What does it mean when a black cat crosses your path?
In the United States, a black cat crossing your path is usually called bad luck. In Britain it is often called good luck. Ancient Egypt treated cats as sacred. The meaning is a local custom rather than a fact about cats.
Last reviewed October 20, 2026
What each tradition says
The United States, mostly nineteenth and twentieth century
American folk custom
In the United States, a black cat crossing in front of you is the standard picture of bad luck, and the usual remedy is to turn around or wait for someone else to cross first. Like a lot of American custom, the version most people know was set in the twentieth century.
Britain and Ireland, collected mostly in the nineteenth century
British and Irish folklore
In much of Britain the same cat is a sign of good fortune. In Scotland a strange black cat arriving at the house is read as a sign of prosperity, and in some parts of England a black cat is given as a wedding present to bring the bride luck. The two countries read the same animal in opposite ways.
Egypt, across roughly three thousand years
Ancient Egyptian religion
In ancient Egypt, cats were linked to the goddess Bastet, who protected the home and its women and children. Killing one was a serious offense. Nothing in this belief singles out the black ones.
How to weigh it
A cat crossing a road is a cat crossing a road. The only thing that changes is the country telling you what it means, and the fact that the two main versions are opposites is a good reminder that a folk sign is a custom you inherited, not information about what happens next.