Top 13 Superstitions for Friday the 13th

Superstitions for Friday the 13^th

A superstition is defined as a widely held but unjustified belief in supernatural causation leading to certain consequences of an action or event, or a practice based on such a belief. By its very definition, no superstition has any basis in fact, but belief in them may affect you deeply enough to affect your choices in life.

Superstitions can be found in every culture throughout history and many have roots deep in tradition and history.

In honor of Friday the 13^th, here are our favorite 13 superstitions:

OMTimes Top 13 Superstitions

Superstition #13 – The Number 13 (of course)

It is just a number, yet many people dread it. Many big buildings do not have the number 13 on the elevator button. Instead they name it as 12A or something of that sort but not 13. Many architects refused to design stairs that ended with 13 steps.

People also have a religious belief attached to this superstition. It is said that Judas, the bad disciple was the 13th man to sit down for the Last Supper.

The fear of the number 13 is so real to many people, that an actual phobia has been created to describe it: Triskaidekaphobia.

Superstition #12 – Walking Under a Ladder

There have been many suggestions for the origin of this superstition. One explanation points to the triangular shape a ladder will take when erected or leaned up against a wall. The triangle is considered the symbol representing the Holy Trinity and to walk through a triangle violates the Trinity and desecrates God; leaving you prey to Satan.

Another is that in medieval times, a leaning ladder was thought to resemble the gallows and so by walking underneath a ladder, you are playing out your own execution.

Or, the answer might be simply have come from a desire to avoid having something dropped on your head.

Superstition #11 – Opening an Umbrella Indoors

Many believe that opening an umbrella indoors will result in bad luck “raining” down on you. One source for the superstition comes from ancient Egypt, where the umbrella was primarily used for protection from the hot rays of the sun. Legend has it that ancient Egyptians believed that opening an umbrella indoors — away from the sun — was a disrespectful act that would anger the sun god, who would then take out his anger on everyone in the house.

Another potential source for the superstition is Victorian England, where they thought holding an umbrella over your head while inside was a sign of death, so opening an umbrella inside would result in a death in the house before the year was out.

Superstition #10 – First Butterfly of the Season

There are good and bad superstitions about butterflies. A common good luck superstition is that if the first butterfly that you see in a year is white then this means that you will have good luck all through the year. Another is that if you see three butterflies together then this will be a sure sign of good luck.

There are several bad superstitions about butterfly. In some cultures, butterflies are said to take the souls of people who will perish in hell. In others, there are some who believe they are souls of children who have not yet been born.

Superstition #9 – Wishing Upon a Star

Despite the popularity of Disney, Jiminy Cricket did not make up the superstition that wishing upon a shooting star makes the wish come true. It is actually attributed to the ancient Greek astronomer Ptolemy, who wrote that the Gods occasionally peer down at the earth from between the spheres, and stars sometimes slip out of this gap, becoming visible as shooting or falling stars. Since the Gods were already looking at us when this happened, they tended to be more receptive to any wishes being made.

Superstition #8 – Knocking on Wood

Knocking on wood, or simply saying “knock on wood” after making a hopeful statement, comes the idea that you’re tempting fate by acknowledging your good fortune. It’s believed that the expression comes from an ancient belief that good spirits lived in trees, so by knocking on something wooden, a person was calling on the spirits for protection.

Superstition #7 – Four Leaf Clovers

In ancient Ireland, the Druids believed that they could see evil spirits coming when they carried a shamrock, or three-leaf clover, giving them a chance to get away.

The four-leaf clover was also used to ward off evil as it provided a magical repellent that would turn away bad luck. The bearer of the clover was also able to see fairies. As the odds of finding one are 1:10,000, finding one is lucky indeed!

Superstition #6 – Crossing Fingers

To cross one’s fingers is a hand gesture commonly used for good luck. One theory about the origin of this superstition is that it was used during the Roman Empire when Christianity was illegible as a way for believers to identify other believers as a sign of peace.

Another superstition origin theory is that during the Hundred Years’ War, an archer would cross his fingers to pray for luck, before drawing back his longbow with those same fingers.

Another is that crossing fingers, mimicking the cross, were a gesture to ward off witches and other evil spirits.

Superstition #5 – Tossing Salt over Your Shoulder

Salt has always been considered a valuable substance capable of purifying and warding off evil spirits.

Spilling salt has been considered unlucky for thousands of years. Around 3,500 B.C., the ancient Sumerians first took to nullifying the bad luck of spilled salt by throwing a pinch of it over their left shoulders. This ritual spread to the Egyptians, the Assyrians and later, the Greeks.

Superstition holds that when you spill salt, you risk raising the interest of the Devil. The belief that you should toss a pinch of salt over your left shoulder to get rid of this bad luck originates from the legend that the devil is always standing behind you, so throwing salt in his eye will distract him from causing trouble.

Superstition #4 – Saying Bless You after a Sneeze

This superstition is tied to the belief that sneezes expel evil spirits. The superstition of saying “Bless You” after the sneeze is attributed to an explicit order by Pope Gregory the Great in the sixth century during the bubonic plague. Pope Gregory urged the healthy to pray for the sick, and ordered that light-hearted responses to sneezes such as “May you enjoy good health” be replaced by the more urgent “God bless you!”

The thought at the time was that that the soul escapes the body during a sneeze and that the heart momentarily stops as well. Therefore, saying “God bless you” was a way of welcoming the person back to life.

Superstition #3 – Breaking a Mirror

This superstition began in ancient Greece, where it was common for people to consult “mirror seers,” who told their fortunes by analyzing their reflections. As the historian Milton Goldsmith explained in his book “Signs, Omens and Superstitions” (1918), “divination was performed by means of water and a looking glass. This was called catoptromancy. The mirror was dipped into the water and a sick person was asked to look into the glass. If his image appeared distorted, he was likely to die; if clear, he would live.”

In the first century A.D., the Romans added a caveat to the superstition. At that time, it was believed that peoples’ health changed in seven year cycles. A distorted image resulting from a broken mirror therefore meant seven years of ill-health and misfortune, rather than outright death.

Superstition #2 – A Black Cat Crossing Your Path

This superstition arose during the Middle Ages, when people in many parts of Europe believed that black cats were the “familiars,” or companions, of witches, or even witches themselves in disguise, and that a black cat crossing your path was an indication of bad luck a sign that the devil was watching you.

This superstition was taken up a notch when a folklore involving a father and son in England in the 1560’s started making the rounds. The pair were said to have been traveling one moonless night when a black cat crossed their path and dove into a crawl space. They threw rocks at it until the injured cat scurried out into a woman’s house, who at the time was suspected of being a witch. The next day, the father and son came across the same woman and noticed she was limping and bruised and believed that to be more than just a coincidence. From that day on, it was thought that witches could turn into black cats at night.

This also seems to have been the dominant belief held by the Pilgrims when they came to America. The belief of witches transforming themselves into black cats in order to prowl streets unobserved became a central belief during the Salem witch hunts.

Superstition #1 – (in honor of today) Friday the 13^th

The fear of Friday the 13^th is known as friggatriskaidekaphobia, is not uncommon. The word comes from Frigga, the name of the Norse goddess for whom Friday is named, and triskaidekaphobia, or fear of the number thirteen. It is also sometimes called paraskevidekatriaphobia, from the Greek Paraskevi for Friday, Dekatreis for thirteen and phobia for fear.

The origin of this superstition is unclear. One theory goes to the Knights Templar. On Friday, Oct. 13, 1307, known as Black Friday, the arrest of Jacques de Molay, the Grand Master of the Knights Templar, and the beginning of the slaughter of the Knights Templar by the armies of the King of France and the Church took place – certainly an unlucky day for them.

Another theory of the origin of this superstition points to the last day of Saxon King Harold II’s reign on Friday, October 13, 1066. William of Normandy gave him the opportunity to relinquish his crown, which he refused. The next day William took it by force at the Battle of Hastings.

There is also a religious connection for this superstition. Both Friday and the number 13 are connected with the crucifixion of Christ; Friday being the day the crucifixion took place and 13 being the number of people present at the Last Supper.

Most references to the superstition of Friday the 13^th start in the 20^th century. The first widespread one occurred in 1907 with the publication of Thomas W. Lawson’s popular novel, Friday, the Thirteenth. In the novel, a stock broker takes advantage of the superstition to create a Wall Street panic on Friday the 13th.

As a result, Wall Street has fostered a fear of Friday the 13th for decades. In Oct. 13, 1989, Wall Street saw, what was at the time, the second largest drop of the Dow Jones Industrial Average in history. The day was nicknamed the Friday-the-13th mini-crash.