Superstitions

[Prince Duchess]

I know we all have them or at least know of someone who stands by them. Superstitions. Are they outrageous? Do you have any? Which ones have you head of?

 

 

 

So, me ive heard the superstition that females who put there purse on the floor dont get paid. I got this one from my mother.

 

Also heard, if you cut a pole you have bad luck for the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JTRandall]

I only have a few but they are still there lol.

 

One is going thru a yellow light in the car, you kiss your hand and touch the roof so you dont get into an accident. Next, theres when youre walking with people you all go on one side or the other of a pole/sign/etc otherwise its bad luck.

 

There are a few drag superstitions I know like never put a pair of shoes on the table and never put a crown that you havent won already on your head.

 

They seem silly but I still do them.

[jenni]

When my grandma was alive, my mother always had to make cooked cabbage on New Year's Day because eating it was supposed to mean that we'd make a lot of money in the coming year. I think we pretty much let that tradition go after my grandma passed away as none of us were too keen on the dish.

 

When the Colts play I have to wear a Colts shirt or jersey, and drink from a Colts glass if I'm watching at home. It's more of a tradition than a superstition I suppose, but I'm sure that if I didn't do one of those things and the Colts lost there would be a small, illogical part of my brain mad at myself for not following the tradition.

[Former Member]

Any time the dice don't roll what you want and your character dies you have to throw them across the room or drown them in water to 'teach them to behave'...it's pretty funny to watch people actually do this

 

And I never, ever, not-in-a-million-years watch my favorite teams play, because it is guaranteed they will get smashed every time

 

 

[Nephylim]

I have a million from saluting sole magpies to being careful not to cross the path of a black cat (it's only luy if they cross yours) which is pretty difficult considering I have two.

 

Umm... then there's the actors ones like not whistling backstage and never mentioning 'The Scottish Play'... oh and it's bad luck to wish anyone good luck which is why 'break a leg' has become a euphamism for that.

 

Throwing salt over your left shoulder (into the face of the devil)... salt being a purifier and protector against magic. Of course I NEVER do this. Not walking under ladders... breaking a mirror bringing seven years bad luck.

 

Crossing fingers for luck

 

one of the odder ones is putting milk on the doorstep for the fairies.... if you've lost something and can't fing it or if you've been having a run of bad luck

[Former Member]

[Toast]

Jenni, my family didn't cook cabbage. But turnip greens and collards and black eyed peas were a must on New Year's.

[Caipirinha]

When my grandparents and parents left the old world for the new one, they naturally brought their culture and customs with them, including superstitions. And as anyone who has ever met a full blooded Italian knows, we are HYPER superstitious.

 

The Malocchio! - Also known as the evil eye, it is a curse placed upon you by the extreme jealousy of someone else. Something as simple as a compliment can cause it, especially when complimenting a new baby. Always says “God Bless Him/Her” after complimenting a baby. You can ward of the Malocchio by making a fist with only your index and pinky finger extended and pretending to spit. Men often times also wear a charm in the shape of a devil's horn to ward of curses placed on their manliness. To test if you are cursed with the Malocchio you drop a couple drops of olive oil in a bowl of water. If they stay in drops you are safe. If they spread out you are cursed. If they form one large drop, it is said to be the evil eye itself ad you are especially in danger. There is a prayer that can be used to cure you of the curse but the prayer itself also has several superstitions surrounding it. Only women are allowed to know the prayer; if you teach it to a man he will immediately forget it and the prayer can only be taught by a mother to a daughter at midnight on Christmas Eve/Day.

 

Peacock Feathers – Are said to represent the evil eye and are forbidden in the house.

 

Owls – Are the harbingers of death. If you hear an Owl someone will get sick. If you see one, someone will pass away.

 

Lucky Numbers – 13 is very, very, lucky. 17 is very, very, unlucky.

 

Hiccups – Means someone is talking about you. In Italian there is a chant you say when you have the hiccups that roughly translated means “Hiccups, go to the well and find my friend, see what she says to you, and come back and tell me!” The chant is supposed to stop people from talking about you and cure your hiccups. Also guessing who is speaking about you is supposed to stop them from gossiping about you and cure your hiccups.

 

Sitting at the corner of the table – If you sit at the corner of the table you will never be married!

 

Moving in to a new House – When you move in to a new house you have to sweep out the entire house with a brand new broom to sweep away any bad spirits the previous owner's left behind.

 

“Buon Anima” - After you say the name of a deceased person, you immediately follow their name with Buon Anima (equivalent to May he Rest in Peace) to keep the spirit from becoming angry with you and cursing you.

 

Blessing yourself (Making the Sign of the Cross over you in the Catholic world) – You bless yourself on certain occasions for certain reasons. When you pass by churches to stay in God's good graces. When you pass by cemeteries to keep evil spirits from following you.

 

Shaking out a table cloth – In Italy it's customary that after a meal a table cloth is taken outside and shaken out to get the crumbs etc. off of it. However you can never, ever, ever do this after sun set. After sunset Angels come out and shaking out a table cloth after dark could cause you to cover the Angels in bread crumbs, angering them and bringing bad luck.

 

Dropping forks – If you drop a fork while you are eating, you are basically guaranteed to have unexpected guests, usually arriving right after dinner.

 

Horse Shoes – Horse Shoes are always hung upside down over a door way so that the bad luck raining down on the house will slip off the sides instead of collecting inside.

 

Black Cats – Black Cats are the moniker of a Witch. If a black cat comes to you in the night they are trying to steal you away. Once they appear they have 30 days to steal you away, if they do not succeed they can never come back to try again.

 

Hearing a cat sneeze – Is said to bring very good luck to every one who hears!

 

Not Sleeping on your back – You can only sleep on your side or stomach. If you sleep on your back you are more susceptible to being stolen away by a witch. Also if you sleep on your back, if a bad spirit that is trying to kill you enters your house they will do so by kneeling on your chest and suffocating you.

 

Witches – Witches are to be feared and respected. They can just as easily cure you of an ailment as they can curse you with one! (My Aunt was cured by a witch as a baby, but since this post is already turning in to an epic novel I'll leave that for another post.) If you are cursed by a Witch, a wise man or woman can tell you a remedy and you must immediately obey it to get rid of the curse and also to protect yourself and future generations from Witches (I'll also leave my personal stories about witches out.)

 

Protecting your house – To protect your house from a Witche you hang open scissors over the windows and doors. It's said Witches can not pass beneath the open blades of a scissors. To protect your house against Vampires you either hand a small broom or a fishing net over the windows and doors or sprinkle a line over sand at the foot of a door or on the window sill. They believe that Vampires are obsessive compulsive so they would have to either count every grain sand or every straw in the broom or untie every knot in the fishing net before they could enter. It would take them so long that by the time they were done the sun would be rising and they would have to return to their homes to avoid being burned by the sun.

 

Wooden Spoons – Sauce always tastes better when it is stirred with a wooden spoon. If you make a sauce and it comes out bad you have to throw out the wooden spoon or else everything else you stir with it will also turn out bad.

 

Pregnancy – To find out if you are having a boy or a girl when you are pregnant you hang a threaded needle over a pregnant woman's belly. If it swings in a straight line it represents...ehherm...boy parts and you are having a boy. If it swings in a circle it represents...ehherm...girl parts and you are having a girl.

 

New Years – We believe that how you spend your New Year's Eve and Day is how you will spend the rest of the year. So we try especially hard not to fall sick around these times. We also try to surround ourselves with family and friends. You never, ever, fight with someone or you will fight with them all year. And gifts of money are given out in hopes that the following year will be prosperous for you.

 

I'm sure I could go on but the list is already enormous. I'll leave you with three last superstitions from other cultures that I believe.

 

High Heels and Pregnancy – This is a Portuguese superstition that says if you wear high heels while you are pregnant your child will be born cross eyed. One of my English teachers in high school was attacked by a crazed group of Portuguese women at her first teaching job out of college. They forced her in to a chair and took off her shoes and would not let her walk until one of the ladies actually left school to go buy her a pair of flats to protect the baby!

 

Helping Spirits – In Brazil they believe that if a spirit visits you it is trying to get help. They believe that you have to explain to the spirit that you are very sorry but you can not help it, but you know where they can get help. You say The Lord's Prayer out loud and repeat out loud directions to the nearest church and you tell the spirit that if they go to this church there will be Angels there who will be willing and able to help them.

 

Cats with bi-color eyes – In China they believe that if you own a cat with two different colored eyes it will bring you good fortune. (My friends bought me a kitten with two different colored eyes for my 19th birthday! Best cat ever!)

 

Okay. Sorry this post is a million miles long, but as you can probably infer I LOVE superstitions, they are so interesting. There are many more, but these are the ones I grew up believing, and I'm sure even after this ridiculously long list I am missing some!

Edited November 20, 2009 by Caipirinha

[Nephylim]

That's incredibly detailed and intersting. Can't wait to hear your witch stories

[David McLeod]

Hmph. What is the basis of superstition? Not walking under a ladder, from which something might fall, makes sense. Not opening an umbrella indoors, where something might be knocked over or broken, makes sense. My mother, a staunch Christian and twice elected Elder in her church, demanded that Christmas decorations be removed before 12th Night lest the witches carry her off. I never reconciled her religion with this particular superstition. Seriously, what is the basis of your supersitition(s)?

[Arpeggio]

I know about spilling the salt, you're suppose to throw some over your shoulder. XD

[Nephylim]

Hmph. What is the basis of superstition? Not walking under a ladder, from which something might fall, makes sense. Not opening an umbrella indoors, where something might be knocked over or broken, makes sense. My mother, a staunch Christian and twice elected Elder in her church, demanded that Christmas decorations be removed before 12th Night lest the witches carry her off. I never reconciled her religion with this particular superstition. Seriously, what is the basis of your supersitition(s)?

 

 

Gods that could be an entire novel in itself.

[Caipirinha]

The superstition about not walking under ladders actually has other origins as well. The shape of an open ladder or of a ladder leaning against a wall closely resembles a triangle which in certain cultures and religions is representative of sacred symbols (the Holy Trinity, etc.) or life itself. Think of the famous masonic symbol of a triangle with an eye in the middle. The eye is representative of the eye of God watching over you. These cultures and religions believe that walking through the sacred symbol will anger God or the gods and bring misfortune. It's His/Her/Their portal to watch you through, you have no business trying to get in.

[NightOwl88]

I know a few different superstitions, basic ones mostly. Broken Mirror (can be lucky if your magically inclined) checking the window if a black cat cross infront of your car, and Owl or Crow nesting in a tree means that the owner of the property the tree is on will die suddenly, opening an umbrella in the house brings misfortune, salt over the left shoulder to ward off evil. I know lots mroe but I can't think of them right now.

[Nephylim]

Salt is interesting. Salt is considered and has been for a very long time, as being a purifier. It is so pure it repels the presence of evil. That is why it is used to cast circles in various magical traditions. Once you are inside the circle no evil can cross to get at you. It is also sprinkled on thresholds to prevent evil entering. That is why the tradition says that if you sprikle salt on the doorstep no vampires can enter... we're evil right Salt is also used magically to purify tools, such as the athame or wand, crystals and other items which are covered in salt which then absorbs the negativity.

 

Throwing salt over the shoulder 'into the face of the devil' repels any evil that is standing behind you.

 

The reason you throw it over your left shoulder is because the left hand path is considered to be the path of darkness. The left (in latin sinistra) path is the path of the moon and, coincidentally the path of the feminine mysteries. In ancient, and not so ancient, times left handed people were considered to be posessed by evil and many (my ex included) were forced by their parents to suppress their left handedness and to learn to use their right hands at a very young age.

 

Just some useless information for a Saturday morning.

[Sam Fowler]

I really don't believe in superstitions. Years ago a black kitten came to my parent's house when they weren't doing to well financially. He walked right into the house when my mother opened the front door between the legs of their Great Dane, hissed at the dog, and made himself at home. They had him for over fifteen years and soon after they adopted him their financial situation improved dramatically.

Eleven years ago when I moved to Ft. Worth I broke an antique mirror of my great aunt's, and I had to throw it away. Instead of seven years bad luck I soon got a job making more money than I'd ever made in my life, and that job lasted exactly seven years.

So I walk under ladders deliberately, wait for black cats to cross my path, and consider anything that most people think as bad luck as good luck for me!

[Nephylim]

I really don't believe in superstitions. Years ago a black kitten came to my parent's house when they weren't doing to well financially. He walked right into the house when my mother opened the front door between the legs of their Great Dane, hissed at the dog, and made himself at home. They had him for over fifteen years and soon after they adopted him their financial situation improved dramatically.

Eleven years ago when I moved to Ft. Worth I broke an antique mirror of my great aunt's, and I had to throw it away. Instead of seven years bad luck I soon got a job making more money than I'd ever made in my life, and that job lasted exactly seven years.

So I walk under ladders deliberately, wait for black cats to cross my path, and consider anything that most people think as bad luck as good luck for me!

 

 

You are the anti supersition man Good for you. Hope you never find a four leaf clover and never, ever wish on a star

[Sam Fowler]

You are the anti supersition man Good for you. Hope you never find a four leaf clover and never, ever wish on a star

 

 

Aren't most falling stars just airliners ejecting their solid waste?

[JamesSavik]

If you are courageous and your cause is just, Thor will appear and fight by your side.

 

All Oak are the kin of Yggdrasil and the acorn is the promise of new life.

 

As Christianity spread across Europe, in order to replace and supplant native religions, it took on some of their trappings.

Many of the things considered "Christian" are more accurately Pagan beliefs that pre-date Christianity.

For instance the concept of the Trinity in Christianity was borrowed from Nordic cultures three faces of God Odin, Thor and Freya.

The idea of silence and fasting may have had its origins in Celtic culture. The Christmas tree and the Easter egg came from Germanic fertility rites.

Rather than a monolithic religion, Christianity appears to be an amalgam of numerous cultural myths and beliefs.

[KJames]

The reason you throw it over your left shoulder is because the left hand path is considered to be the path of darkness. The left (in latin sinistra) path is the path of the moon and, coincidentally the path of the feminine mysteries. In ancient, and not so ancient, times left handed people were considered to be posessed by evil and many (my ex included) were forced by their parents to suppress their left handedness and to learn to use their right hands at a very young age.

 

That could very well be why my handwriting (with my right hand) is so very sloppy...I have a very weak, distant memory of having used my left hand in Sunday School...and the teacher tying it down at my waist, forcing me to use my 'right' hand...

[abbillion]

I don't know any.

[abbillion]

Wait I do!!!

 

THe black cat that walks across the street at night which means bad luck! That is one right??

[hombre]

We have a couple handed down from the old country from my great-grandparents.

 

1. if you get the chills, someone is either walking on your grave or a ghost has just walked thru you.

 

2. rings around the moon, faerie rings they are called, mean it is going to rain soon.

 

[abbillion]

I have heard of the first one! Happens a lot.