Are you superstitious?

https://wordpress.com/tag/dailyprompt-1875

Yes and no is my answer to this question. Mum taught us many old superstitions which we still take notice of. I don’t get frightened that something dreadful will happen if I don’t do the ritual but usually I do it anyway. Superstitions usually come from old folk tales but for a practical person they can also have some meaning.

Black cats: Some people believe that black cats are lucky, some believe that they are unlucky. I personally love black cats but I have read that they are often not adopted from shelters because of the superstitions about them. I say adopt a black cat. At least it will be lucky for the cat and maybe for you too.

Breaking mirrors: Seven years bad luck if you break a mirror said mum. When we were children there was a run of broken mirrors, mostly by mum I think. We did believe we’d get bad luck. I haven’t broken a mirror in some years so I’m doing OK (Touch wood). Of course breaking a mirror is bad luck. You could cut yourself and you won’t be able to see to shave or do your hair and make up.

Walking Under Ladders: I would never walk under a ladder but I think that is more because I fear falling objects or dislodging the ladder and causing injury to the person on it than any concern about Gods and Goddesses or the Holy Trinity. Don’t walk under ladders. It’s a stupid thing to do.

Unlucky Plants: There is a whole raft of superstitions about plants. The only one that I knew about was “Don’t bring blossoms into the house.” I wrote a post about this and other superstitions once. Lots of people my age remember being told this by older relatives but most have no idea why it’s unlucky. This was of course the era of “Because I said so.” No other explanation required. Another plant based superstition which I had never heard of and I’m sure mum hadn’t, was that you should not put red and white roses into the same vase. One writer said that nurses were threatened with instant dismissal for doing that in some hospitals. I find that very bizarre. I do remember mum saying that bringing dandelions into the house would make you wet the bed. There may be some basis for this if you were planning to eat them. They are a diuretic.

Opening an umbrella indoors: This was another one that I learned from mum that actually makes good practical sense. You could poke someone’s eye out. In fact, livescience.com has an article about superstitions where they actually say that this superstition likely originated in Victorian England and it was because the umbrella’s of the day could injure someone or knock something over in a confined space.

So while knocking on wood or throwing salt over my shoulder might be pure superstition a lot of these other old tales are worth taking seriously I think.

References:

https://www.livescience.com/33507-origins-of-superstitions.html

https://plewsgardendesign.co.uk/unlucky-plants-plant-lore-garden-myths/