very 'keyed in' to the hostile vibes, but by giving them credence she is making the situation worse for herself and getting entrenched in paranoia. People can experience similar disruptive behaviour from the children of new partners, but we don?t assume that the child is bewitched or possessed by a discarnate evil spirit.

One reason I err towards this explanation is because the signification of your friend throws up most of the warning lights ? she is signified by Mercury, peregrine, in detriment and fall, located in the 6th house showing lack of effective control, receiving the opposition of the Moon and applying to the conjunction of Uranus. Mercury in such a state suggests the kind of nervous instability and undue excitability that leads to paranoia.

A major consideration is that the ruler of the 12th house (the Sun) does not afflict the ascendant ruler of Moon. Lilly writes:

?without the Lord of the ascendant or ascendant itself, or the Moon be afflicted by the Lord of the 12th, there?s no strong witchcraft? (p.468)

If you read Lilly?s judgement of the chart ?If Bewitched?? on p.468 you see he identifies similar connections that give ?suspicion of witchcraft? but ultimately concludes that the affliction being questioned definitely is not witchcraft but lies in another 12th house theme ? ?an occult secret disease, and Venerian? (ie, venereal disease?) for which the patient was successfully treated.

In this chart the 12th cusp is in the final degree of Leo so that the bulk of the house is governed by Mercury. The Moon in the 12th is also the co-significator of the querent, so with no strong testimony of the 12th house ruler afflicting the asc, its ruler or the Moon, we have to wonder whether this woman is escalating her own ?venomous? reaction and compounding her conviction that the cat has an evil spirit. The 12th house is also the house of self-undoing, with paranoia and phobias falling under its general signification.

The last aspect of the Moon was a square to Mars in the 9th house, so I wonder whether she had a stressful journey, arrived tired and easily irritated, so that little things concerned her more than they ought to have done? I see the cat as being signified by Saturn, retrograde but not terribly afflicted by being in its own face in the 11th house. There?s nothing much happening around Saturn except indications of a jealous or malicious reaction. The sign on the cusp of the 12th can point to a 'secret enemy' and in this regard we can safely say that the cat does not like her and is applying its own method of covert attack; but the focus of the activity in the chart is mainly involving the querent?s own signification so you have to question the role that her own aggressive and suspicion-filled responses have played towards this.

Of course I accept I am reading the chart slightly differently to how you have done so you are welcome to disagree with me, but this is what I decided when I looked at the chart last night, trying to keep an open mind and feeling initially excited that there was such a 12th house emphasis. So these are my views for what they are worth to you.

Either way, it?s a fascinating chart and an interesting story.

Deb

Hi Taurus7

If it's any consolation - my neutered boy-cat Jimmy sprayed against the legs of my new boyfriend as he was sitting on the couch, and boy, did that earn him a shoe thrown at him as he beat a hasty retreat.

I guess Jimbo was just marking him as part of the gang!

There's a truce on the go right now - just as long Jimmy's tail stays down!

Regards

Susie

Deb

Of course I accept I am reading the chart slightly differently to how you have done so you are welcome to disagree with me, but this is what I decided when I looked at the chart last night, trying to keep an open mind and feeling initially excited that there was such a 12th house emphasis. So these are my views for what they are worth to you.

As a matter of fact, I?m relieved, so I believe everything you say?

The last aspect of the Moon was a square to Mars in the 9th house, so I wonder whether she had a stressful journey, arrived tired and easily irritated, so that little things concerned her more than they ought to have done?

It?s interesting that you caught that. My friend happened to be one of the unfortunate passengers aboard one of the aircraft that was heading to NY during the major snow storm that hit the East Coast this past weekend. Her flight was diverted to Gander, a God forsaken state in Northern Canada which doesn?t even have cell phone reception. The passengers were off-loaded there for 6 hours. She could not rest her head on her handbag (i.e. like a pillow) because it smelled of the cat. Then they headed back to NY where the plane landed, but could not disembark its passengers for 1 hour because the other plane at the gate could not be pulled away because the tow machine froze. Then the baggage conveyer belt froze, so no one could get their baggage for one hour. Then she had to wait for the bus to the long term car park for a half hour in twenty degree freezing weather, then she couldn?t find her car in the parking lot because they were all buried in snow, then she had to dig her car out of 4 feet of snow, then water got into her boots so her feet froze, so she had to drive barefoot out of the parking lot until the senses in her feet came back and her boots dried off. She started her journey at five in the morning in England, and arrived at her home at midnight, NY time, i.e. five in the morning English time. So she basically endured this ordeal for exactly 24 hours, all the while smelling the essence of the ?CAT? in her hands and her handbag for the entire duration?

The sign on the cusp of the 12th can point to a 'secret enemy' and in this regard we can safely say that the cat does not like her and is applying its own method of covert attack; but the focus of the activity in the chart is mainly involving the querent?s own signification so you have to question the role that her own aggressive and suspicion-filled responses have played towards this.

My friend thinks the situation was compounded further by the fact that she was unable to get more than 3 or 4 hours of continuous sleep the entire time she was there, because the cat kept scratching on the door at all odd hours, and she had several horrific nightmares while she was there, which she once again attributed to the cat. And then she could not get any sleep on the plane either because her bag and hands picked up the smell and it would not go away.

But all said and done, I have to admit, it?s a fascinating horary; it shows suspicion of ?withcraft? but no proof, as you have pointed out. I have shared your analysis with her, she is feeling a little more ?sane? at this time and I think she is starting to come around the fact that there is an evil spirit in the cat that is out to destroy her. She has however issued what you could call an ?ultimatum? to the boyfriend though!! She?s not going back as long as the cat is on the premesis. So who knows where this relationship goes from here?. Maybe the cat has won after all?(?grin?.)

If cats could talk and consult with astrologers, I wonder if this one might be tempted to ask ?is there a spirit in the woman that hates me??

Cats prefer Tarot cards.

Yes, an interesting chart and I agree that the cat is probably just jealous and your friend is doing herself more harm than good by focusing on it.

My cats used to wake me up a lot at night but instead of a shoe I'd keep a rolled up sock, several really, in the bed with me, and I stuck by the motto "Aim for the head!"

Eighteen years later, one has passed on and the other one still wakes me up at 4:00 AM, which in her geriatric little mind is breakfast time. She walks on top of me, back and forth, claws out, and then is genuinely surprised when I yell at her. Yet I love her dearly and wouldn't have it any other way, except for getting more sleep really.

Did anyone else notice that the cat's significator was Saturn, debilitated by being in Leo? So the cat's a pain in the neck because it's acting very much like a cat, or the bad side of being a cat at least.