Are you superstitious?

[Ann]

If you are superstitious, which ones do you follow/try to avoid?

I'm not really all that superstitious, but it comes with my upbringing. My mom has always been very superstitious, and Sweden is a country with many stories like these. The only one I can think of that I do follow is the "don't walk under a ladder" one, mainly cause I'm afraid it'll fall down and squish me :rolleyes:

It's funny to see how many superstitions come from religion, for example the ladder one comes from the early Christian belief that a leaning ladder formed a triangle with the wall and ground. And you must never violate the Holy Trinity by walking through a triangle, if you did you were considered to be in league with the devil (and we all know what Christians did to people they suspected of that). And the "spit if you see a black cat" one (my most hates superstition) comes from ancient Egypt, where the Goddess Bast, was a black female cat. Christian priests wanted to wipe out all traces of other religions so preached to their followers to destroy the evil demons that were black cats. While they were at it, they destroyed the kindly little old ladies who cared for the cats believing them to be witches.

I find things like this so very interesting!

[All Creatures Great And Small]

Hmmmm..... one thing I always do is pick up pennies off the ground for good luck. Somebody told me that it matters whether the face or the back are showing, as far as good luck, but I don't care, I just pick them up anyway. I also never throw out pennies after they are swept/vacuumed up - this comes from my mom, who used to tell us that if we threw out money, we'd never get any more because we didn't care about it. :confused: (Not sure where she got that one from.) And I admit that I try not to walk under ladders. I have been known to throw a pinch of salt over my shoulder after I knock over the shaker and spill it :rolleyes:, even though I have no idea which shoulder, so I do both. :D These are all such irrational things, and I should know better, but I guess they're just habits ingrained from childhood.

[lovemyshiba]

I find myself superstitious, but I don't always know why. I didn't know the meaning behind the ladder until I read this post, but I don't walk under them. Black cats don't scare me, and I don't think I've ever thrown salt over my shoulder, but don't try to get me out of the house on Friday the 13th. I'm scared to death of that day--I had a boyfriend break up with me once on that day, and ever since then, I believe bad things can happen (although, if he hadn't, I never would have met my husband, so.....)
I was also fairly superstitious for my wedding--had to have the old, new, borrowed, and blue. We were running out the door, and I didn't have anything borrowed, and I started to panic. My little sis has a guardian angel pin that she keeps on her purse, and she said I could borrow it. I pinned it underneath my dress, wore my mother in laws old diamond necklace, painted my toenails blue, and my new wedding dress---you wouldn't have been able to drag me down the aisle without those 4 things:)

[Cataholic]

WOW, I never knew the origin of not walking under ladders. I think I tend to avoid them cause of safety...what if the person on it dropped a bucket of paint on my head (while Ann might think that was ok...what if it hurt my friend, too?) (j/k, Ann)

As to the penny, I pick them up! I heard, ACGAS, that only 'heads up' are lucky...the saying goes, "find a penny pick it up and all that day you'll have good luck" But, I pick them all up. (Funny story, at the gym, guys change always falls out of their pockets when they lay on the bench. I wait until no one is looking, and go pick it up! I like money, he he).

Black cats? No way, sign of luck for me, always.:D :D

What about breaking a mirror??

[Edwina's Secretary]

I throw salt over my shoulder, pick up and keep heads up pennies, pick up and give away tails up pennies (that is suppose to fix the "bad" of tails up), and knock wood ....my head usually being the most convenient wood available (when saying...I never get a cold...so it doesn't then happen.)

How much is tradition/habit, how much is superstition and how much just being silly???

The only time a broken mirror would bother me would be if it broke when I looked in it! :D ;) :D

[Ann]

LOL yeah, I'm a money hungry gal too :D I always pick up money that I see, no matter how little they might be worth. I too think they give luck...

I remember one time I found 100 kr (roughly 10 dollars) and I was so happy about it that I pinned it up on my wall. But then, my so called best friend came by one day and poof, it was mysteriously gone. Some friend she was... Hate her guts for that and all the other stuff she stole from me.

[Randi]

My mom and her family were superstitious. I remember many things they used to do - or not do. Amonst them the already mentioned. When I was a child, I accidentially broke a big mirror and I rememeber my mom telling me that it meant 7 years of bad luck, so I was terrified.

As a teenager I deliberately walked under latters to prove nothing would happen. :D

If I spill salt, I still throw some over my left shoulder. :rolleyes: If you don't, something will happen which will make you cry.

There's one more thing that hasn't been mentioned here. If you take all your money and hold them out of the window just after 24.00 o'clock on New Years Eve you're not supposed to be in need of money the coming year. :eek:

The less you know of all these, the better! ;)

[Inka]

I'm only superstitious if I want to :D
Some things get more difficult these days: in my office I can hardly find any wood to knock on if the higher spirits do not accept my head. :D

[primabella]

if you believe enough in a superstition, it might happen ;)
i'm not superstitious. my sister had broken 4 mirrors, and i've held a few black cats.

i do pick up pennies though. my friend found one the day she was going to ask her strict parents if she could go to a concert. they actually agreed and she kept the penny as a necklace. lol :)

[Karen]

Two "superstitions" I follow (as they cause no harm, and I like them) are from my French-Canadian grandmother's side, I think.

One is never to give a purse or bag as a gift without putting something in it - even just a penny. An empty purse will stay empty is the superstion, so you are giving bad luck and poverty.

The other is to always wear something new for Easter - some years it's just been a new barrette in my hair, but the belief is, if you don't wear something new for Easter, a little birdie will leave droppings on your head! :)

I;m not really superstitious, but I like those two! And, of course, like black cats just as much as any other color, enjoy Friday the 13th just fine, but, like Ann, don't walk under ladders just for safety - with my clumsiness, I'd probably know it down on my own head!

[Cataholic]

Originally posted by Randi
If I spill salt, I still throw some over my left shoulder. :rolleyes: If you don't, something will happen which will make you cry.


What about something bad happening cause you now have twice as much salt on the floor!!!:D :rolleyes:


What about the "don't step on the cracks" thing on sidewalks??

[iceyshiver21]

im so superstishes!! I like wont walk under ladders or anything!

[lovemyshiba]

I NEVER stepped on a crack when I was little, and I used to walk to school. The three of us would jump over all the cracks, since we didn't want our mothers to have broken backs--I'm sure we were quite a site!!!
I totally forgot about the mirror--when I was young, my mom broke one, and her and my father got divorced, which resulted in a nasty ongoing custody battle for years--she warned me never to break a mirror.
2 years ago (I'm counting), I broke one, and ended up losing a job and a boyfriend. However, since then, I have also met my husband, had a beautiful wedding, made some wonderful friends, started a job I love, and all other sorts of things.

[wolfsoul]

im not superstitious at all! lol...there are literally hundreds of pennies scattered on the floor of my school, but i only go for the big stuff! lol

[primabella]

Originally posted by Karen
Two "superstitions" I follow (as they cause no harm, and I like them) are from my French-Canadian grandmother's side, I think.


just wondering, is she from quebec :) that's pretty cool :D

[Karen]

My grandmother's parents emigrated from northern Quebec (not the city) to Massachusetts before she was born, but she spoke French, as did all her relatives even when I was a kid - they'd speak French sometimes so we kids couldn't understand them, as they all also spoke English perfectly well!

She taught me how to embroider, and was my very first teacher - she was my Sunday school teacher when I was four years old.

I assume I have a half-ton of distant relatives in Quebec, so promise to always be polite if I am there - you never know who I might be related to!

And I always wear something new at Easter!

[popcornbird]

Me? Superstitious? Not one bit.