We're not particularly superstitious (maybe because we had a black cat that only ever brought us good luck) but we admit that we pay attention to certain feng shui guidelines to keep the energy in the house feeling good. So in honor of Friday the 13th, we've rounded up our 21 favorite superstitions/wives tales/urban legends, so if you need to keep a witch out of your house, we've got you covered:
Superstition Roundup: Happy Friday the 13th
1) Stuff fennel in your keyhole or hang it over your door to protect against witches.
2) Never carry a hoe into the house. If you do so by mistake, carry it out again, walking backward to avoid bad luck
3) The Classic: Never walk under a ladder, which is Satan's territory. If you must do it, cross your fingers or make the sign of the fig (closed fist, with thumb between index and middle fingers).
4) Never give a knife as a housewarming present, or your new neighbor will become an enemy.
5) Nail an evergreen branch to new rafters to bring good luck. An empty hornets' nest, hung high, also will bring good luck to any age house.
6) When you move to a new house, always enter first with a loaf of bread and a new broom. Never bring an old broom into the house.
7) In the early 16th century, a visitor to an English home would always kiss the family cat.
8) It is customary to sprinkle salt in a new home before you occupy it, as the salt will drive any evil out and away from you and your family.
9) Poke the fire for luck.
10) The first time you leave your new home, make sure you exit by the same door that you entered, otherwise you will never settle.
11) Most people know it's unlucky to open an umbrella in the house - but did you know it is also unlucky to shoulder a spade, or carry a hoe. You can dodge the bad luck attracted by these items by walking backwards out of the house while still holding onto them.
12) If swallows nest under the eaves, you will be protected and prosperous, so long as they return every spring.
13) Lingering trash can also block you from new energy and opportunities. Sounds like a good reason to empty the trash cans around the house on a daily bases, especially the one under your desk.
14) A broken mirror is a common superstition - if you happen to break a mirror, then according to legend you must wait seven hours (one for each year of bad luck) before picking up the broken pieces.
15) In the kitchen, ensure that your whisk and plenty of spoons are handy as to stir anything with a fork will stir up misfortune. If you drop a fork this is a sign that you will have a female friend dropping by for a visit soon.
16) It's bad luck to put a hat on a bed.
17) Never face your bed with the foot facing the door, and never put the headboard against a wall that is shared with a bathroom.
18) Placing a bed facing north and south brings misfortune.
19) You must get out of bed on the same side that you get in or you will have bad luck.
20) When making the bed, don't interrupt your work, or you will spend a restless night in it.
21) Never turn your mattress on a Sunday, or change a bed on Friday or you'll have bad dreams.
Have any to add?
[1-8 are from old superstitions, 9-12 are from Socyberty, 13-15 are from mikasa, 16-21 are from urban legend, image from Mauro Flickr]
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Roundup, personal health, cat, mirror, feng shui, bed, salt, round up, good luck, bad luck, superstitions, urban legends, wives talesRelated Links
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i'm screwed.
view lieschenmueller's profile
Me too!!! Hehehe if only I believed in it... That #15 caught my attention. Better stop using those forks.
view danze's profile
Good thing I don't believe in evil spirits, Satan, or luck for that matter.
view aladywhoknows's profile
Friday the 13th has always been my favorite. I'm NOT superstitious and love black cats. My nickname is Wicked Witch of the West and a black and white W with a red superscript 3 is part of my tattoo as are three cat paw prints! Hooray for the 13th!
view williamsweyr's profile
Some notes:
#2 - the reason you don't bring a hoe into the house is there is nothing to hey there hi there hoe there, and the reason you have to walk backwards out the door is so you don't swing your hoe turning around and knock shit down.
#17 - Ok, I will put my bed in the middle of the floor and
#18 - face it toward the windows, if only to avoid having to point it diagonally.
In all seriousness, I think some superstitions "make sense" like the hoe one, or walking under a ladder. Bad things happened to someone as a direct result, that it became caution against irrelevant things beyond those activities. Other things become scapegoats, like someone turned their bed and their luck started to change. Some feng shui is like that, and some is closer to the hoe - the orientation of your bed being bad luck or good can be related to natural and artificial light sources outside, like a cross-street with headlights at night in your window, or being disturbed from your rest by people using the bathroom in the morning. I don't have either of those things to worry about.
view K T G's profile
I guess I'm doomed. My birthday is today...it also happened when I was 13. Friday the 13th is awesome.
view inkstainedwriter's profile
Normally I have fabulous luck on a Friday the 13, but it deserted me yesterday.
view oceandreamer56's profile
oceandreamer, thats funny, me too!
I actually had food poisoning yesterday, but usually have great luck on fri 13th.
view ms. joie's profile
I got together with my partner on Friday the 13th of May a few years back. Nothing but fantastic luck from then on. Lucky us :)
Feng shui. Believe it or not. But if you ever wonder why you can't sleep properly in your room... you'll soon work out why. I have large mirrors facing my bed and I couldn't sleep. Covered them up and I slept fine. Maybe I was just really really tired by then, or maybe it's the placebo effect... whatever you believe... I think it works. The idea of not having a mirror face your bed is because apparently when you sleep your spirit leaves your body. And when you wake up and your spirit it moving back into your body you get confused and frightened. I just reckon that it creeps me out when I wake up and look right into a mirror, my horror movie imagination makes me think I am going to wake up and see a crazed murderer standing on the other side of my bed. Lol. Over active imagination, I know.
view venus_thames's profile
i had such a horrible day at work on friday. i went out at lunch to try and relax and my lunch bill came to $6.66. i was looking over my shoulder for the rest of the day.
view itsabecky's profile