As I'm writing this on Friday the 13th, I decided to write about superstitions. I'm one of those people who's always been a little drawn to the mystical side of things. I read horoscopes just for the sake of it. Sometimes, they're actually surprisingly accurate. Almost two weeks ago, I went and bought a deck of tarot cards, just to see what all the fuss was about. I'm ritualistic. For example, there are three doors in one of the walls in my room. A closet, a bathroom, and a door to the rest of the house. I have to close all of these doors every night before bed or else I won't be able to sleep.
I won't say my superstitious habits are original, but I've compiled a list of my common and quirky superstitions that are probably a lot closer to most of you than you think! I mean, if you've chosen to read this article, you've probably got a small taste for the superstitious, too.
1. Wishing upon a star.
Generally during meteor showers, people show their colors by wishing on a falling star, because everyone knows that wishes on stars are bound to come true. In old Greek history, the astronomer Ptolemy wrote that on rare occasions, out of curiosity, or, more likely, boredom, the gods peer down at the earth from the heavens. He stated that when this happens, stars sometimes slip out of this gap between worlds, flashing toward the Earth. Hence, shooting stars became an indication that the gods were paying attention to whatever you would ask for.
2. The four-leaf clover.
Legend has it that if you eat the four leaf clover, a genie appears. I spent countless afternoon hours combing the clover patches for that special, four-leafed one, searching for a bit of spare luck. Each of the leaves is believed to represent a positive abstraction: The first leaf represents faith, the second hope, the third love, and the fourth, rare leaf represents luck. So you can understand how the clover got downgraded to just a lucky rare plant.
3. “Bless you!”
Sneezing causes your heart to stop, so in some religions, they say “God bless you” so that in the moment that you're “clinically dead,” you don't come back as a possessed demonic soul or something. When we say this, you may think we care, but actually, we just don't want a demon to possess you.
4. Crossed fingers.
So I actually don't remember ever learning when crossing my fingers was a sign of wishful thinking, a way to hope really hard for something, or when it was introduced as a tool of deception. Remember when you couldn't be held to your promises because you crossed your fingers? Well, the belief originally dates to a pre-Christianity Pagan belief in Western Europe in the powerful symbolism of a cross. The intersection between fingers was thought to mark a concentration of good spirits and served to anchor a wish until it could come true. It's a little bit different from what we currently believe.
5. Knock on wood.
I practice this superstitious prevention tactic basically every day. I've knocked on some wood today, I knocked on wood yesterday, and let's be real, I'll probably knock on a piece of wood at some point tomorrow. If you've never knocked on wood, I don't believe you. C'mon, even people in the White House knock on wood. The practice, like crossing our fingers, goes back to those European Pagans, who'd lay hands on trees when asking for favor from the spirits that lived within. They also laid hands on trees in thanks for a run of good luck. I mean, I wouldn't mind going and hugging some trees for good luck.
6. Beginner's luck.
You learn this term the first time you play and win a new game with a sore loser. Beginner's luck is really only rooted in confirmation-bias, so this superstition spreads solely on the perpetuation of the thing itself. Though, beginner's luck is believed to end once the player gets involved in the game by abandoning the "innocent" mindset and starting to pay attention to the nuances of the game.
7. Black cats.
This is the only superstition that I actively fight against. Black cats aren't going to bring you bad luck. They're lovely animals, and the cheapest ones to adopt. Black cats have been looked upon as omens of evil for centuries. They're thought to be a common familiar of witches, and if one crosses the path of a black cat, it's said to spell misfortune and death for that person. But I've crossed paths with lots of black cats, and they're no different from any other. They want love and cuddles, too.
Seven is supposed to be a lucky number, so I'll end the little list here. What's your tally? Do we share many superstitious little quirks?
P.S. If you've never knocked on wood, I just can't believe you've never tried it once! What harm could it do? Insurance policy, my friends.
