Like most of you I am very aware that there is a big difference between Cat people and Dog people. I love dogs and have had some really great ones, but the bottom line is, I’m a Cat person and have been since I was very young. I have also known for a long time that cats are often associated more with women than with men. Dogs are just the other way around. Before you get all hot under the collar, of course, many women prefer dogs and many men are cat people. I’m referring to what is traditional in those relationships; the Witch’s familiar and the family house cat helping the lady of the house with the home; that old huntin’ dog and the faithful protector who answers to his master’s call.
When I was studying with the shaman this topic came up and he had an interesting perspective on it. Like most Earth based faith ways, he read and used the messages of animals to assist in his life and his understanding of magick. He pointed out some things about the lessons of Cats and Dogs that I still use. Dogs are all about LOYALTY. Every dog person knows that. Anyone who knows anything about dogs knows that. That dog will die for you, kill for you, provide for you. They are loyal to the bitter end, no matter how badly they are treated. Cats are all about HONOR. Cats stay true to their nature no matter what. Cat people are very used to constantly being judged, and found wanting. Cats would have no problem packing their kitty cat stuff and leaving if conditions just don’t measure up.
What’s all that got to do with women and men. This is the lesson of the shaman. Dogs teach Loyalty, and men struggle with loyalty. The dog at their side is a nonstop lesson in what loyalty looks like. So if a man is struggling with how to stay true to his word, his loyal dog will show him what to do. Cats are all about Honor, staying true to oneself. Men have no real issues with Honor. They can stay true to themselves. That is the one with which women struggle. Women know loyalty, to the point of stupidity sometimes, but honor, tougher nut for them. And once again, before you get all het up, as I did at that time thinking that this dissed women, this is what the shaman pointed out to me. Women spend so much time bending over backwards and changing themselves to make sure that everyone else is pleased and has what they want, they forget to stay true to themselves. That judgmental cat is constantly telling a woman that she must start by being true to herself.
The lessons of animals are all around us all the time, but Cats and Dogs share our world so closely, start with them and watch how they teach some of the most important attributes of life – Loyalty and Honor.