New World Encyclopaedia defines a superstition as, "the irrational belief that specific, unrelated behaviours or occurrences can influence or predict future events." The earliest superstitions arose as a response to ignorance and fear of the unknown. Thus, superstitions are a way of regaining control over events in one's life. Superstitious beliefs are more prevalent in certain groups of people than others and vary by culture. For example, everyone knows that breaking a mirror brings seven years of bad luck and that a black cat crossing your path brings feline AIDS. Avoiding such travesties is simple at home, but if you travel, you're bound to come across some dubious situations that will ruin your day.
While it's easy to associate many indigenous cultures with an unyielding belief in the bizarre, there are fewer resources detailing the superstitions from Western societies. However, we oddly find that the Western world, being the current golden child and "face of civilization" had wild and illogical beliefs, and were at once people of strong superstitions. So this article is not about Africa, the Eastern civilization, or the Aboriginals as one might have first imagined when thinking of superstition. Today, we visit the Western culture (American and European cultures) to examine the superstitions that were held in high regard historically by many, and a few even till today. You ready? Then let's go!
1. "Knocking on the Door"
Indo-European, Celtic, or British?
Any list of superstitions would have to start with what is arguably the most well-known and universal superstition: 'knock on wood.' The actual origins, and even meanings, of the phrase are as varied as the cultures that use it, with some claiming roots in the Indo-European or Celtic belief that spirits good and bad resided in trees and could be summoned or chased away by knocking on their door, and others (particularly Christians) claiming the practice is linked to the magical power of the wooden Crucifix. Historians have most likely linked the superstition to a 19th-century British children's game called "Tiggy Touchwood," in which young players claimed immunity from being tagged.by touching the nearest piece of wood. Adults picked up on the habit and the phrase (the British still say “touch wood” today), and the rest is history. As with many superstitions, there are subtle variations and sometimes not so subtle varying origins. Italians ‘touch steel’ rather than wood, perhaps more related to iron horseshoes; Poles and Russians touch unpainted wood, Turks knock twice, Latin American knock on wood with no legs (i.e. chairs). It’s best to memorize them all before traveling.
2. “Throwing Salt Over Your Shoulder” European/Christian, ancient Roman Tossing salt over one's shoulder is perhaps the next most common superstition, at least in the Western world. This superstition, like 'knocking on wood,' involves the idea of 'warding off evil,' in this case, the Devil himself. Judas Iscariot, Jesus' betrayer, is depicted in Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper as having accidentally spilled salt. Because Judas was associated with wrongdoing, the argument goes, so was salt, and throwing it over your shoulder would blind the devil waiting there.
Because "Old Scratch" was thought to be just over your left shoulder, ready to tempt you in other versions of the superstition, the salt was thrown to the left. Others argue that the value of salt alone in ancient times was significant.
3. “Walking Under a Ladder” European/Christian, possibly Egyptian The superstition of not wanting to walk under a ladder has its origins in Christian symbolism: the "Holy Trinity" of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit led to the number three being associated with something sacred. The triangle, with its three sides, became sacred as well, and a ladder, of course, forms a triangle, so walking under that ladder would destroy the sanctity of the Trinity and thus incur punishment.
The ladder's resemblance to a gallows didn't help matters, nor did the fact that something could fall from it. Finally, the Egyptians apparently believed that one might accidentally see a god ascending or descending a ladder, and so avoided it.
4. “Broken Mirror”
Ancient Greek/Roman, European, etc.
The belief that a broken mirror brings bad luck most likely has its origins in the simple fact that reflections of ourselves are uncanny and often unnerving (particularly on a “bad hair” day), so humans have long had bad associations with them. Take, for example, the Greek myth of Narcissus, or the idea that a crack in a mirror would somehow break its charm or trap one’s soul. It was the ancient Romans, however, who contributed the notion that a broken mirror would bring seven years of bad luck, since it was believed that only poor health would cause a mirror to crack, and the number seven was seen by the Romans as the number of years required to complete a full life-cycle of sickness and renewal. As a result, a broken mirror meant you were headed toward a death-spiral that might take seven years to pull yourself out of! But, then, those same Romans felt you could prevent that horrible outcome by gathering the broken pieces of the mirror and burying them by moonlight, so should we really trust them about all the bad luck talk?
5. “Step on a Crack, Break Your Mother’s Back”
African and European folklore
Another superstition involving something cracked or broken being associated with bad luck is the superstition of “stepping on a crack” as foretelling, or even causing, harm to a family member. As with mirrors, cracks—in the earth, on a sidewalk, or almost anywhere—have long been seen as portals to the realm of the supernatural, for both good and ill. To step on those cracks might be to invite or release unwelcome spirits into the world ready to do one harm.
6. “Lucky Pennies”
Ancient Roman, English, American
The idea that finding a penny would bring good luck also originates in folk beliefs—in this case based on the idea that metal, regarded by many ancient cultures as quite valuable, was sent by the gods to protect those whom they favoured. Pennies being made from metal, find them and you’ll have good fortune. But, be careful: some say the luck could break either way, and that if you find a penny tails up, you should turn it over and leave it for the next person or you’ll actually have bad luck.
7. “Lucky Horseshoe” Ancient Roman, Celtic/British Isles, Europe Another object commonly thought to be lucky is the horseshoe. Earliest origins of the horseshoe’s function as a good luck charm reside in its vulval shape (seen upside down) and the invocation of the pagan moon goddess Diana and her ‘sacred vulva’. As with pennies, metal being seen as both valuable and magical, iron in particular was thought by early Europeans as something capable of warding off evil spirits. And, as with the Romans and the lucky number seven, horseshoes frequently featured seven nail holes. The most famous story of a horseshoe bringing good luck, however, refers to the story of Saint Dunstan, who apparently worked as a blacksmith prior to attaining sainthood. The story goes that, one day, the Devil rode into Dunstan’s shop requesting new shoes for his horse. Dunstan, recognizing the Devil, played it off nonchalantly, and, rather than nailing the shoes to the horse, nailed one to the Devil's foot instead. In agony, the Devil agreed never to enter a house with a horseshoe nailed above the door if Dunstan would simply agree to remove the shoe.
8. “Friday the 13th” European/Christian Like the number 7 for the Romans, the number 13 has magical significance, but this time it's unlucky rather than lucky. The number 12 has frequently been perceived as positive (12 months of the year and 12 signs of the zodiac, for example, or 12 days of Christmas and 12 tribes of Israel), so its nearest neighbouring number to the north is naturally negative. The 13th, like other superstitions surrounding the Last Supper, is considered unlucky because the Great Betrayer, Judas Iscariot, was the 13th member of the dinner party that led to Christ's crucifixion. He couldn't seem to get a break! Furthermore, on Friday, October 13, 1307, King Philip IV of France arrested and executed hundreds of the Templar Knights.
9. “Black Cats” European Though cats have often been associated with good luck rather than bad luck and were even worshiped as gods in Ancient Egypt, things took a turn for the worse for our dark-colored feline friends sometime around the Dark Ages when, according to People magazine, a papal bull issued by Pope Gregory IX in 1232 AD declared them a "incarnation of Satan."
From there, things only got worse for black cats, with people in the Middle Ages burning them in bonfires on Holy Days like Shrove Tuesday, the first Sunday of Lent, and even Easter, and the Puritans in America linking them to witchcraft. Furthermore, the color black has long been associated with evil and death, which didn't help our furry friends who had the misfortune of being born the colour of night.
10. “Fingers Crossed” Western Europe, Pagan & Christian The superstition of crossing one's fingers bringing good luck to the lucky "finger-crosser" dates back to pre-Christian, Pagan times in Western Europe, when making a cross with your own and another person's index fingers was thought to concentrate the forces of good spirits and seal a pact or a wish with the fellow-crosser. People eventually realized they could simply bless their own wishes by crossing their two index fingers, and later just the index and middle fingers of one hand, as we do today.
Another story attributes the practice to early Christians, who would secretly greet and identify one another with various symbols such as crossing the index fingers, touching thumbs, and so on (though this explanation does not have the virtue of accounting for the association with good luck).
11. “Chewing Gum at Night” Turkey Have you ever had an irrational fear of accidentally consuming dead flesh? Well, in Turkey, it is thought that, after dark, chewing gum is magically transformed--like the mogwai in the movie Gremlins who turn into the titular monsters if they eat after midnight--into the flesh of the dead.
12. “Writing Love Letters to Juliet Capulet” Verona, Italy In Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," the male member of the doomed couple was known to frequent the foot of Juliet's balcony to send up his nightly entreaties and love missives. Visitors can write their own love letters to - and even rub the right breast of the nearby statue of Juliet - at the 'Casa di Giuletta' in Verona, Italy, where the 'Capuleti' family allegedly lived at 'Via Capello 23,' All of this is done in the hopes of gaining her favor, much like Romeo did long ago, even if the pair themselves were not so fortunate.
13. “Giving Yellow Flowers” Russia Like numbers, colours have frequently been assigned symbolic significance, like black being seen as the colour of bad luck and red the colour of passion. In Russia, yellow flowers in particular are seen as problematic as they are thought to represent infidelity, separation, or even death!
14. “Sweeping Feet” South America If you're going on a cleaning spree in Brazil, you should avoid using brooms. Or, at the very least, exercise caution. South Americans believe that if you have your feet swept over by a broom, you will be single for the rest of your life. If you immediately spit on the broom, the curse will be broken. The exact origins of this superstition are unknown, but legend has it that a woman who is unable to keep house is not a good wife.
Thank you for reading through! Were you shocked by any of the superstitions mentioned? How many of these do you actually believe in your non-western culture? Personally, I found a couple of them similar to superstitions we have here in Nigeria, and would really like to know if this a result of mere coincidence or cultural imperialism (when one culture dominates another and transfers some or all of their cultural values to the dominated culture). If you are also curious about this, check out the video from TED-Ed detailing the origins of superstitions across the world.
Well this is wild!
so wait they know they know that romeo and juliet died but noooo they are still looking for favour from her God the people in the world are not really wise
I don't know about you but we unconsciously imbibe this superstitions whether we like it or not.
Stop
Love it