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Superstitions That Are Still With Us...yours?


labelwench

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My mother recently cancelled a trip she had planned because she had failed to look at the calendar and did not want to travel on a Friday 13th.

I had no idea that my mother was that superstitious. Just shows what can slip by, even in day to day observations.

That caused me to ponder upon how many otherwise rational people may also observe certain superstitions, some they may not even be cognizant of, and whether or not they would be willing to share them in this thread. Anyways, I thought it might be an interesting and fun topic to explore and I might even learn of some customs that I have not yet encountered. To start, here is the definition of ...

 

 

Full Definition of SUPERSTITION
1
a : a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation

b : an irrational abject attitude of mind toward the supernatural, nature, or God resulting from superstition
2
: a notion maintained despite evidence to the contrary

Examples of SUPERSTITION

It is a common superstition that a black cat crossing your path is bad luck.
tales of superstition, witchcraft, and magic

Origin of SUPERSTITION
Middle English supersticion, from Anglo-French, from Latin superstition-, superstitio, from superstit-, superstes standing over (as witness or survivor), from super- + stare to stand — more at stand
First Known Use: 13th century
 

 

 

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/superstition

 

**I have started the identical post on one other forum for the purpose of comparing responses.

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I must admit, sometimes I don't walk under a ladder or think twice when a black cat crosses my path :D

 

Well, not walking under a ladder does seem like a purely logical safety precaution for the simple reason that if there is someone working on the ladder, they could drop a tool, paint etc.

 

As for black cats, I used to own a pure black cat which I named 'Darth' and I used to make (joking) reference to him as my 'familiar'. I believe I have a picture of him somewhere...

 

B0000334.jpg

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I have a friend at work who often says the words "knock on wood" in an effort to keep something that hasn't happened yet continue to not happen. he will walk across a room to find a piece of wood to knock on when he says it. A desk, a door. a tree, but it has to made out of wood for it to work in his mind.

 

A few years ago I set up a cruise that included a trip through the Bermuda triangle on Friday the 13th. I didn't notice it when I set it up, but the kids did razz me. They thought that I did it on purpose to get a discount on the tickets. Which of course wasn't the case. when I found out about it I wasn't worried in the least, but the rest of the family was somewhat uneasy about it. It didn't help matters than on the second night there was an explosion and small fire down in the engine room. It was not a big deal they got it fixed and we underway in a few hours.

 

I don't see myself as being superstitious and will walk under ladders. If anything I'm more of a Murphy's law kind of person. No matter which line I get into be it the bank, tollbooths etc. its always the slowest. Even if I do find a short line the person in front of me wants to pay for their grocery's with a check which needs to ok'd by a manager who is usually somewhere in the back of the store or very busy. In the mean time the longer lines I had avoided have cycled through already.

 

I'm sure it just doesn't always happen to me, but I'm always in a rush and have little patience. For this reason I identify when those situations occur. So it seems like it happens to me more than others but it just seems that way.

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How about some Friday 13th news?

 

Perhaps one of the reasons that superstitions are so persistent is that for some, they can actually be profitable.

 

 

WE’VE had solar flares before and nothing’s happened. But, it wasn’t Friday the 13th.

Three major solar flares which have been on the sun’s surface for days could send a shockwave through Earth today knocking out mobile phone satellites (unlikely), breaking mirrors (not proven) and probably travelling under ladders (possible).

NASA says the solar flares, which are basically bursts of radiation on the sun’s surface, could hit GPS and communications signals. The fact that it is occurring on Friday the 13th is making some people (like us) nervous, but scientists promise it is unlikely to result in an Armageddon or Deep Impact-like situation and will only result in a “minor geomagnetic storm”. Phew! We think.

http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/will-earth-flareup-on-friday-the-13th/story-fnjwlcze-1226952624527

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A few more interesting tidbits...

 

 

For the first time in over a decade two of the great Western superstitions will combine bringing potentially a double dose of dire luck.

Not only is it Friday 13th, but it is also a Full Moon. The last time this event occurred was in Oct. 13, 2000.

Throw into the mix factors such as late licencing for the World Cup and soaring temperatures, and the more nervous among readers may just choose to stay under the covers and avoid the potential carnage.

But why is Friday the 13th considered unlucky, and what's the truth behind the superstition? And what of the Full Moon? Why do we fear it so much and does it really affect our behaviour?

Origins of the myth...

 

http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/ThreeTrending/clash-of-the-superstitions-friday-13th-coincides-with-a-full-moon-and-it-could-be-more-dangerous-than-you-think-30350007.html

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  • 3 weeks later...

i find i tend to still have some irrational beliefs, but i do have some basis for them. for example, i believe the universe is sentient; because I'm sure its infinite and if its infinite then its probably self aware. i have a hard time accepting certain scientific theories, despite overwhelming evidence for them, such as Einstein theory of relativity, because it seems so contrary to intuition. but I'm not sure about superstitions.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I tend to go against superstitions. I had a solid black cat for years and the full moon and Friday the 13th has always been lucky for me. I don't walk under ladders for the logical reason that there would be work going on above, dripping paint or falling objects, etc. I believe in many of the "good"superstitious omens, but not the bad. Is there a name for that?  :nahnahbooboo:

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I belong to the knocking on wood crowd and like Deepwater6's friend, will actually get up and walk over to something made out of wood in order to knock on it. I know this is silly and irrational, but I do it anyway. It is a lifelong habit.

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Does anyone here pay any mind to the superstition that if you walk past a penny on the ground, you are leaving your luck behind? I used to always pick up pennies, and for a time, the bank was paying $6.00 for $5.00 worth of pennies, far and beyond any interest rate being paid on savings or GIC's. Then, as of Feb. 4, 2013, the Royal Canadian Mint ceased distribution of the penny and businesses were no longer required to give them in change although they must still accept them if tendered. Cash transactions are now rounded to the nearest nickel while all debit and credit transactions still calculate to the cent. Go figure.

 

The interesting thing is that while I used to be reluctant to walk past a penny because of that childhood expression learned, since our government made the coin obsolete, I feel quite relieved of the burden of the superstition. That, and there are far few pennies to be found lying about of late. :sherlock:

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Ever lived with a "private superstition -ist"?

 

They do everything in their power to alleviate their system, but you would not know about it. It took me years to figure out someones system. Bringing it up does nothing to help...rather you have to learn psychopathy in order to accommodate their lifestyle.

 

I think these people are called schizophrenic ,or plainly living a delusion that they know they cannot explain, or the delusion itself includes the need to keep the system private.

 

What scares me is that the delusion feels like fact while living with the effected person(s).

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Here in Damascus, people (not everyone mostley the elderly) don't say the word "cancer". Instead they say "the illness" and most of the times "that illness, may god keep it away". They believe and fear that cancer will hit them if they say the word.

 

Yes, even in my experience, many people are loathe to name "the big C", and understandably, for many of us have experienced loss of loved ones to the disease.

 

More on the topic of how superstitions may come into being:

 

From my work with horses I have observed that to the horse, once is an anomaly and the second time for anything is the beginning of a pattern. After three introductions of any situation, the horse begins to anticipate and respond according to it's nature or within the parameters as presented by the trainer.

 

My thoughts are that humans are quite similar to the horse in this regard.

 

The first time something takes place, we take notice. We may not understand save to be aware that 'this is new'.

 

The second time it occurs, our brain will seek similarities between the first and second incident and identify a correlation.

 

By the third time we encounter a situation, if we observe a correlation, our brain will leap to the conclusion that there is a causation in the correlation, and without full comprehension, a superstition is born, especially if our observation is corroborated by another individual.

 

"Same Thing Happened To Me", by John Prine, a musical interlude, for your listening pleasure.

 

http://youtu.be/YGdtzOC-Ssc

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My father died of cancer in 2009.

 

Your thoughts are very logical I guess they are true.

Also don't underastimate the huge power of society and traditions. They can make you carry some stupid superstitions with you for life; without any personal experience or first and second times.

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  • 1 month later...

I wouldn't call myself superstitious. Others might call me a bit superstitious, though. I don't care about black cats or Friday the 13th. However, I don't like to break mirrors or pick up pennies that aren't facing the right side. I also don't walk under a ladder. I don't really think something bad will happen but I just don't like to do those things.

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