Black Cat Bone - Differences in Method

Differences in Method

After a black cat is caught, it is almost universally boiled alive in a pot of water at midnight, so that its bones may be more easily looked over by the hoodooist. One particular bone, special to each individual cat, contains all the magical efficacy alone. A variety of rituals and methods are used to determine which bone is the right one, and preparation before the cat's slaughter can vary according to tradition.

One method of obtaining a black cat bone, described in Zora Neale Hurston's Mules and Men, involves a period of fasting before the actual catching of the animal. After the standard boiling of the cat's corpse, each bone is tasted by the hoodooist, who then selects the first bitter-tasting bone as the correct one.

Another way to determine the magical bone, though it is otherwise similar in procedure, involves a mirror. When the reflection of the bone becomes dark, the hoodooist will know that it is the right one. A variation of this method is also practiced on the Sea Islands, where the one bone that doesn't reflect in the mirror is believed to be magical.