Science: Cats Are Healers

Cats are special, they have abilities and powers and there is a spiritual bond that we have with cats dating back to ancient Egypt.

Cats were once worshiped as gods and played a vital role in Egyptian culture and we can still benefit from their incredible powers of intuition, their loyalty to us.

It's no secret that the Pagan Kitchen loves cats.

Cats are not only our friends and companions, they are family.

 
Besides all that, scientific studies have shown time and time again that cats are extremely therapeutic, and may actually be a good form of medicine for people suffering from heart conditions.
Did you realize that owning a cat can reduce your risk of a heart attack?

This is the result of a 10 year study of more than 4,000 Americans by researchers at the University of Minnesota’s Stroke Institute in Minneapolis.

After a 10 year follow up period, cat owners showed a 40% lower risk of death from heart attack compared to non cat owners.
This was due to a lower heart rate, lower stress levels, and lower blood pressure. Lowering your risk of a heart attack by 40%.

This is a big deal, 40% gives holistic healers and even heart medications a run for their money.

Besides the improved heart health, cats also cause a release of oxytocin in the brain. Oxytocin is a feel-good chemical as well as healing to the body. 

Serotonin and dopamine are also released in the brain as you are playing with your cat, which reduces stress and puts the body into a harmonious state and stabilizes your immune system.

There is also this:
Pet owners are less likely to suffer from depression than those without pets.

People with pets have lower blood pressure in stressful situations than those without pets.

Pet owners have lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels (indicators of heart disease) than those without pets.

Heart attack patients with pets survive longer than those without.

Pet owners over age 65 make 30 percent fewer visits to their doctors than those without pets.

A cat purring offer healing power as well.
According to an article published in Scientific American, cats purr during both inhalation and exhalation with a consistent pattern and frequency between 25 and 150 Hertz. Various investigators have shown that sound frequencies in this range can improve bone density and promote healing.
You may find that having a cat on your chest while it purrs feels like a complete regeneration.

This is because the frequency of the cats purr is literally healing your cells.

Alzheimer’s patients have fewer anxious outbursts if they live with a companion animal.

Pet owners with AIDS are far less likely to suffer from depression than those without pets.

People who suffer from high blood pressure, then adopt a cat or dog, navigate stressful situations with lower blood pressure than people who don’t have pets.

Heart attack patients who have pets survive longer than those without.

When you interact with cats, they don’t judge you, interrogate you, belittle you, or comment on you.  They simply love you.

Cats with their special healing gifts were recognized by the ancient Egyptians as Gods,

Are Black Cats Are Lucky?

All we can say is, we have been fortunate enough to live with many black cats and not only are they great companions, they also bring great positive energy into our lives.

Beltane the May-Eve Sabbat

Beltane marks the end of the dark half of year and the beginning of the light half of the year.

Beltane was traditionally the time to seek protection from both natural and supernatural threats. 

Protection for the home, the family, the crops, the livestock.

The original meaning of the name may be Bel-fire, after the Celtic God Bel or Balor - another name for Cernunnos.

In some traditions, Beltane (along with Lughnasadh) is a good time for handfasting (marriage).

Beltane is considered to be the second greatest of the four Greater Sabbats.

Beltane is traditionally celebrated on April 30th. 

The Beltane celebration actually begins on sundown of the preceding day, April 30, because the Celts always figured their days from sundown to sundown. Sundown was the proper time for Druids to kindle the great Bel-fires.

Frequently, cattle would be driven between two such bon-fires then they would be taken to their summer pastures the next day.

Other May Day activities included walking one's property ('beating the bounds'), repairing fences and boundary markers, processions of chimney-sweeps and milk maids, archery tournaments, morris dances, sword dances, feasting, music, drinking, and girls bathing their faces in the dew of May morning to retain their youthful beauty. 

But many popular customs associated with Beltane didn't exist in the Celtic pagan celebrations.

About the only thing that can be said about ancient Beltane is that it was a fire festival, and most likely not as adventitious as it is today. 

Cattle were routinely run between fires (and in the 9th Century that practice was said to involve Druids) to protect them as they moved from their winter quarters to their summer grazing-land. 

When you are dependent on cattle as a source of food, you want to do everything possible to ensure their survival, so instead of Beltaning in the woods it was more important to bless the livestock.

Fire as a source of control and good fortune wasn’t just limited to cattle, human beings jumped over fires for good luck as well. 

Up until the 1300’s history doesn't mention the Maypole, and when it eventually does get mentioned, it's not referred to as “phallic” or “ancient pagan.” 

The earliest function of the Maypole was to simply dance around it. There were no ribbons tied to the top of it, though it was sometimes decorated with flags. 

As time passed the May Pole was given a special dance with the ribbons going around it. 

And actually this is all kind of new, dating back to just the last few hundred years.

Anyway, today's Beltane traditions may not necessarily be the purest form of paganism, and just because ancient Pagans probably didn’t dance around the Maypole, it doesn’t make Beltane any less fun. 

This festival officially begins at moonrise on May Day Eve, and marks the beginning of the third quarter or second half of the ancient Celtic year. 

Beltane is a fire festival dedicated to the God of light called Bel or Balder. It marks the beginning of the Summer season. One custom of celebrating Beltane (literally Bel's fire) is the lighting of two bonfires. Its fun to do this and have a BBQ while your at it. 

If you aren’t able to have a bonfire, light a fire in a fireplace or BBQ grill. 

You can even light candles instead.

What ever you do, have fun and happy Beltane.

Connection, Balance and Patience

 

Her name is Miyoko Shida [Rigolo]. 

She is Japanese and presently lives in Paris, France. 

She has taken the last name of her mentor, Rigolo. 

Her art is called, The Sanddorn Balance.

Watching this will center you; it will anchor you into the moment, where the ego is lost to the wonder of this poetry in motion.

What else can this teach us? 

Everything  and everyone is connected in some way or another. 

We can see how fragile and yet how vitally important each of these connections really are or we will collapse. 

This point is illustrated clearly, at its conclusion.