Superstitions - do you know any?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 19 Feb 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Demonesse	19 Feb 2003
Superstition. Whether you believe in them or not, valid or not, spooky or not, they can be wonderfully interesting and diverse. I felt like starting this thread to gather a whole list of them, so what superstitions have you heard of (and would you happen to know the rationale behind them)? At this moment, all I can think of are: Western superstition - Bad luck for you if you: cross a black cat's path, break a mirror and walk under a ladder. Eastern superstition - Point at the moon and your ear will be cut!

anjocoxo	19 Feb 2003
here in portugal people are very superstitious... BAD LUCK * if you spill wine on a dinner table * if you feel shivers (death is passing behind you) * if you say "happy aniversary" to someone whose birthday is tomorrow GOOD LUCK *if you throw salt behind your back *having a horseshoe (SP?) these arefew that I can remember... but I know there are a lot more Anjo

Athara	19 Feb 2003
And then there's Knocking on wood, to prevent bad luck...

Aoife	19 Feb 2003
Quote: Originally posted by anjocoxo here in portugal people are very superstitious... GOOD LUCK *having a horseshoe (SP?) Anjo Here, the horseshoe has to be above the front door of a house - in an upright 'U' position to keep all he luck contained within. It's considered unlucky in an inverted position - all the luck drains out.

Trogon	19 Feb 2003
If you drop silverware, company will show up at the door. Then there's the old children's "thing" of "step on a crack and you break your mother's back." In Police work - if the people who are going off duty when you come on had a quiet shift, you will be busy. If you come in to work expecting to have a quiet shift, it will be busy. Spilling salt will bring bad luck. But if you immediately pick up a pinch of the spilled salt with your right hand and throw it over your left shoulder it cancels the bad luck... but you can't put the spilled salt back in the salt shaker or the bad luck will be worse! Saying "good luck" to an actor going on stage is very bad luck. Instead you say "break a leg." I'm sure I'll think of more after I post this! ;)

jema	19 Feb 2003
never put your key or your shoes on the table. and these are a few things i learnt as a kid: when having a pic-nic in the woods - always leave the last bit to the fairies. when you have been away more then a day and return home, always knock on the door before you enter, and call out: "we are back home again" or at least knock or make noice outside the door. this is to let the little ones know you are back so they can hide. if you are in the woods and have to take a leak - ALWAYS warn the little folk first. (i even heard horror stories about people failing to warn them and having horrible things happen)

Mimers	19 Feb 2003
I have a couple of very good friends that are supersticious about Tarot! One won't even come to my house because I have cards here. When she was young her mother had her cards read and she remembers there being a very scary card in the spread. The next day their house burnt down and she swears it was because of this reading. She is waiting for something terrible to happen to me. My other friend is not so dramatic, but made it clear he doesn't want to even discuss them with me. He just feels they are creepy. I myself am not very supersticious, but even so I find myself knocking on wood, throwing salt over my shoulder, etc... just in case. One that sticks out in my mind is not walking over someones grave. My grandmother told me their ghost would haunt me if I did. I actually did it on purpose a few times, hoping to see a ghost, but it never happened.

lupo138	19 Feb 2003
on sea: a woman on board was considered unlucky. always donate the first sip of a bottle to Poseidon. @Aoife: smiths are permitted to do the opposite, as they are of a profession of power (source as far as I remember: ABC of Witchcraft by Doreen Valiente) in Austria: you have to knock three times on wood to drive away evil forces, in case you said something about the future as if it was for sure.

Umbrae	19 Feb 2003
The ‘clinking’ of glasses together during a toast – the noise so they say is abhorrent to witches – it drives them away... Where'd everybody go...?

Macavity	19 Feb 2003
Hmmm - A onetime "favourite" saying of my mother: Monday's child is fair of face, Tuesday's child is full of grace, Wednesday's child is full of woe, Thursday's child has far to go. Friday's child is loving and giving, Saturday's child works hard for a living, But the child born on the Sabbath Day, Is fair and wise and good and gay. As a Wednesday's Child I'm quite cheerful - All things considered! :D Macavity

Woof	19 Feb 2003
If your hand itches you'll come into/find/somehow get money. If you kiss a baby or a dead person in a dream it's bad luck. (My Italian father.) I may have that one mixed up, like its bad to kiss a baby, good to kiss a dead person.... Don't open an umbrella indoors. Woof

Aoife	19 Feb 2003
I've heard that shoes have been found hidden/built into the foundations of very old houses in the UK for protection. Does anyone know the significance?

Macavity	19 Feb 2003
Mentioning the name of the "Scottish Play" in the company of actors. Scoring 111 (and multiples thereof) runs is a cricket match (Not a recent problem for most English batsmen? :)) The "Lucky" Rabbits foot (not for the rabbit?) And finally: Enumeration of Magpies... One for sorrow, Two for joy, Three for a girl, Four for a boy, Five for silver, Six for gold, Seven for a secret never to be told...

zorya	19 Feb 2003
never whistle on stage. (good reason for this... in the old days, sand bags were used as weights to raise and lower curtains and drops. a whistle was the signal to drop one from above) if the dress rehearsal (last rehearsal) of a show is bad, the opening will be good. if the dress rehearsal is good, the opening will go poorly.

ihcoyc	19 Feb 2003
My understanding is that the shoes in the foundations of old buildings are there as a substitute for the person who used to have to be buried alive down there. }) I've always thought it was unlucky to see a photograph of someone who has died. Lucky to blow a kiss to the moon. A pair of aces and a pair of eights as a poker hand is the "dead man's hand" and unlucky.

Liliana	19 Feb 2003
If you and a friend are walking and an object passes between you you must say bread and butter so the friendship wont part (bread and butter belong together) "Find a penny heads face up all the day you'll have good luck find a penny heads face down all the day you'll wear a frown" Also good luck is attributed to finding and picking up a pin Brides must be carried across the threshold throwing a penyy in a fountain and making a wish for it to come true, as with blowing out your birthday candles dont open an umbrella indoors cross your fingers while going past a graveyard,. Ive also seen point both hands to the sky, and if in a vehicle raise your feet off the floor If you can hold your breath all the way through a tunnel (while driving) its good luck A pair of open scissors buried under a threshold wards off witches Thats all I can think of now, Im sure I know more as I used to study them when I was in high school, Ive always been a superstitious person, after all it cant hurt :)

RAVENAL	19 Feb 2003
pulling petals on daisys...loves me...loves me not... spitting outside at the four corners of your house for protection garlic for protection (not eaten...though this can be very effective)...HA...

anjocoxo	20 Feb 2003
I've just remember... If you see a spider you shouldn't kill it, because it is a sign of money coming in... since I'm aracnofobic (total panic even if it's a #$%@# small spider) everytime I see a spider I start shouting "kill it, kill it!" and then my mother says calmly "now, dear, we cannot kill it, it's a good omen, money will come in, bla, bla,bla..." and I end up staying away from it, scared to death... until the spider decides to go away Anjo

Aoife	20 Feb 2003
Stuff to do with egg shells - crushing them so a bad witch can't use them for a boat. Something else about writing your name on the shell so the bad witch can't use it. This is perhaps slightly different. I remember when I was hoping for a second child a friend gave me a bunch of tiny sugar eggs wrapped and tied in fabric and told me to sleep with it under my pillow - I conceieved the first months of trying!

Athara	20 Feb 2003
If a female is sitting between two males or a male between two females the person in the middle can make a wish. If you make a wish, never say it out loud, or it won't come true. This one was quite 'hip' for a while and extremely annoying: if you see a yellow car with the motor running say 'Yellow Car'. If you're the last one in your group, you'll have bad luck all day.

wavebreaker	20 Feb 2003
My own superstition: if something good comes up, but isn't sure yet, I never tell anyone, because that might ruin it... :D

Emily	20 Feb 2003
Never put new shoes on a table - its bad luck Don't whistle on a Sunday or play cards on a Sunday (calls the Devil) Don't throw salt on an open fire - bad luck (I actually used to do this to see the fire change colour lol) Break the shells of boiled eggs so seawitches can't use them to sink boats. Salute a single Magpie, wards off the bad luck or turn around three times. A bird flying into the house means a death A dog howling at midnight also means a death Never stir a pan of food widdershins, anti-clockwise, bad luck. If you put a t-shirt or clothing on back to front or inside out, its considered bad luck to take the clothing off and change it. My Nan was very superstitious and it used to rub off on us when we were kids, its only now i realise that she only told us of the things we shouldn't be doing lol :) It didn't stop her encouraging me with stories of her Romany Grandparents and card reading lol

Demonesse	20 Feb 2003
This is fun :) A few more Eastern superstitions - -Don't give shoes to people, that's giving your luck away. -If you don't finish your meal properly you'll end up with a spouse with a pimply face (that's because rice grains look like acne pockmarks...) -Whistling at night attracts ghosts. - If you don't wash your feet at night when you come back, spirits will follow you inside. It's funny how many superstitions are ways of telling you what you ought or ought not to do in a Halloweenized manner...

floracove	21 Feb 2003
Hmmm.... Giving a friend something sharp as a gift will sever the friendship. (ex. scissors, knife) Slapping your hands together with a hanging spider between and then rubbing them together will bring money luck. Finding a penny tails up and giving to a friend will bring them good luck and counter act your bad luck. Dropping a penny on the floor, if it lands head up and you leave it will bring good luck. If anyone picks it up, they take your luck as well. Breaking the wish bone of a turkey between two people, the one with the largest peice will have good luck. I'm not sure, but I think that in Japan, wearing shoes inside a house will bring bad luck. (or something) Keeping the first dollar bill from your business will bring good money luck. (business will grow and thrive) Marking an "X", 3 times on the windshield of your car when a black cat crosses in front of you will ward off any bad luck. *that's all I can think of right now*

Emily	21 Feb 2003
Just remembered these - Don't cross somebody on the stairs (house), either wait and let them go first or you go first - its bad luck to cross. A black cat walking in front of you will give you good luck. Don't burn bread on an open fire ( not sure of why with this one, just that Nan used to say it was bad luck lol) When giving someone a new purse/wallet, always put a coin in it first to give them good luck.

january	22 Feb 2003
So many of these are so familiar... I guess we've all been raised with a superstition or two! My Nana was always good for citing out when we've committed a "superstition sin"... saying "rabbit, rabbit!" as you awake on the first of each month will bring good luck. (it should actually be the 1st words of that month so if you're up past midnight, say it then. Doubly important on New Year's Day!) Its bad luck to put shoes on a table or on a bed put your right shoe on before your left for good luck If you tickle a baby's feet, she/he'll stutter If a broom sweeps across your feet, you'll never marry its good luck for a baby to pee on you or a bird to piddle on you dream of the dead, you'll hear from the living If a picture suddenly falls off the wall, it means a death Drop a.... fork=female company, knife=male company, spoon=child company pointing to a full moon is bad luck taking a bite of your fortune cookie before reading the fortune ladybugs are good luck cover your mouth when you yawn so your soul doesn't escape or evil spirits enter when a candle's flame burns blue it means a spirit is present saying "something must be found, Saint Anthony please come around" to find lost items (I admit it works well for finding a parking space!) stirring any batter, mixture counter-clockwise is bad luck for the meal and diners if you accidently set an extra place at the table you'll have an unexppected guest itchy right palm=you get money, itchy left palm=you'll lose $$ if your nose itches you'll either have a fight or kiss someone always walk into any room or building by stepping over the threshhold with your right foot for good luck red sky at night, sailor's delight; red sky in morning, sailors take warning ... and would you believe the number of buildings I've been in that don't have a thirteenth floor???? hmmm.... looks like I've had a superstitious childhood. Do any of you have any "made-up" superstitions?

le-mat	22 Feb 2003
my italian grandmother told me these: if you put your purse or bag on the table, you will never return to the place you are in. if your nose itches, you will have a fight. to prevent this, someone has to pinch you really hard. if your ears itch, someone is talking of you. if you own a business and no customers are coming in, throw a glass of water on the street my spanish grandmother told me this: never sweep the house the friday before Easter. also: if you spill wine on the table, someone has to wet a finger in the wine and draw a cross in your forehead with it to prevent bad luck. usually they also say "alegría, alegría" (joy). i think this one is from spain/portugal. if you point to a cloud, ice will fall. i'm sure there are some more in my memory, european people are very supersticious... -- love

le-mat	22 Feb 2003
if your right eye is pulsating, you will have good luck. if its you left eye, bad luck. if you give someone handkerchiefs (ie for their birthday) that person has to give you money. if the belly of a pregnant woman is cone-shaped, the baby will be a boy. if you have a back problem, a 6-month pregnant woman has to walk across your back. (yap, that IS weird!) the left hand has always been associated with evil. in italian, "left" is "sinistra" (sinister). left-handed were forced to write with the right hand. red haired people were also associated with the devil.

le-mat	22 Feb 2003
saying "snake" is really bad luck (specially on tv). i love snakes, and if i want to get my mother angry i go around saying "snake". words are thought to have powers. you never ask if someone is going to die. you never say out loud "i hope he dies". there are many eufemisms, specially for diseases, cause it's bad luck to say "cancer" for example. I remember of a bishop, here in Argentina... he said on tv "some journalists should die of lung cancer"... a little time after that he died... of lung cancer!. i remember laughing out loud when i found out.

Alissa	23 Feb 2003
I'm supersitious on some levels, so I've got a few, mostly performance/theatre related. Always kiss the walls of the venue before the show begins its run. Always cross yourself before going onstage (this is more personal, but I've run across others who do -- an I'm not Catholic btw). Never mention Macbeth (as Macavity mentioned) in theatre, call it (as she rightly did) That Scottish Play. (I once threw a major freak out when someone threatend to say it to me while we were "making up" backstage in the dressing rooms. I literally went screaming from the room, saying "Curse yourself, but I'm not having a light drop on me!" and ran out). -- Having a light drop on my head is my biggest, completely unfounded, fear when onstage, i dunno why -- NEVER TELL ME TO FREAKIN BREAK A LEG!!!! You *Don't* tell dancers "break a leg" -- for luck, you say "merde" (which means "sh*t" in French). I know people have meant well every single time they've done this to me over the years, but I really rEALLY hate hearing it and will cross myself, or say some blessing, to undo it whenever they do. I would always put my left toe shoe on first, I don't know why I felt that necessary, but it sure was supersitious of me. I also HAVE to be onstage, just walk across it or whatever, prior to the curtain going up for a show I'm in or I will have a terrible terrible disastrous night [but since call for most performers is at least an hour prior to curtain, a stroll across the boards isnt hard to fit in]. Spiders seen in the morning are supposed to be bad luck, and in the afternoon good luck (to the Romani). Bury a coin at your threshold to bring prosperity. I can't think of any more that haven't already been mentioned. (yet)

Emily	23 Feb 2003
This was has just come to me, don't know why I didn't remember before - Just after midnight on New Year, go out by the back door and in from the front - lets the bad luck you might have had out and good luck for the New Year in. Also on New Years morning the first person to enter your house has to be dark haired, to bring good luck for the year. Nan wouldn't let any fair haired people in her house until the old year had been let out and the New Year in, usually by my Dad who was, luckily lol, dark haired. :)

Eissej	23 Feb 2003
Don't ever leave your new-spun thread on your spinning-wheel spindle overnight, the spinning faeries will come and break it. That shivery feeling you get sometimes that makes your spine twitch cold is someone walking on your grave. Elephants (like statues or paintings) with their trunks up are good luck, with the trunk down, bad. Don't walk under a ladder, it's bad luck. And my Mom's Mom used to do something about always leaving through the door she entered the house by. I think. My memory of that one isn't so clear, sorry!

meatbox666	24 Feb 2003
"Step on a crack and break your mothers back" "Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in your eye"

january	24 Feb 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Eissej And my Mom's Mom used to do something about always leaving through the door she entered the house by. I think. My memory of that one isn't so clear, sorry! This is one superstition that has stayed with me. My Nana always said that its bad luck to come in one door and out the other. I make sure I always enter and exit from the same door, whether at work or at home. Its just a habit now I suppose. But then there are those obsessive, anxiety-filled days when I sit in my car and think, "Hmmm, which door did I leave from this morning..." Yeah, superstitions can create obsessive-compulsive behavior in some of us :eek:

floracove	24 Feb 2003
I found these awhile back and did not think of them till now, thought you might like a look! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BROOM SUPERSTITIONS A broom dropping in front of the door means company before the day is over. Always pick up, for luck, a broom that is lying on the floor or ground. Always sweep dirt out the back door or you will sweep away your best friend. Bad luck will befall you all year, if you sweep on New Year's Day. Burn up the rubbish when you sweep on New Year's Day and you will have money throughout the new year. Carry a broom under your arm for luck. Carrying a broom over your shoulder will give you bad luck. Do not sweep immediately after the departure of a guest or you will sweep him bad luck. Dropping a broom while sweeping is the sign of a new carpet. Hitting someone with a broom means that he will go to jail before a week has passed. If a broom falls as you are passing it, you will have bad luck. If a broom falls in front of you and you step over it before picking it up, you will have a "bed of sickness." If dirt is swept out a door before sunrise, you may expect bad luck. If dirt is swept out of the house on Friday, the house will burn. If someone comes in to see you and you pick up a broom and go to sweeping in front of them, that is the sign they are not wanted and you want them to go home. If you go to someone's house and have to step over a broom, it shows that the mistress of that household is an untidy housekeeper. If you hand a broom through a window to someone, you may expect bad luck. If you hit a person with a broom just before he starts "uptown," he will have trouble before returning. If you let a broom fall and do not step back over it immediately, someone dirtier than you will come. If you must borrow a broom, take it without the owner's knowledge, and you will not have bad luck. If you must sweep on New Year's Day, you can avert bad luck by not taking up the dirt and leaving it in a pile on the floor. If you must sweep your kitchen after sunset, you can avert bad luck by burning the dirt. If you step over a broom you will be arrested. If you sweep after dark, You will bring sorrow to your heart. If you sweep after dark, you will sweep out the money made that day. If you sweep in front of someone, you are sweeping them off the earth. If you sweep under someone while he is sitting on a chair, you are giving him bad luck. It causes bad luck to sweep a porch after dark. It is a sign of good luck to have a broom drop in front of you. It is a sign of misfortune, to lay a broom on the bed. It is unlucky to borrow a broom. It is unlucky to sweep dirt out a door at any time. Pick up the dirt and carry it outdoors for luck. It is unlucky to sweep on Monday. It means bad luck when a broom falls across the derail. It signifies bad luck, if you sweep under a bed on which someone is lying. It signifies bad luck, to carry a broom through the house from the front door to the back door. Keep the corners of your broom square or even for luck. Lean a broom against a bed and you will be unlucky. Lending a broom will cause you bad luck. Let the broom rest with the straws up and you will be lucky. Letting the sweeping edge of a broom wear off at the two corners will bring you bad luck. Never burn up a broom; it will bring you bad luck. Never sweep dirt out the front door; it will bring you bad luck. Never sweep the kitchen after supper, whether daylight or dark, or you will sweep out all your money. Never sweep your kitchen early in the morning before sunrise, or you will be unlucky. Stand a broom on its handle and you will always be poor. Step over a broom and you will break your mother's back. Stepping over a broom is a sign of slovenliness. Stepping over a broom will bring sorrow to your heart. Stumbling over a brook handle will bring you good luck. Sweep after dark and you will never be rich. Sweep dirt out of the house on Friday and it will cause you bad luck. Sweep on the third day after Easter and you will have bugs in the house. Sweep the top of a bed and you will have bad luck. Sweep under a person's feet while he is sitting in a chair and he will not grow any more. Sweeping after dark means you will lose a friend. Sweeping dirt over a doorstep after six o'clock in the evening will bring bad luck. Sweeping on New Year's Day means that you will sweep out the money made during the coming year. Sweeping under chair upon which someone is sitting will make you unlucky. The child who steps over a broom will get a whipping. The one who is hit by a broom will soon be arrested. The person under whose feet you sweep will always be poor. The person who is hit on the top of the head with a broom will be arrested. To avert bad luck after you have walked over a fallen broom, step backwards across the broom. To brush your boot with the broom while your are sweeping will give you bad luck for a week. To have good luck, place the broom on its handle in a corner. To set a broom in the corner with the brush up shows that you are an untidy housekeeper. To step over a broom will start a quarrel in the house. To sweep after dark will bring trouble to the house. To sweep dirt out the door is a sign of a slovenly housekeeper. Touching anyone with a broom while you are sweeping causes bad luck. Walking over a fallen broom will cause you bad luck. When a broom falls across the door, it indicates that you will walk on strange ground. When a small child takes a broom and begins to sweep, company is coming. When someone is hit with a broom, he should spit on the broom and take ten steps backwards so he will neither have bad luck or be arrested. When you sweep after dark, you sweep away your friends and let enemies in. You sweep away your best friend by sweeping after dark. You will be unlucky, if you do not pick up a fallen broom at once. Your luck will be swept away, if you sweep your kitchen after sunset. If unwanted company arives to your home place your broom upside-down with the bristles sticking up and they will leave your house shortly after.

chatonsourire	25 Feb 2003
Quote: Originally posted by anjocoxo If you see a spider you shouldn't kill it, because it is a sign of money coming in... And if you *do* kill a spider ~ it will rain! (Happened to me many times too LOL) My mom told me about the spiders meaning money will come, too!

chatonsourire	25 Feb 2003
If your ear is ringing - someone's talking about you (If it's your right ear - they're saying good things; If it's your left ear - they're saying bad things) If you get a sudden chill - someone walked over the place where you will one day be buried Making wishes on shooting stars, birthday candles, eyelashes, ladybugs, when throwing a penny into a well, and when the clock reads 11:11 Knocking on wood (or your own or someone else's head if no wood is available ;)) to keep something bad from happening Bad luck - black cats crossing your path, breaking mirrors (7 years!!), spilling salt (unless you toss some of the spilled salt over your left shoulder), walking under ladders Red sky at night, sailor's delight; red sky in morning, sailors take warning I'll be back if I think of any more!!

Inana	26 Feb 2003
A few more... Another on brooms: If you touch someones feet with the broom while sweeping, that person will not marry. If you give fishes like a gift, it brings bad luck to that person. Playing alone with gamming cards (making solitaries) brings bad luck. If you split cava on the table, you have to wet your finger on it and put it in your forehead to bring good luck. Can't remember more now. There are lots.

Red raven	26 Feb 2003
Saying 'Macbeth' backstage before a performance means disaster. we have this thing at school, for the actors it's 'break a leg'. For the technical crew (which I'm on.) it's 'Break a collarbone'. And for some inexplicable reason we always have to put someone named Earl in the programs. A spirit, maybe? Well, it IS a very old school..

Liliana	27 Feb 2003
If you are wearing a necklace with a pendant, if the clasp works its way around to the front to tough the pendant you can make a wish :THP

Athara	27 Feb 2003
Quote: Originally posted by chatonsourire And if you *do* kill a spider ~ it will rain! (Happened to me many times too LOL) My mom told me about the spiders meaning money will come, too! Well, then money should be coming in pretty soon here... Just showed mercy to a big spider yesterday... :D

Fuchsia	01 Mar 2003
A woman whistling in the night brings bad luck:confused: (maybe my mum was just fed up of my unladylike habits?) Walking around stark naked in the house will invite demons... (heheh.. i wonder WHY?;) ) not that i have seen any so far......:D

The Superstitions - do you know any? thread was originally posted on 19 Feb 2003 in the Spirituality board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Spirituality, or read more archived threads.