Superstitions have already been a portion of human life considering that times immemorial. Most with the superstitions have had their origin in ancient times, when man was in the mercy of Nature. Neither had he created the scientific understanding to reason out mishaps, nor did he have modern technologies that would monitor forces of nature and assist him recover from onslaught of diseases or natural calamities. The only option that he had was to regard such events with reverence. He spun stories and beliefs, which he believed would defend him from sufferings. These beliefs and customs became superstitions, that have already been followed by man more than generations. Despite the fact that science has helped us refute several superstitions, some of them are nonetheless followed by folks of all more than the globe.

What are Superstitions?

Superstitions are largely regarded as as irrational beliefs connected using the existence of certain mysterious forces, specially evil spirits, that had been supposed to bring poor luck to 1 unless certain actions had been taken to prevent the poor effects. These actions could contain modifying an individual’s behavior, avoiding certain actions or locations or wearing amulets or lucky charms.

Superstitions may be personal or cultural. Personal superstitions are bred from experiences that an individual has in the course of his lifetime. Nevertheless, cultural superstitions are those that 1 is supposed to think in, simply because they have already been followed more than generations, by men and women.

Some Common Poor Luck Superstitions and their Origin

Friday the 13th
There are a lot of diverse theories about how the number 13 came to be deemed an unlucky number. In accordance with Valhalla, an ancient religion, in the course of a feast the home of gods had 12 guests. The God of Deceit was not invited. Even so, he turned up in the gathering as the thirteenth guest. In accordance with Christianity, The Last Supper had 13 guests, Judas the betrayer getting the thirteenth guest. Also given that Jesus Christ died on a Friday, Friday the 13th is regarded as extremely unlucky, by the Christians.

Walking under a Ladder
Common sense would justify, not walking under a leaning ladder to be able to avoid getting hurt, in case the ladder slipped and fell on you. Even so, based on Christian belief, a leaning ladder formed a triangle using the wall along with the ground, that was supposed to represent the Holy Trinity. Walking under such a ladder, was equivalent to violating the Holy Trinity and was supposed to bring poor luck.

Breaking a Mirror
According to Roman culture, one’s reflection within the mirror was believed to represent one’s soul. Hence breaking the mirror or looking into a broken mirror was supposed to bring seven years of poor luck. The poor luck could be more than right after seven years as the soul was believed to renew itself each and every seven years.

Black Cats
Bast was a highly revered Cat goddess, in ancient Egypt. In their bid to wipe out each religion other than Christianity, Christian priests popularized the black cat as a symbol of poor luck. Females who cared for the animals had been termed as witches. This superstition was among the most prevalent superstitions with the Elizabethan Era.

Spilling Salt
It is believed that spilling salt brings poor luck. To undo the poor effects of spilled salt 1 is advised to throw some salt more than the shoulder to prevent poor spirits from following him. The origin of this superstition lies inside the reality that salt utilized to be a really expensive commodity in olden times and was also utilised to make medicines. Hence, this superstition arose to check individuals from wasting salt.

Opening of Umbrellas Indoor
Opening umbrellas indoor, was supposed to bring poor luck as in olden times the umbrella was supposed to be utilised only as a protection against the sun. Hence, opening it indoors was regarded as as a mark of disrespect towards the sun god.

Though most with the superstitions are believed to have originated from the fear with the unknown, couple of individuals even find logic behind some of them. For example, although not walking under a ladder could be interpreted as a measure to avoid accident due to a leaning ladder falling on an individual, the superstition of not hanging hats from the bedpost has been justified as a measure to check the spread of head lice. Whatever the reason behind its origin, superstitions have already been a portion of all cultures and religions with the globe, given that ancient times towards the modern day.