Superstitions: What are they? August 22, 2010
Posted by The Wayward Wiccan in : Random Ramblings , trackback
Let’s start with defining what superstitions are and where they come from. According to Wikipedia, “superstition is a credulous belief or notion, not based on reason or knowledge. The word is often used pejoratively to refer to folk beliefs deemed irrational. This leads to some superstitions being called “old wives’ tales”. It is also commonly applied to beliefs and practices surrounding luck, prophecy and spiritual beings, particularly the irrational belief that future events can be foretold by specific unrelated prior events.” The etymology of the word comes from the Latin superstitio, meaning “standing over in amazement”. By the 1st century AD, the word’s meaning was changed to “religious awe, sanctity; a religious rite”.
Other points of view, which I agree with, are that superstition is nothing but an irrational belief in the existence of certain powers. Of course, there are no scientific bases to these beliefs. The usually ill effects are believing in the power of certain stones and amulets; avoidance of some actions or, on the contrary doing a specific action, for good luck.
Most common superstitions are:
- If you break a mirror, expect 7 years of bad luck. Done that, nothing bad happened so don’t freak out every time you accidentally break a mirror – you’ll be fine.
- The number 13 brings bad luck.
- Walking under a ladder brings bad luck or something bad will happen.
- If a black cat crosses your way, it’s bad luck.
- Keeping your fingers crossed or rubbing a rabbit’s foot brings good luck.
- If you find a four-leaved clover, you will surely become rich in a very short time.
As a child, I used to avoid black cats and walking under ladders because I was so afraid of something bad happening to me. But one day, I walked under a ladder and walked straight instead of avoiding the path after a black cat crossed my way and guess what? Nothing bad happened, no bad luck! So I’m no longer a person who believes in superstitions. What about you, are you afraid of anything, do you believe in superstitions?
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