Are you superstitious? If you are how superstitious are you? Good? Bad? Indifferent?

[SWTXBelle]

Many superstitions actually are common sense - you don't want to walk under a ladder because you may knock it over, or something can fall (a can of paint, etc.) on your head. They are very rational - and even ones that don't seem to make much sense (sports players who have "lucky" underwear, shoes, etc.) actually are rational in the sense that they see a causal relationship (trying to recreate all the elements of a successful game.) When they become divorced from their origins they then appear irrational.

It is a fine line, too, between a superstition and a religious or cultural belief. Look at the superstitions that still persist in weddings - in the south, the bride is not supposed to practice going down the aisle at the rehearsal, for example. Throwing rice is a fertility superstition - and it goes on and on. Most people are, I think, somewhat superstitious. For all of our rationality, there is a part of us that wants to feel we have some control over the seeming chaos of our existence.

[RU OX Alum]

most superstitions i think can be explained, for exmaple, friday the 13th is unlucky because if you were a knight templar, or one of their supporters, you would have been burnt at the stake in October, 13something, or some such date. Getting burned alive would count as having bad luck, in my opinion anyway. Also, the thing about mirrors is because people used to believe that the soul of the person stayed in the mirror, so if you broke it, it could take up to seven years for the soul to return, and they get scarred and lost rather easily.

I have no idea why passing someone the salt directly is bad luck (or maybe just bad manners from a different culture)

[WinniBug]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

Many superstitions actually are common sense - you don't want to walk under a ladder because you may knock it over, or something can fall (a can of paint, etc.) on your head. They are very rational - and even ones that don't seem to make much sense (sports players who have "lucky" underwear, shoes, etc.) actually are rational in the sense that they see a causal relationship (trying to recreate all the elements of a successful game.) When they become divorced from their origins they then appear irrational.

Not walking under a ladder stemmed from a Christian superstition....it was believed that if you walked under a ladder, you were splitting the Holy Trinity and therefore no better than the devil.



I kiss my hand and hit the ceiling of my car when I drive under a yellow light, I make wishes at 11:11, I knock on wood (or wood paneling) so I don't jinx good luck, I don't pick up pennies that are tail-up, if I spill salt I pick some up and toss it over my shoulder, I make a wish on the first star I see at night, if someone's taking an important test I tell them to "break a pencil lead" for good luck instead of "break a leg", before I got married I would take a piece of groom's cake home from weddings and put it under my pillow, I've never bought a Claddagh ring for myself, If your ear's ringing someone's talking about you, and if you nose itches someone's thinking about you, if my necklace clasp comes around to the front I kiss it and make a wish, I make wishes on my eyelashes, I didn't let Joel see me the day of our wedding until I was walking down to aisle towards him, I say "God Bless You" when people sneeze....

Wow, I didn't think I was superstitious at all until I started making my list.

[SWTXBelle]

Originally Posted by WinniBug

Not walking under a ladder stemmed from a Christian superstition....it was believed that if you walked under a ladder, you were splitting the Holy Trinity and therefore no better than the devil.

I'm trying to figure out how a ladder - with two parts, or four if you count each leg - represents the Holy TRINITY . . . hmmmmm . . . do you know from which country this came from? I'm interested.

[WinniBug]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

I'm trying to figure out how a ladder - with two parts, or four if you count each leg - represents the Holy TRINITY . . . hmmmmm . . . do you know from which country this came from? I'm interested.

[SWTXBelle]

A-ha!