Transformation and Cats

Monday is New Years Day. Well, technically, it is Tuesday, and only if you consider that Passover, also known as Pesach, is also known as Hag ha-aviv, the Festival of the Spring. As it falls on the 15th of the month of Nissan, and Nissan is the first month of the Hebrew calendar, it is considered the beginning of a new year. This makes so much sense to me. Look around! Everything is budding! The birds are back; I can hear them rustling through the trees, building nests and getting ready for all those bird-babies! There were squirrels and chipmunks out back this morning running riot in anticipation of the warm seasons. It is a time for rebirth and renewal and I am climbing on board.

I made an appointment with an attorney to start a not-for-profit performing arts organization. Why not?! I’ve been working for others for years; have witnessed greed, egotism, lack of foresight and sometimes utter lack of taste. I have been lauded and fired. If I emerged with anything other than a bloody nose and wounded spirit, it is a reputation for quality and integrity. It is time to put those on the front burners and banish my cowardice to the rear… or the trash can!

First decision: should I call it PAN (Performing Arts of Newtown) or Stray Kats Productions? (Feel free to way in on this, oh loyal followers.) Okay, the first is obvious, and probably the better choice since it represents instant recognition. But the second is taken from my husband’s and my last names: Striano and Katcher. In addition, something of a phenomenon has been happening around my house in the appearance of several feral cats that stroll up my driveway and around to the back woods, lounge on my wood pile, hunt for mice, and generally tolerate my presence in what has become for them an everyday path. Being a dog-lover, I have never been comfortable around cats. They scare me. I don’t speak “cat”. But there is one, a soft, grey cat who approaches closer than the others and is the most frequent visitor to my rear deck, who looks at me with the same curiosity and fear that I have for it (Him? Her?) that I can’t help thinking is some sort of totem.

(Found at Sayahda.com) “According to author Ted Andrews of Animal Speaks, cats... are associated with myth and lore, magic and mystery. Nine lives (I seem to reinvent myself every few years), curiosity, independence, cleverness, unpredictability and healing... Cats have more rods in the retinas of their eyes which enable them to see effectively in the dark. The dark is often associated with mankind's fears.(Loaded with those fears!) Since the cat is at home in the dark, it serves as a valuable ally into the world of the supernatural and the unknown and can help those with this totem move through their fears efficiently. (Very helpful when you don't quite know where you are going.)

The energy field of a cat rotates is a counterclockwise direction, the opposite of a human energy field. Because of this, cats have the ability to absorb and neutralize energy that affects humans in a negative way. This is part of the healing medicine that the cat holds. (Hmmmm...)

If something affects you in a negative way place a cat on your lap or find a cat to pet. Your energy field will immediately realign itself and inner balance will be restored. (Gotta catch the cat first.)

Because of their x-ray vision, acute hearing and high intelligence they were used throughout history as guardians and protectors. In ancient Egypt cats guarded the temple gates and were used to ward off evil. (Ah, a common thread! Cats: Egypt: Passover!)

If cat appears in your life the blending of magic and mystery is at hand. A trustworthy teacher, the cat will guide you into the world of self discovery and transformation.”

Wow! I can use some healing and transformation!!!!

Okay, so I’ve gone from Pesach to totems in three paragraphs. Clearly I’m a person in search of meaning in my life. Perhaps this is it.