New Investment Guru: The Local Psychic iht.com Take a look at an interesting article we found.
Global Economic Downturn Spurs Superstitious Behavior findingdulcinea.com Take a look at an interesting article we found.
Coco the stray cat with nine lives and 26 toes The Telegraph Take a look at an interesting article we found.
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December 02, 2008
In a recent poll, 4000 people were asked if they would walk under a ladder and 49 percent said they wouldn't. While a separate poll concluded 86 percent regularly practice superstitious behavior like crossing fingers or carrying a lucky charm.
I know I'm doing my part in keeping the averages up. However, one must ask, why do seemingly "normal" people act like this. Since, in giving in to superstitions, we are reinforcing a belief that the dictionary says results from ignorance.
Are you thinking you're immune? Every time you say, "Bless you" you are following a belief that began during the plagues. According to legend, Saint Gregory ordered people to say "God bless you" when somebody sneezed to prevent the spread of the disease.
And since we haven’t had any plagues in the world for a while, it seems to be working. Keep up the good work.
Triskaidekaphobia is a fear of the number 13. A specific fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia that could, in itself, prompt a fear of syllables. It all comes down to the fact there were 13 people at the Last Supper. Some cities skip 13th Ave., but not Sacramento, with an intersection where 13th Street crosses 13th Avenue. You won't catch me there.
"Black cats creep across my path until I'm almost mad...I must have roused the Devil's wrath 'cause all my luck is bad." So, one of my favorite Matt Dennis standards begins.
About 400 years ago, after Charles the First's beloved black cat unexpectedly died, he proclaimed, (so the story goes) "Alas my luck is gone." True enough, he was arrested the next day, charged with high treason and later executed.
(I’ve checked; you can’t get bad luck from a photograph.)
Don't ask me why, but the white cat in England is considered unlucky, while the black brings good fortune, (to everyone except Charles) except in East Yorkshire, where it is lucky to own a black cat but unlucky to come across one.
Wherever you are, do check the cat luck "laws" in your area.
A cracked mirror? Why get rational now. Don't panic about this "window to your soul" business. The good news is you can reverse the curse.
Experts can't agree why the rabbit's foot means good luck, (although not for the rabbit). Do brush up on which pocket to carry it. Don’t forget to pack some garlic to protect you from evil spirits and vampires.
This entire subject seemed to have undone B.F. Skinner, who examined the formation of superstitions by experimenting on pigeons. It all somehow convinced him that humans believe they can influence events by a means of "adventitious reinforcement." If you pick up a lucky penny or let a cricket loose in your house and something good happens, it makes you a believer.
Recent research indicates beliefs like wearing "lucky" socks, counting magpies, carrying an acorn, all reflect a need for control, according to professor Adam Galinksy. "Even if it's imaginary control," chimes in co-researcher Jennifer Whitson of the University of Texas at Austin.
Prevailing thought indicates superstitions originated long ago to make some sense of the inexplicable forces of nature around us.
Seems it's still inexplicable. However, I'm hoping not to you. I just knocked on wood so I know we're going to have a fruitful discussion.
Share the Eye:
Born Under A Bad Sign
by Booker T. Jones / William Bell
Superstitions are absurd and childish! Only a fool would practice them! What a waste of energy!
Okay, now that we're alone: Don't let me catch you mentioning the name of "the Scottish play" or I will make you go outside and turn around three times to dispel the curse. Don't wish me good luck when you could say "break a leg". For god's sake, don't whistle in a dressing room!!! And, personally, I prefer to step over the cracks in the sidewalk.
DPR: For The Bard's Play: ..."Angels and ministers of grace defend us". Works everytime...if you throw salt over your right shoulder and knock on wood and wear your lucky socks.....
Olivia - you are such an intuitive wonder! The verses you shared were some of my late husband's favorite and he sang them often!
I went into the guest bedroom this evening and lo! one of my unthinking, uncaring offspring had put not one - but five hats on the bed! My sainted grandmother must be turning over in her grave. (From a practical standpoint, someone reminded me that her beliefs in no hats on the bed and no shoes on the table were probably so that no one got lice from the hats nor barnyard duff from the shoes!) I moved the hats elsewhere.
Olivia,
I think Booker T Jones' problem was one of definition or perspective. Women and wine is most of what I crave, too, but I see nothing particularly wrong with having them carry me (eventually) to my grave. Somebody has to. Better W&W than too much work, I figure.
I like to say "touch wood" or "knock on wood" just so people won't accuse me of being too coldly rational (or on my way to my grave, being toted there by those I crave) and I have to admit I count crows several times a week. Like Belleball, I can overlay some rationality:
Most of the time we see crows ( magpies' local cousins) in ones or twos. Nothing is more common than sorrow, but joy is close behind, especially if you look for it.
I am sure it is only a slight variant from the original, but for those who don't know it, I give you the version popularized by Counting Crows:
1 for sorrow, 2 for joy, 3 for girls and 4 for boys
5 for silver, 6 for gold
7 for a secret, never to be told.
May all of your corvids be in couples.
wt
belle-Thank you, dear! That was one of my favorite tunes from my chanteuse period, and I always think of it when luck is discussed. There are lots of blues associated with bad luck, but that one just stands out. It was great fun to wear a hot dress and sing torch songs with a small nightclub combo. Sometimes I miss that.
I agree that superstitions have some basis in fact. Walking under a ladder certainly increases the chances of something falling upon one's head. Break a mirror and one might get injured clearing away the glass. Some of them are just inexplicable, however-the salt thingy comes to mind.
My grandfather, Pappy the pragmatist, never believed in luck. He worked too hard. He always said you make your own luck. He also noted that some people's luck came out of a bottle, and it was usually bad...
"Black cats creep across my path until I'm almost mad...I must have roused the Devil's wrath 'cause all my luck is bad." I make a date for golf and you can bet your life it rains, I try to give a party, but the guy upstairs complains...guess I'll go through life catching colds and missing trains...everything happens to me. Thanks for the Sinatra link, JP. An added treat.
"Luck is the residue of design"
I find the Japanese fascinating when it comes to issues of superstition, luck, religion, and pragmatism. The Japanese are right up there with the Swedes in terms of 'secularism' as conventionally measured (sociological and anthropological studies). The Japanese see no problem with being both Shinto (when young) and Buddhist (as they prepare to die). And their common reaction to other religions -- including Christianity and Islam -- is 'kawai' (scary!). I think this is because non-Japanese religions demand (1) exclusivity, and (2) orthodoxy. (Try being both a Muslim and a Christian at the same time... ain't possible, right?)
All this said, the Japanese are INCREDIBLY superstitious. Go visit a Shinto temple and you will find trees covered with small pieces of paper with supplications to departed ancestors. A large percentage are schoolkids asking for assistance with exams. (They study, too! They REALLY study!) My son explains the general attitude as 'Well, I don't know that spirits exist. Maybe they do; maybe they don't.' And then the pragmatism kicks in: 'If they don't it doesn't hurt to ask for help. BUT if they DO exist, it's better to ask for help than to simply ignore them... I can use all the help I can get!'
If this all sounds vaguely familiar, it's because I'm convinced a lot of Americans relationship with their own religions (Protestantism, Catholicism, Mormonism, Judaism, etc) is essentially superstitious, too.... Most folks are (implicitly) proponents (IMHO) of 'Pascal's Wager': "a suggestion posed by the French philosopher Blaise Pascal that even though the existence of God cannot be determined through reason, a person should "wager" as though God exists, because so living has potentially everything to gain, and certainly nothing to lose." ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal%27s_Wager )
I hope nobody 'of faith' takes my comments too badly. My mom went to her grave a firm believer and we were always best friends. In my personal view, if a person is TRULY convinced of their religious belief, it's totally irrelevant if so much as one other person in the world believes as one does... Faith conquers all. Please indulge my total lack of what I consider superstition and what many very nice people consider faith...
If it's any consolation, I find gambling INCREDIBLY boring, since I always assume that the longer I gamble, the more certain that I will lose money -- rendering it an absurd waste of time. I think some folks are born superstitious, hopeful, and credulous. Others are condemned to see things cynically, without hope, and without the 'consolations of belief'. I count myself in Tribe #2. At least I have the consolation of WONDER. I find it an excellent substitute.... (Hope this whole post is not too far off topic...)
While living in Hawaii, I learned of a legend that says Madam Pele, the
Hawaiian goddess of fire and volcanoes, doesn't like to have lava rocks or sand
taken away from the Islands. Anyone doing so will incur her wrath and bad luck is certain to follow.
Visitors who have taken these rocks have actually returned them, in person and by mail, in hopes of ending alarming streaks of misfortune. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the Kilauea Military Camp and many hotels are inundated with packages containing rocks from guilt-ridden vacationers who are intent upon reversing their sudden spates of bad luck.
Fortunately, a horseshoe, hung above my doorway, turned upward so none of the luck will run out, has worked well as a counteraction.
P.S. My mom used to say, 'We named you after Thomas Aquinas, but there must have been a mixup; you're more like Thomas the Apostle'. (If you were not raised as a Catholic, Thomas Aquinas was the premier philosopher and medieval Scholastic 'Father of the Church'; Thomas the Apostle is famous for purported saying: ''Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.' (Jesus was very patient with 'Doubting Thomas', reportedly commenting: 'Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.' (One more example of where Jesus and I would have parted ways....)
I've really got to work on nesting my parentheses better. If my sentences were computer code, I'd have 'syntax error' messages flashing all over the place!
Perhaps just one more quick quip from Mark Twain, about today's topic...
"The proverb says, "Born lucky, always lucky," and I am very superstitious. As a small boy I was notoriously lucky. It was usual for one or two of our lads (per annum) to get drowned in the Mississippi or in Bear Creek, but I was pulled out in a 2/3 drowned condition 9 times before I learned to swim, and was considered to be a cat in disguise."
My mom has a friend who always carries a potato in her purse on Friday the 13th. It suppose to ward off bad luck. Not so sure if it ever has worked or not.
Kindlee ~ I'd be owrried that my plane would crash as a result of tempting the Goddess by taking the Lava Rock, Can't imagine those who test that one out & make it back to the mainland. Too much of the tempting fate for me to ever even consider it, IF I ever go there. Thanks for the tip.
DPR ~ Post Script to yesterdays Topic ~ I read North Hanger Abbey this year after seeing the PBS Master Piece Theater Version of it. LUFFED both the film adaptation & the original Novelette.
My grandfather was ruled by his superstitions. When my mother went into labor with me on Friday the 13th, he had a fit, calling the hospital, urging her to hold on. She did, and I was born at 12:01 am on Saturday the 14th. Been getting out of scrapes by the skin of my teeth ever since.
Interestingly, my grandfather's dying words to me were, "Never draw to the inside of a straight." To him, that wasn't just good poker strategy, it was a way of life.
more on the honor roll"Did you ever observe to whom the accidents happen? Chance favors only the prepared mind."
~Louis Pasteur
Today, I am a black cat.
Some have luck, some have faith, and some have Wyrd. And as my favorite hero of all time says, "Wyrd is strongest".
My husband must be the only non-superstitious Marine ever. He's the only one I've ever met that will actually eat the Charms that come in MREs, instead of throwing them away. All the Marines I've ever met think they are bad luck.
I'm lucky...UNlucky is still a type of lucky, right? Oh wait, the drawing for the J. Peterman sweepstakes is today, I'm changing...I'm lucky, I'm Lucky, I'm LUCKY!!! **crossing fingers and toes and visualizing winning**
drdgscott,
I wasn't able to "hold on" and my youngest was born on a Friday the 13th. He has twisted the unlucky notion around and believes, and tells all that poke fun, that if you were born on the 13th then that is your lucky day...everyone else beware! So far, so good, knock wood.
Olivia,
The "salt thingy" seems like it could be particularly un-lucky for any pet or person happening to find themselves behind the superstitious.
My mother had a friend who, having been a nice, sunny woman lapsed into weirdness after the death of her youngest daughter, taking mostly to her bed.
We would often stop by after picking up something at the bakery and creamery mom reimbursing herself from a bowl of money in the kitchen.
It was not hard to sense discomfort in my mom, a true believer, at the increasingly odd and superstitious behavior of her friend: The teaspoons had all to be facing, not pointing east; the throw rugs and there must have been thirty, had all to be angled a certain same way according to something she had read in her horoscope.
She mocked and derided the other ladies who had been in for misaligning footwear in her closet or at her bedside, for bringing in more dust than they cleaned up and for their contemptuous flouting of all that was, to her, serious and important.
"Betcha she talks about us too," I suggested as we walked home.
"Well, mister, that wouldn't be any business of yours- would it?" I was told.
Over time, that woman was obliged to resort to second and third tier medical practitioners as real doctors stopped coming around.
At the table one day, mom wondered how someone with so much bad luck, The woman's husband and children had all died, could remain a believer in irrational folklore and superstition.
My dad, looking up from the newspaper he was using as a placemat, quietly offered: "My dear, with all due respect, we can't really know exactly what that nutty old bat has been wishing for."
The kind of penetrating cynical observation that could be counted on to get her blubbering; this one just made her a little misty.
Not much later, the woman's dad, a retired teacher/farmer or farmer/teacher stopped by to explain that he and a friend had lured her out of her house using a mention of the Mayo Clinic as bait, taken her back to the family place, installed her in a little cottage with all of the basic amenities and left.
He no longer lived on the farm but had made arrangements for someone to look in once a week, set up a trust and credit at nearby merchants and washed his hands of her.
He left with my mother a huge heavy silver serving spoon that the woman, ostensibly, had wanted her to have. It was never used and years later, when it was admired by a guest at our house, I sent it along home with her.
Interestingly, eight or nine years later but before my mom died, the neighborhood was abuzz with the news that the woman had been seen on the television having been a witness to, I think it was, a tornado.
Tough love.
rings90,
I'm so glad I could pass along that tip and I have many more, if you want them. My mother has ingrained a plethora of superstitions into my mind...Yes, I'm blaming my mother, here. But, being the radical daughter that I am, I tempt fate constantly, much to mom's chagrin.
"It is bad luck to kill a ladybug." - Every year I vacuum them off the window sill in our two-story foyer (but I will admit to scooping them outside if they are down low enough for me to reach).
"Unless you were born in October, it's unlucky to wear opals." - Three guesses what I bought in Australia.
"It's bad luck to pick up a coin if it's tails side up. Good luck comes if it's heads up." - They are in my pocket, no matter how I find them.
My poor mother; all the gray hairs I've given her, which she will not pull out because, as everyone knows: "Pulling out a gray or white hair will cause ten more to grow in its place." I simply dye them ;)
Kindlee, Opals are made from Silica...guess women who weren't born in October shouldn't have fake breasts either. I don't think its bad luck to kill a ladybug, but it if foolish. Ladybugs eat garden pests, particularly avids. They are a wonderful form of organic pest control especially on Rose bushes.
nachista,
LOL! I won't fool with fate there.
You are so right, ladybugs are great for the garden and I do try to save them, when I can reach them. The others are so high up, by the 2nd-story ceiling, that sadly I'm afraid it's vacuum time, with a very long extension hose.
Kindlee...vacuuming is overrated. Just keep the blinds closed and then nobody can tell that you haven't vacuumed or dusted! Martha Stewart, I ain't.
I got out on the wrong side of the bed this morning. I'll be back later after a long nap and I reverse the curse.
nachista,
I love your house-cleaning philosophy! Time to make friends with the dust bunnies - surely there isn't a superstition against that?!
Kindlee ~ About the Grey Hair My mom also believes that ~ So she found herself a EXCELLENT colorist. My father on the other hand earned all of his & tells me so EVERY chance he gets.
Am going to be taking a Satellite Feed tomorrow that has failed to come in 3 times in the past 2 weeks. Asked the Tech Guru if we could tie a Rabbits Foot on the Satellite Dish, for good luck. Have not heard back, am thinking he's finally telling TPTB that I have gone off the deep end... It's my own fault I always try to take Mr. P's daily topics & use them on that day. It tends to keep things interesting....although I still haven't convinced my father or anyone else to go Scotch or Salt tasting with me......
I don't know whether it's bad luck to kill a ladybug. But I do know it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.
I've been very lucky in life! I have alter egos, however, who died in a drunk driving accident, were stabbed to death during robberies, and contracted a variety of fatal diseases... I can tell you all the reaons I've had such good luck; they never explain why their luck sucked.... Maybe I should take a poll in the world's cemeteries to find what it takes to bring on bad luck?
I guess most of my good luck is simply I wasn't born to be someone who died in a drunk driving accident, was stabbed to death during a robbery, or contracted a fatal disease.... Duh.
DPR
And: "To tell a lie."
rings90,
Thanks! Given the chance, I'd go tasting with you in a heartbeat. By the way, when was the Scotch topic? I must go back and give that one a read. The Eye hasn't done wine, tea, chocolate or coffee, yet, has it? Not that I have any vices, mind you. If we accidentally spill one of the really expensive salts, at a tasting, is it proper to throw more of it over your shoulder? I wouldn't want to get into any trouble.
Hope the rabbit's foot idea works.
Boy its really hard to get anything done while I'm sitting here with toes and fingers crossed for good luck...I tried crossing my eyes but that just gave me a headache. They better draw and announce the winner of the sweepstakes soon.
A timely plug for the sale going on in the shop today. Since winter's coming on, HOW HELPFUL of Mssr. Peterman to let me buy two nightshirts for me and my sweetie at such a genteel price. And a J. Peterman shirt, too. Mercy buckets!
I can't afford to shop, but I can afford to look! I've told everyone in my office and several of them are contemplating purchases as I type. Wonder what the third day of Christmas will bring?
Heck, yeah, Kindlee. Pitch that salt right over your shoulder. Give me a little heads up first, though, so I can be there with something needing salting. Margarita. Slab of roast beast. A radish. A lately, a Starbucks Signature Hot Chocolate (with a pinch of salt, they're so perky).
I just checked with the Official Mages of Christmas (Sts. Robert and Douglas).
THREE FRENCH TOASTS.