Strange Superstitions and The Superstitious Among Us

[K.D. Lightner]

I never kill spiders, I try to protect them as they are one of my totems.

I guess we folks who have creature/animal totems could be considered somewhat superstitious, either that or it is as close as some of us get to a religion (paganism?).

karol

 

[Derek WC]

Found this old thread.


I don't go anywhere without a comb.

A greasy head isn't good looking unless it is well kept.

 

[Shangas]

I do strange things, but I don't do anything superstitious, though. That's my mother and grandmother's department.

I do strange, neurotic things...like...counting how many turns of the crown it takes for me to wind up my pocket-watch every morning (on average, 12-14 turns). But nothing superstitious.

 

[Charlie74]

I am afriad of everything. ladders, black cats, the #13 especially which has caused me many mishaps. If I break a mirrior, I am frantic until I can break the spell.

 

[Harp]

If I break a mirrior, I am frantic until I can break the spell.

...you know how to break a spell?

The Chicago Cubs are cursed. And the billy goat walk around
Wrigley Field didn't get the job done ; just made things worse.

Any suggestions, please contact the Mayor's Office at City Hall.
Here in Chicago, the fix gets put in at the top. lol
(and that s.o.b. is a Sox fan) lol

 

[fluteplayer07]

I knock on wood. Three times. And three times only. If I accidentally knock more than three times, I keep knocking until I hit the next multiple of three to cancel the first set out, then start over again.

When I get angry, sad, or nervous, I start getting some OCD-like quirks. Like watching for cracks, touching poles or doorways, etc. But normally I'm fine. Weird, I know.

 

[Yeps]

I am not superstitious, but I definitely appear so to anyone watching.

I knock on wood and always toss spilled salt over my shoulder.

I don't whistle in my theaters and tend to avoid saying the name of the Scottish Play in general.

I also always set my alarm on a 7 -- 8:07/9:37/6:17 or something like that.

 

[Jasmine Jolene]

i'm not superstitious at all, but i will indulge friends who are with the 'knock on wood' thing.

i am, however, scared of the dark, and HATE coming up the stairs at night when all the lights are off downstairs.

also, i read somewhere (on the web so not sure of the validity) of a Native American superstition - don't leave a door slightly ajar as it leaves it open for bad spirits. open, yes, closed, yes - just not a variation in between!

oh - and i do like the edges of my sandwiches to match so i open my bread like a book, but i'm not all that superstitious about it!

 

[Mr Vim]

We have a lot of great superstitions in the Coast Guard.

Whistling on deck means you will whistle up a storm.

We tie our lines to our boats a certain way.

We knock on wood for anything.

We ring our ship bell's if we are underway.

I find these are not superstitions so to speak but are rather great traditions of a sea going military... oh and we just turned 220. Yee Ha.

 

[Lady Jessica]

I don't do superstitions in everyday life... my mum does "knock on wood" occaisionally, but I don't believe all that stuff.

However, I am in theatre, and there are some theatre superstitions that I keep for tradition's sake:

~ NEVER say the name of Shakespeare's Scottish play out loud in a theatre (most, including me, are conditioned to never say it out loud ever, just in case).
~ Don't whistle in the theatre, esp. the dressing rooms.
~ Never walk under a ladder set up onstage.
~ Respect the theatre's resident ghost (all theatres have a ghost). Or, to prevent a ghost from settling in, always leave a light on at center stage when closing the theatre.
~ Never recieve a bouquet of flowers before the show has begun. Also never use real flowers as props/decor onstage.
~ Never clean out your makeup box.... also, never spill the contents of a makeup box, and never wear new makeup on opening night.
~ Never knit onstage or in the wings.

And of course.... NEVER say "Good luck"!!! Always "Break a leg!"

Of course, there's lots more, but I don't feel like listing them all right now... most have stories behind them, so its more like keeping folklore/tradition than really believing in the superstitions.

As a theater kid I believe in these. Our theater absolutely had a ghost! And the opening night of the last play of my High School career I told the new comers to not say "good luck" and they did.... and it was the worst run of the show. I think it made them believe though!

As far as black cats go... I've had two. One short hair one long hair. They both picked me, though. The second one bit me as a kitten and then followed me home where he snuck into my garage and then we eventually caught him.

 

[Edward]

I came across this one a few years ago with my boyfriend. I saw a little evening purse in an antique shop and opened it to look inside. I found a sixpence piece in there and said 'Oh look, someone left a coin in there'. My boyfriend then informed me that you should never leave a purse or bag without some money in it and about putting money in one if you give it as a gift to ensure the owner is never short of money.

That's some I grew up with in Ireland. Not sure if it's Irish in origin, but it was strong in my grandparents' generation.

No peacock feathers in the house - it was something to do with the evil eye.

Yes, this one I know too.... In Irish tradition, they're connected with the Fae folk, especially the Banshee. My grandmother hears the banshee (one of the rare folks who hear it when a member of the family is going to die - the norm is that you're only supposed to hear it when it's your turn to go).

THE ONLY BAD LUCK i GET FROM OWING A WHITE CAT IS SHOWING UP FOR WORK DRESSED IN HEAD TO TOE BLACK, ACCESSORIZED WITH WHITE CAT HAIR

Greta, my tabby, leaves furs on dark clothes that contrast wonderfully; her sister, Marlene, loves to put her long, black hair on my lighter clothes. Between then they're pretty deadly that way. Greta especially is one for watching me use the lint roller, her hair cocked to the side, and as soon as I'm finished she'll rub herself on me leaving hairs again. I have no doubt she knows exactly what she's doing! lol

If you cant remember just do everything over the right. The left side of the body is considered evil by many standards of superstition.

Yup, hence the root of our modern word 'sinister', which comes from the Latin for left. I've also often wondered whether there is something tied to this in the use of the French 'gauche' to mean vulgar.

As to Macbeth, the Scottish play... This has a very simple origin. It was an extremely popular play, a guaranteed crowd puller. So much so that when a theatre was in extreme financial difficulties, the last ditch attempt to save the theatre and thus the jobs of its resident company of actors was to put on a production of Macbeth. If the company for which you worked was staging the Scottish play, it was a sign that you could very soon be out of work....

 

[YesterdayGirl]

NEVER cross people on stairs...and NEVER put new shoes on a table!

 

[HHISIII]

I try not put shoes on the table at all....

 

[Kiri]

I'm not superstitious at all, but I do have some habits and I like things to be a certain way. For instance, if a part of my hand bumps into the side of something, I feel slightly annoyed until I can get my other hand to bump the object in exactly the same place. I also for some reason lift up my feet when we pass a telephone pole while driving, it feels weird to keep my feet down. I suppose that will be a habit I'll have to break once I'm driving though.

 

[John in Covina]

Knock on Wood

Needing some good luck with the job hunt I find I am knocking on wood a lot for good luck.

 

[Warbaby]

My Only Superstition...

 

[Tomasso]

and NEVER put new shoes on a table!

 

[4spurs]

days of the week

Avoid Wednesdays; nothing good can come of them. Hold out for Thursdays; but be careful, sometimes Wednesday can come late and linger for a day or two.

 

[Charlie74]

To answer HARP, there are 2 ways to break the seven year bad luck curse of a broken mirror. One is to bury the pieces in sacred ground (churchyards, cemetaries) or to cast the pieces into a fast flowing stream

 

[W-D Forties]

Strange superstitions

My family, like many, have always been incredibly superstitious. But friends have always found our superstitions a little strange.

If you drop a knife, someone else has to pick it up (I can wait days, walking aound it)
Ditto gloves (you will meet someone 'you don't want to')
No green allowed in the house, ditto purple
No whistling: 'A whistling woman, a crowing hen, brings the Divil (sic) out of his den'
No bare feet: 'You may as well show a man your a***e than your feet' (more of an etiquet one, that)
If you put any clothes on inside out, it's unlucky to reverse them (I just used to change completely)
There are more...

Are we weird, or are any of these familiar to older relatives of yours??