Cat Sídhe

Cat Sídhe

Lesserwell-documentedIrishScottishIrelandScotland

A large black fairy cat of Irish and Scottish tradition with a white spot on its chest, who could steal a corpse's soul before burial if allowed to leap over it.

Origin

The Cat Sídhe ('fairy cat') appears in both Irish and Scottish folklore as a supernatural black cat of unusual size. It was associated with the fairy realm and was believed to have the power to steal the soul of a recently deceased person before proper burial could take place. This belief led to the practice of 'Feill Fheadha' — keeping constant watch over a corpse (a wake) specifically to prevent the Cat Sídhe from jumping over it.

Appearance

A large black cat, about the size of a dog, with a distinctive white spot on its chest. Its eyes were described as unnaturally large and its movements were wrong somehow. In some traditions it was a transformed witch.

Abilities

Could steal the soul from a corpse if it jumped over the body before burial. Was drawn to warmth — so fires were not lit near the laid-out dead (which would attract the Cat Sídhe) but games and music were performed to keep it distracted. On Samhain, it would bless any house that left out a bowl of milk.

Weaknesses & Wards

Weaknesses

  • condition
    Constant watch over the corpse prevents it acting
  • ritual
    Games, riddles, music during the wake distract it

Wards

  • ritual
    Traditional Irish/Scottish wake practices
  • condition
    Not leaving the corpse unattended
Sources
  1. [1]
    Carmina Gadelica. Carmichael, Alexander. 1900. Carmina Gadelica, Vol. 1. T. & A. Constable.folk
  2. [2]
    Celtic Mythology. MacKillop, James. 1998. A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Oxford University Press.academic
well-documented