Thirteen Superstitions, 15th

1. Black Cats — In the United States of America, Spain, Belgium, and some European countries, black cats are generally considered unlucky, particularly if one crosses your path. However, in Britain, the black cat is considered lucky; it’s a good sign if a black cat comes into a house or on board of a ship, especially if uninvited. It must never be chased away or it will take the luck with it. To meet a black cat is usually thought to be fortunate, especially if it runs across the path in front of the observer — except in North Yorkshire where it’s considered lucky to own a black cat but unlucky to meet one. In fact, some areas of Britain maintain that good fortune only comes if you pet the cat three times or is politely greeted and some say the omen is bad if the cat crosses the path from left to right or turns back on its tracks or runs away from the person seeing it. Plus, in Britain, meeting a white cat is ill-omened in any circumstances; of course, the reverse is true in America where it’s the traditional luck-bringer.
2. Crow — To meet a single crow is generally thought unlucky. To hear one croaking on the left side in the morning is a very bad sign. If a single bird flies three times over a roof or perches on it or flutters around a window, it is a death omen for someone living in the house. If one croaks three times near a dwelling or if four fly together over it, sorrow is coming. If several flutter around a man’s head, he is marked for death. Yet to see three toether in a row is lucky. Two seen at once foretell a wedding or, if they are flying over a house, a birth in the family.
3. Graves — Graves are customarily made with their length running East and West, so that the corpse lies with his feet to the East and his head to the West. It used to be believed that the Last Judgment would come from the East and it would be better for a dead man if he could rise on Resurrection Morning with his face toward the dawn. Digging a grave North to South is considered unlucky or disrespectful. It’s unlucky to walk upon a grave, not only to who lies in the grave, but to all those in nearby graves. If the trodden grave is that of a stillborn or unbaptized child, the offender runs the risk of contracting a fatal disease.
4. Horseshoes — The horseshoe has been regarded as a luck-bringing and protective amulet in every country where the shod horse is known for centuries. To find one lying in the road is very fortunate, doubly so if it has been cast from the near hind leg of a gray mare. The correct procedure upon finding it is to pick it up, spit on it, make a wish, toss it over your left shoulder, and walk on without looking back. However, the most common practice is to take it home and nail it over the door or on the threshold to avert evil and bring good luck to the house.
5. Ladder — It’s widely held that walking under the angle of a ladder against a wall is unlucky. Even today, people will step off a curb into a busy street to avoid walking under a ladder. There are apparently counter-curses. One is to cross your fingers and keep them crossed until you see a dog. Another is to spit three times through the rungs of the ladder or once over your left shoulder. Yet another is to spit on your shoe and go straight on, not looking back until the spit is dry.
6. Mirror — It is still commonly believed that breaking a mirror brings about seven years of bad luck — a belief derived from an ancient belief that one’s reflection was actually one’s soul and if the reflection was harmed, then harm would come to the physical body as well. Many women will not allow a baby to see itself in a mirror before it is 12 months old, because if it does so, it will not thrive or it’s growth will be stunted or it will die young. The custom of veiling mirrors after a death is partly due to the idea that whoever sees himself in the mirror, will die soon after, or if not him, then someone in his house.
7. Owls — An owl entering or flying around a house or perching on the roof is a death omen. Constant hooting near a dwelling, and especially the cry of a screech-owl many times repeated, is widely thought to foretell a death. If one shrieks at a child’s birth, the child is sure to have an unhappy life. In France, if a pregnant woman heres an owl, it is a sign her baby will be a girl. In Wales, continues hooting around a village means that some girl will lose her virginity.
8. Robins - It is extremely unlucky to harm or kill a robin, to steal or break its eggs, or to injure its nest. The consequences of such actions vary, but they are all bad. Whoever robs a nest will not thrive thereafter, or he will fall into the power of witches or the Devil. If he breaks the eggs, something valuable of his own will be broken soon after; if he breaks the bird’s wing or leg, he will break his own arm or leg. To kill a robin deliberately is so great a crime that no one who does it can expect good fortune afterwards. His cows will give bloody milk or his house and barn will catch fire.
9. Salt - To spill salt is, of course, ill-omened. It must not be scraped up, but a little should be thrown three times over the left shoulder to avert the misfortune, but if it scatters in the direction of another person, bad luck will come to him or to a member of his family. It is unlucky to borrow salt and even more unlucky to return it.
10. Seventh Son/Daughter of a Seventh Son/Daughter - The seventh son of a seventh son or the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter is said to have magical gifts, particularly the gifts of healing. These sons or daughters often make good healers or doctors and are thought to have Second Sight and the ability to foretell the future.
11. Shiver - It is usually thought to be a bad omen if anyone shivers suddenly without cause. Perhaps some spirit is passing close to him, or Death is looking towards him. It’s commonly said that when this occurs, someone is walking over the place where his grave will one day be.
12. Sneezing - To sneeze three times before breakfast is often said to predict a present before the week is out. In Cornwall, it is lucky to do so once, but not twice; in North Yorkshire, sneezing after a meal, and especially after dinner is a sign of good health and a man who does so regularly can expect to live to a ripe old age. To sneeze to the right is fortunate, especially at the start of a journey or sea voyage, but to do so twards the left, or near a grave, is very unlucky.
13. Thirteen — The number thirteen is considered to be extremely unlucky. This is most often attributed to the fact that there were 13 at the Last Supper, but the superstition dates back further to pagan times. The Romans regarded the number as a symbol of death, destruction, and misfortune. It’s ill-omened for 13 people to sit together at a table; the person who rises first or last will die or meet serious misfortune within a year. Hotels rarely have a room or floor numbered 13. Some towns renumber houses that would be thirteen as 12a. The thirteenth of the month is an inauspicious day on which to embark upon any new enterprise, including marriage, or to set out on journey, doubly so if it falls on a Friday. On the other hand, to be born on the thirteenth of the month does not seem to be ill-omened anywhere and in some places it is thought to be quite lucky and the child born on the 13th is expected to prosper in anything he starts on that date later in life.

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

• Dallas Meow, bernie, Christine, Ornery’s Wife, ellen b, The Gal Herself, Janet, Damozel(you could be next!)