Of sorcery and superstition
BY LANE NICHOLSI'm not superstitious - we'll not especially.
I'm firmly of the belief that we make our own luck and that magical hocus pocus plays little or no part in deciding our destiny or fate.
But for centuries man has been spooked by a whole litany a crack pot superstitions and old wives' tales which have governed the way we behave, speak and act.
Seeing an ambulance is very unlucky unless you pinch your nose or hold your breath until you see a black or a brown dog.
Superstitions are essentially irrational beliefs or notions, not based on knowledge or experience, commonly applied to ideas of luck and prophecy. They usually relate to irrational beliefs that future events can be influenced or foretold by specific, unrelated prior events. (Source: Wikipedia)
It's very lucky to meet a chimney sweep by chance. Make a wish when sighting one, and the wish will come true.
While my house is not full of upturned horse shoes and I don't carry a manky rabbit's foot or four-leaf clover around in my man bag, I guess I have got the odd superstitious hang-up simply by virtue of my cultural upbringing.
If you say good-bye to a friend on a bridge, you will never see each other again.
Though I don't believe anything bad will happen, I tend to avoid walking under ladders. I mean it's so easy to walk around them - why take the chance?
And that stupid one about touching wood to avoid some terrible fate befalling you after something nasty is mentioned in conversation is another weird one I guess I've been saddled with for life.
Cows lifting their tails is a sure sign that rain is coming.
But that's about the extent of my whacko superstitious beliefs. Other people I know are a little more unhinged.
I went out with one girl who would lose the plot if the volume control was left on an odd number. She couldn't explain it - she just had to twist the dial to correct an indescribable wrong.
I played football with a guy who had to don his football socks, shin pads and boots in the same precise sequence each Saturday - left foot first then right - or he was certain our team would suffer defeat.
We won the grade this year as it turned out.
Pictures of an elephant bring luck, but only if they face a door.
Some people don't like the foot of their bed facing a doorway because they fear it brings bad feng shui.
The odd nutter is adamant a fate worse than death awaits anyone who opens an umbrella inside. And let's not forget the seven years of sexual frustration that will befall the person who inadvertently smashes a mirror.
Spit on a new bat before using it for the first time to make it lucky.
Where did these strange beliefs come from and why the hell do we adhere to such irrational sorcery when there is absolutely zero scientific evidence to back up our fears?
I read somewhere that many of our modern day superstitions stem from the days of the great plague, when a lingering, imminent death was just around the corner so desperate families clung to any tenuous thread of hope.
But you'd think we'd have moved on by now.
The dried body of a frog worn in a silk bag around the neck averts epilepsy and other fits.
Guess not.
So we'll probably continue throwing spilled salt over our shoulders, avoid stepping on pavement cracks and keep attempting to blow out all the candles in one go to ensure our wishes come true.
Because that's what makes us quirky and human.
To cure a cough: take a hair from the coughing person's head, put it between two slices of buttered bread, feed it to a dog, and say, "Eat well you hound, may you be sick and I be sound."
Do you consider yourself superstitious and what weird and wonderful superstitions do you admit to?
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Cows lifting their tails is a sure sign that rain is coming.
Mate, that ain't rain that's a coming!
Pictures of an elephant bring luck, but only if they face a door.
The elephant or the picture?
I too have a thing with the volume control. Has to be an even number or a multiple of 5, but not 5. I always always take my feet off the ground and touch the celing of my car when i drive over the railway tracks in featherston
I have to get blessed on a Friday, especially before a big weekend! Weird, I know. I even get off the train at a different station so I can donate to the Salvation Army bloke on a Friday who always says to me "God Bless you". I am not even religous!!! For some strange reason, call it a superstitious or not, I then feel that I have got some kind of "green light" to go forth and party and all will be fine and I will make it home in one piece.
As for superstitious that are not necessarily mine, but have been drummed into me by my mother ... hanging a calendar before the year has started, new shoes on a table, ladybirds, never leave your nail cuttings around for others to see, etc Let alone the superstitious of my fisherman father, good grief these tough old buggers certainly take these things seriously ... the red sky, seeing an albatross, never change the name of a boat, if a cat adopts the boat as it's home seriously good luck, no plants or flowers on board etc.
I live at # 13. I used to work on the 13th floor of a building. My race number is often 13. Superstition be damned.
I don't walk under ladders, but its more because I'm concerned someone up the ladder might drop something. I'm not too worried about Friday the 13ths (unless its the movies..), athough I will admit to being a little more careful those days. And I don't get all thing about black cats. In face I quite like them. Even if they are all witches and wizards in disguise.
One thing I do though..I have to say "white rabbits" when I get out of bed on the first of each month. Never really remember though, and it always comes to mind after I've spoken to someone ..so I can only say "rabbits" then. And no I don't have a clue why I do it, or what its for.
I'm not superstitious at all despite all my mothers efforts. However recently I went on a coach tour around Europe with my hubby. One day when we were packing the coach up with our luggage when a black cat appeared in front of the coach. Somebody yelled the cat away and said 'we don't need any bad luck'. I didn't think of anything of it until our coach got broken into later than day and my DSLR stolen (bad luck indeed as I was super excited about photographing around Europe). Am I superstitious about black cats now? No. But was that incident something a little more than just a coincidence? I don't know.
When we were kids we used to hold our breath if we drove past a cemetary - is this supersition or just a weird game kids play in cars?
2 of the above superstitions are probably based in common sense - you don't walk under a ladder because someone might drop a hammer or something on your head. And please don't open a wet umbrella in my house I don't want to mop up the water. After saying that I often open my umbrella inside at work
This drives me nuts. I can't believe some people believe this rubbish. In this modern age, with all the tests, and studies that have been done, everyone knows that Feng Shui, Astrology, Homeopathy, Superstitions, Lucky Numbers, Tarot Cards, Psychics etc (not to mention this "God" character) are not actually for real. The fact a lot of people wish they were true, is not enough to make them "actually" true. Sure, capturing you dreams in a "Dream Catcher" is a nice idea, but it ain't gonna happen. We would all love the idea of going to heaven , and all that entails. But what we want, and what we are going to get, are two very different things!
How many times can a similar version of an older post be rehashed?
How many times can the same people practically give themselves apoplexy in their fervour to discount any and all unscientifically proven beliefs?
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I cant have the volume on an odd number either. My boyfriend does it just to annoy me and we usually end up fighting over the remote. Otherwise I am not very superstitious, I will walk under a ladder if it is quicker then walking around it, I am not a fan of wasting time and energy! haha