Cat

Cats are classical companions of the feminine unconscious. Egyptian tradition gave us Bastet, goddess of home and protective magic. European folk tradition attached cats to witches — the familiar who carries messages between worlds. Jung treated cat dreams as meetings with the anima’s more independent, nocturnal aspect. The cat’s color is often significant: black cats in dreams tend toward the occult and initiatory; white cats toward intuition; calico or orange toward playful wisdom. A cat bringing you something in a dream is a classic image of the unconscious offering a gift; a cat hissing at you, something unacknowledged asking to be honored before it calms.