It's October and

October. It's October and fall has slowly and silently creeped in on chilly breezes and frosty nights.

Stealthily, inch by inch, Mother nature has lowered the temperature and darkened the nights.

Dust descends quickly at this time of the year

and people scurry home from school and work

wary to be caught outside in the gathering gloom. Their imaginations run wild.

And some of the most popular images, besides skeletons, witches, and ghosts are cats and

crows, but why?

What made them so popular and so dreaded at Halloween?

Let's dive right in and find out.

First, we must study various cultures and their beliefs. Cats were actually a symbol of the

divine, worshipped by the ancient Egyptians as reincarnations of the God Bastet, a powerful protector.

Their images were carved on walls and temples and obelisks.

They were admired, honored, and adored.

Entire cities were erected in honor of cat gods believing they protected the citizens.

However, everything started to change as Christianity took hold around the world.

Roman Emperor Theodosius the first made the decree in

391 CE that all pagan worship was to be banned. Cats were no longer worshipped

for thereafter but at least they were liked and tolerated.

Slowly they became basic household pets throughout Egypt and Europe.

In Ireland, the ancient Celts had their own magical cat.

They believed in a spirit called Cat Sith, or Fairy Cat. This spirit was said to take the

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