Supertitions Term paper
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SUPERSTITIONS
INTRODUCTION
Superstition, a belief or practice generally regarded as irrational and as resulting from ignorance or from fear of the unknown. It implies a belief in unseen and unknown forces that can be influenced by objects and rituals. Magic, witchcraft, and occultism are often referred to as superstitions. In general, superstitious practices are most common in situations involving a high degree of uncertainty. The question of what is or is not superstitious, however, is relative. One person's religious beliefs can be another's superstitions
Well there are many superstitions around , WE have managed to find peoples views and ideas on some :
FRIDAY THE 13TH
The Bible is often considered a book of numbers. In the Bible the numbers 7, 12 and 40 appear throughout the Old and New Testaments. The number 12 is considered a lucky number. As a result, the number which follows 12 was thought to be evil.
Known scientifically as "Tridecaphobia," fear of the number 13 is probably the most common of all superstitions. Buildings avoid numbering the 13th floor. Airplanes avoid the 13th aisle. And most common of all, Friday the 13th is considered a bad luck day.
Psychologists believe that Friday the 13th will become a day of bad luck if people focus on the day because people will create their own bad luck by paying attention to the superstition
BLACK CATS
A black and white cat crossing your path means good luck.
A black cat crossing your path will cause you bad luck before your journey is over. If this occurs you can take 12 steps backwards to ward off the bad luck.
If a black cat walks toward you it brings good luck. If it walks away, bad luck.
A cat cleaning its face in front of the door is a sign of company.
A cat draws lightning.
A cat eating grass is a sign of bad luck.
In ancient Egypt the cat was considered sacred and to kill one was sacrilege. It is believed that the folklore surrounding the black cat began in the Middle Ages when it was associated with witches. It is likely that a black cat was the pet of some women accused of being a witch. Rumors began that the cat was able to change shape and help the witch cast spells. Since then, black cats have been associated with luck, both good and bad.
WALKING UNDER A LADDER
Bad luck coming to a person who walks under a ladder is a superstition that has a couple of possible origins. Some believe it originates with the early Christian belief that a leaning ladder formed a triangle with the wall and ground. People must never violate the Holy Trinity by walking through a triangle. Others believe that it dates back to Medieval Europe and the attacks upon castles. When invading a castle with its draw bridge up one of the means invading armies used was to place ladder on the walls and send troop up the ladders to fight their way into the castle. One of the defenses for this invasion was to pour boiling oil or tar down the sides of the castle wall to repel the invaders. Those unfortunate souls that had to hold the ladders in place often received a deadly bath. It quickly became apparent that one had to hold the ladder from the front and that it was extremely bad luck to hold it from under the ladder.
Today it is often still bad luck to walk under a ladder because of paint and other objects that might fall from above
FROGS AND TOADS
Frogs and toads have had superstitions associated with them since the Middle Ages. The most common is that touching a toad will eliminate warts. This most likely developed from the fact that a toad's skin is bumpy and wart-like. It was thought that their bumps came from the warts and bumps of those that rubbed against them. Others believe that touching a toad brings on warts to someone without them.
Frogs, like toads, were once thought to have peculiar properties, and were frequently used in healing charms, and in many witches brews.
KNOCKING ON A WOOD .
Knocking on wood is done to prevent bad luck. This comes from the ancient Celtics who worshipped the tree as the foremost worldly representation of the Divine. The power of a tree was used for support prior to battle and Druid priests performed all of their rituals and incantations within a sacred forest. The trees consumed all evil demons back into the ground.
The ancient Celtic people of Europe worshipped the tree as the foremost earthly representation of the gods. If bad fortune visited, or if a battle was about to be fought, the power of a tree was invariably brought into force. The Druid priest performed all of his rituals and incantations within the sacred arbors. The trees consumed all evil demons back into the ground.
Knocking on wood is noted for warding off punishment for bragging. People once thought that evil spirits would become jealous if good fortune was pointed out to them, and would relieve the bragger of that good fortune. Evil spirits were frightened away by
the noise of knocking on wood three times, and would not hear of the good fortune.
BROKEN MIRRORS
Breaking a mirror brings bad luck for seven years. This dates back to times when it was believed our reflection was a representation of our souls. By damaging the reflection is damaging the soul. If we manage to break a mirror, there are remedies that will reverse the fortune of the damaged soul. We can take the broken pieces and wash them in a south-running river, therefore washing away the bad luck. Or we can bury them in the earth to neutralize the potential evil. But at least take the broken mirror out of the house and do not gaze into it. In vampire legends a vampire cannot see his reflection in a mirror because they possess no soul. In addition, bedroom mirrors should be covered before one retires for the night so their soul will not get caught in the mirror. Finally, in the home of the recently deceased the mirrors should be covered so the soul will not be hindered on its way to heaven.
LUCKY RABBIT'S FOOT
Keeping a rabbit's foot near one is considered a method for bringing good luck. Like many superstitions, this one dates to the Middle Ages and witches. It was believed that a witch could transform herself into a hare (not a rabbit) to disguise her self when being pursued. While in the form of a hare they would suck the milk from nursing mothers. Carrying a hare's foot around warned the witches that they would meet a similar fate should they try such an...
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