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Silly superstitions
Spilled salt
Superstitions
Superstition- A widely held but unjustified belief in supernatural causation leading to certain consequences of an action or event
How superstitious are you? you may believe in some common superstitions such as, a black cat crossing your path is bad luck or after spilling salt you have to throw it over your left shoulder to keep away the devil. But, their are many other superstitions that have been created over the years that you were probably never aware of. I've picked out a handful of my favorites and i'll share these with you in the list below. And who knows maybe you'll find the cause of your good/bad luck or a pick up a new superstition.
20 superstitions
1. If a friend gives you a knife, you should give him a coin, or your friendship will be doomed.
2. Never place shoes on a table as it means bad luck for the remainder of the day.
3. Cover your mouth when you yawn or else your soul will slip out and it may be replaced by a spirit or the devil.
4. Rosemary in a pillow case will ward off demons and prevent bad dreams.
5. When your ears itch someone is talking about you, if it's the left they are saying positive things, if it's the right they are saying negative things.
6. If pursued at night by an evil spirit, or the ghost of one dead, and you hear footsteps behind you. try and reach a stream of running water, for if you can cross it, no devil or ghost will be able to follow you.
7. A dog eating grass predicts rain ( my dog eats grass all the time, I've heard that it helps soothe their stomach if they feel sick ).
8. You must hold your breath while going past a cemetery or you will breathe in the spirit of someone who has recently died ( my friend and I actually know this one and we used to do this every time we passed a cemetery).
9. The spouse who goes to sleep first on the wedding day will be the first to die.
10. It's bad luck to count the cars in a funeral cortege.
11. The most unlucky card to hold in one's hand is the four of clubs ( remember this next time your in Las Vegas ).
12. Don’t hit anyone with a broom, or it will make him or her lazy.
13. Rubbing rabbit's blood into the skin will get rid of freckles.
14. If a bee enters your home, it's a sign that you will soon have a visitor. If you kill the bee, you will have bad luck, or the visitor will be unpleasant.
15. If three people are photographed together, the one in the middle will die first.
16. It is bad luck to light three cigarettes from the same match.
17. If a bird flies into your home then it is an omen of death ( I have had several birds in my house and nobodies died yet ).
18. Dropping a pair of scissors is said to warn that a lover is unfaithful
19. If the finger or toe nails of an infant are cut previous to the age of 12 months, it will prove a thief in mature age.
20. A bunch of mint tied round the wrist keeps off infection and disease.
Hope you enjoyed.
Comments
Just had a thought (inspired by Seeker from north of the Border), about actors. They tend to call Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' 'The Scottish Play' or 'Harry Lauder' (after a Scots music hall entertainer).
And a classic. Say, 'White rabbit, white rabbit, white rabbit', first thing in the new month to avert disaster the month long.
Food for thought, eh?
Interesting, Jake. Some of them probably originated over here and were taken across the Pond.
You missed out walking under ladders. Stand near where somebody's set a ladder up against a shop wall and see how many do their level best to walk around.
Carry silver coins in your pocket for when you hear your first cuckoo. Heard about that one?
Then there's the business of saying, 'Bless you' on hearing someone sneeze. The belief was that the devil leapt into their mouth otherwise.
One from Eastern Europe (Belarus, Ukraine) was that if you smiled at a (dark) stranger they would count your teeth and your teeth would fall out.
Take care when welcoming strangers!
Cool, I have heard some of these. The yawn one is not just for manners, when a person yawns it looks like a scream to an evil person. A bird entering your house unless bought and caged is bad luck, not death, I think it is suffer a loss, but not necessarily a death. The coin for a knife must be true because it is widely recognized in many cultures. Some people think a woman wearing a bird is bad luck, and some people think that a picture with a bird in it brings bad luck. Superstitions are fun! A lot of them are based on common sense, courtesy, and so forth. Good article and fun, informative, and interesting.
- Author
Come to think of it, every time I set my shoes on the table I always get in trouble from my mother. Also, thanks for the insight on the back story of that superstition, I find them very interesting.
2. Your Mom or wife is likely to be upset with you for doing this, so I can see how it would be considered bad luck.
14. Doesn’t the bee count as a visitor?
16. This is an old trench warfare rule – the time it takes to light 3 cigarettes provides all the information necessary for the enemy to see, aim at, and shoot you. Not dangerous in other situations, so I’m not sure why this one has continued.
- Author
Their are so many superstitions for actors, they have a whole category of superstitions they follow. And thanks again for the rating up.
I find superstitions fascinating especially as many people still believe in them today. I think actors tend to be very superstitious, especially before the first opening of a new play or show. Many go to great lengths to ward off the bad luck said to occur through superstitions.
Very interesting hub + voted up!!
- Author
thanks Allen I enjoy superstitions as well and I thought other people would enjoy so I decided to post this glad you enjoyed
I never considered myself to be superstitous but I find superstitions interesting. I voted your hub up and interesting.
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