Day 4: Superstitions
There are many superstitions in the world, some more commonly known than others. Breaking a mirror, one of the better known ones. Maybe because it causes seven years bad luck, maybe because it's not something people do easily or often. Different countries have different superstitions and most people have at least one that they believe. While the superstitions themselves are often well known, their origins are not. Here are some superstitions and their origins.
1. Breaking a mirror. Vampire lore can give you a clue to this one. Vampires have no reflection because they have no soul. as your reflection in the mirror is the image of your soul any damage done to the reflection is damage done to the soul. The seven years of bad luck comes from the Roman belief that life renewed every seven years. Also related to your reflection being your soul, you would have to endure seven years of hardship until your life renewed and your soul repaired.
2. Spilling Salt. Before the invention of fridges and freezers, salt was the only means of preserving meat through the winter months. Salt was valuable, to spill was a huge waste and therefore it was very bad luck. After all, what is worse than food spoiling, leaving you without food during winter. The word 'salary' actually comes from 'salt money', which is the allowance roman soldiers were given to buy salt to season their food.
3. Walking under a ladder. A lot of people claim this is less superstition and more common sense. Obviously you don't want to knock the ladder, and therefore the person on it, over. Most people say that a fear of having something dropped on you is the main reason not to walk under a ladder. While I have yet to see someone on a ladder actually drop something, the superstition actually has a more sinister origin. In fact it has several. When a ladder is propped against a wall, it makes a triangle, the triangle is a symbol of the holy trinity. The father, son and holy spirit. The triangle was also a sacred symbol to the Ancient Egyptians. To walk under this ladder is to break the triangle and show sympathy with the devil. Also, a ladder was propped against a cross in crucifixion and in England in the 1600s criminals had to walk under a ladder to reach the gallows.
4. Friday the 13th. Triskaidekaphobia, is quite a common fear. The fear of the number thirteen is an old one. Friday the 13th is especially unlucky because Friday is the witches sabbath. Popular superstition amongst sailors, means that no ship sets sail on a Friday. A story that may or may not be true is about the British Royal Navy attempting to debunk this superstition. A ship named Friday, which had its keel laid on a Friday, captained by Captain Friday, set sail on it's maiden voyage on a Friday. The ship disappered with all hands, no trace was ever found. Lots of people think the fear of the number 13, and having 13 sit at a table together, is because of the last supper. Jesus sat with his 12 disciples and Judas left first to betray him, later committing suicide. However, triskaidekaphobia pre-dates Christianity. In Norse mythology, twelve gods are sitting, eating a meal together. Loki, the god of strife, joins them, making thirteen. Loki then provokes a quarrel that ends in the death of Baldur, the favourite of the gods. Whilst Friday and 13 are unlucky on their own, Friday 13th, the combination of two unlucky things, takes the cake.
5. Macbeth. A famous play by William Shakespeare it is also known as The Scottish Play. This is because it is believed to be very unlucky to say 'Macbeth' in a theatre. Many don't question this, it is a rather dark play and included witches. It has however, been blamed for bad things happening in a theatre. Legend has it that real witches disliked Shakespeare's use of real incantations in the script and in retaliation cursed the play. At it's fist performance, the actor playing Lady Macbeth died suddenly and Shakespeare was forced to fill in. It is rumoured that, at the same performance, the prop dagger used to kill the character of King Duncan was switched with a real dagger, causing the actor's death. Of course, as King Duncan is killed off stage this is unlikely but it may have been seen onstage in the 17th century. The curse of Macbeth even carries over. The Astor Place riot in New York in 1849, which resulted in at least 20 deaths and over 100 injuries, was caused by rivals actors who were both playing Macbeth at the time. Other productions have been plagued with accidents such as actors falling from the stage, mysterious deaths and near misses from falling stage weights. The famous actor Laurence Olivier himself, was almost hit by a stage weight in 1937. Utter a play that must not be named inside a theatre, is a superstition even drama students take seriously. During a theatre tour, a young man said it without thinking, and when gently reminded of where he was clapped a hand over his mouth and kept his eyes peeled for anything that could cause him harm. Being next led above the stage and being warned, with the rest of his group, not to touch the lights as they had been known to be unstable and fall, did not help.
6. Peacock feathers. Some even refuse to have images of peacocks in their house. This is another thing that is considered bad luck to have in a theatre. Although there is disagreement on this superstition, some believe they are good luck, it is probably though to be bad luck because of the superstition of the evil eye. The evil eye is the eye of a demon, usually Lilith, the mother of demons, and as such brings misfortune. The pattern on a peacocks feathers looks very much like eyes and even Greek Mythology says they are a tribute to a many eyed god who was murdered by Zeus' son. The evil eye still feared by many people in many cultures, peacock feathers are even banned in some places.
7. Passing someone on the stairs. This is probably due to medieval castles. In medieval castles, the stairs spiral in a specific direction. This is because, during a siege, the soldiers defending the castle, coming down the stairs, would have the room the draw their sword and fight the enemy ascending the stairs, their opponent, would find the wall in the way. If you allowed the enemy to pass you on the stairs, that would give them the advantage, it would also mean they were closer to capturing the castle. Those of you questioning how that would work for left-handed soldier, there was no such thing, Left handed people were banned from being soldiers. The Latin word for left, is where we get the word sinister. Left handed people were often linked to the devil. Another superstition.
8. Shoes on the table. Putting shoes, especially new ones, on the table is bad luck for a number of reasons. Shoes were pricey, very oftn the shoes of a dead person would be passed on to a family member as a 'new' pair, especially in poor families. Criminals were hanged wearing shoes and it is also reminiscent of laying out a body. Essentially it can predict a death in the family. Also, with the table being were food is laid out it could seem like common sense, but again it can imply contamination. An illness being passed on to someone leaving a pair of shoes going spare.
9. A white tablecloth. Leaving a white tablecloth on the table overnight is very unlucky. It indicates that someone in the house will soon be in need of a shroud. As people dressed in a shroud were laid out on the table for people to pay their final respects, essentially leaving a shroud ready and waiting is tempting fate.
10. Opening an umbrella indoors. This one is not at all interesting. In Victorian England, the metal frame of an umbrella could easily hurt someone. There was a fear it would poke a child in the eye. It was unlucky purely because it could hurt someone, especially an unwary child.
11. Pavement cracks. "Step on a crack, break your mother's back". The cracks in the earth were often seen as portals to other worlds, stepping on them was inviting evil spirits into your life. At one time, when black people were seen as inferior to white people, the rhyme "Step on a crack, your mother will turn black" was used. This sometimes was a metaphor and meant to imply your mother would have a black baby, a big taboo. While both rhymes sound a little like the person saying it is threatening others, it is meant a s a warning. Basically don't walk on he pavement cracks unless you want to invite misfortune.
12. Spiders. Whether you are fond of these arachnids (they are not insects, insects only have six legs) or not, killing them is considered unlucky. Arachnids do venture into people's homes, especially in the colder months. In England, spiders are considered relatively harmless, Britain does not boast many native poisonous spiders. Killing them is unnecessary, they can be moved fairly easily. Small spiders, called money spiders, are meant to bring good fortune, so killing one brings the opposite. While you probably shouldn't kill spiders anyway as they don't do much harm, at least in this country, killing money spiders is the only thing believed to always bring misfortune.
Triskaidekaphobics can skip the next one if they wish, it's about magpies.
13. 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, eight is a wish, nine is a kiss, ten is a bird you must not miss. A way many people know to avoid the sorrow one magpie brings is to salute. Some people also say "Good morning Captain" or "Good morning sir magpie". While it may seem silly, the reason we salute is out of respect. Magpies, like many birds, mate for life. Now, as many irritating people point out, seeing a lone magpie doesn't necessarily mean it has no mate but it is a reasonable assumption to make. We salute lone magpies because it is likely they have lost their mate.
Now these are all superstitions about unlucky things, there are superstitions about things that are meant to bring luck. Horseshoes, knocking wood, seeing two magpies, picking up pins etc but this is 31 Days of Hallowe'en and we are The Darkside. There are different superstitions across all countries, cultures and people. You can research and find some more, these are just a few. There was an eccentrics club in London who used to meet every Friday closest to the 13th and essentially tempt fate, they did not believe in superstitions. Umbrellas would be opened inside, salt would be spilled, ladders would be walked under and waiters would pour drinks into cracked and broken glasses.
Now it is easy to dismiss superstitions as nonsense and say there is nothing in them, but only someone who can break a mirror without a second thought, has the right to do so.
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