Superstitions

Podcast Transcript

One of the most common things in the world are superstitions.

Superstitions can be found everywhere and in everyone. Some of them are cultural, and some of them are unique to the person.

Some of the most successful people in the world have superstitions, which they observe with rigid dedication.

Learn more about superstitions and where they come from on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

There are an awful lot of superstitions in the world, so I’ll start with one of the most common: black cats.

The superstition that black cats bring bad luck has roots in medieval Europe, where they were often associated with witchcraft and the supernatural. In many parts of Europe, black cats were believed to be the familiars or even the shape-shifting forms of witches, and spotting one was thought to indicate the presence of evil forces.

During the Salem witch trials, black cats were used as evidence of witchcraft, further cementing their unlucky reputation. Additionally, their nocturnal nature and dark color, which made them hard to see at night, contributed to the belief that they were mysterious and linked to bad omens.

I should note that black cats were not always a negative superstition. Some people also considered them positive superstitions. Black cats are considered good luck in Japan, parts of Scotland, Italy, and Latvia. Ship crews would often select a black cat as their ship cat to catch any rats on the ship.

An item that many people consider lucky is horseshoes.

Traditionally made of iron, a material believed to ward off evil spirits, horseshoes were thought to protect against malevolent forces. Iron was considered magical because it could withstand fire and was used to forge weapons, tools, and protective items.

The horseshoe’s crescent shape resembles the crescent moon, a symbol of fertility and prosperity in many cultures. This association with growth and renewal further enhanced its reputation as a bringer of good fortune.

In medieval Christian lore, Saint Dunstan, a blacksmith, was said to have tricked the devil by nailing a horseshoe to his hoof. He agreed to remove it only if the devil promised never to enter a house with a horseshoe above the door. This story cemented the horseshoe’s image as a talisman of protection.

Horseshoes typically have seven nail holes, and the number seven is often considered lucky or sacred in many cultures, further contributing to the belief in their luck-bringing properties.

Another popular lucky talisman is a rabbit’s foot.

Rabbits have long been associated with fertility and abundance due to their prolific breeding habits. In many cultures, carrying a part of a rabbit, such as its foot, was thought to transfer those qualities of prosperity and good fortune to the owner.

Specific conditions in the superstition state that the rabbit’s foot must be the left hind foot, as it was believed to have the strongest magical properties. The animal was often supposed to have been captured in a cemetery under the light of a full moon, tying the tradition to occult practices and magical rituals.

Many people consider the number 13 unlucky. Many buildings will skip the 13th floor. If you look closely, the elevators in many buildings go from 12 to 14. Furthermore, some people consider Friday the 13th an unlucky day.

Many people, including Winston Churchill, consider having 13 guests at the same table to be unlucky.

Fear of the number 13 is clinically known as triskaidekaphobia, which was first recorded in 1911.

No one is really sure where the superstition about the number 13 comes from.

One theory is that it comes from the Christian tradition. The Last Supper had 13 attendees: Jesus and his 12 disciples. Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus, was the 13th guest, cementing the number’s association with betrayal and misfortune

Another holds that in Norse mythology, Loki, the trickster god, was the uninvited 13th guest at a banquet in Valhalla. His arrival led to chaos and the death of Balder, the beloved god, reinforcing the idea of 13 as unlucky.

Yet another holds that in numerology, the number 12 is considered a symbol of completeness (e.g., 12 months in a year, 12 zodiac signs, 12 apostles), in addition to the fact that 12 is eventually divisible by 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6.

Adding one to this “complete” number is thought to disrupt balance and harmony, making 13 seem irregular or ominous.

As with other superstitions, some consider 13 to be lucky. Some Italians consider 13 lucky, as does Taylor Swift. She used to draw the number 13 on the back of her hand before each performance.

The reason has to do with the number 13 appearing fortuitously at many points in her life and her just leaning into it.

I should also note that while Italians consider 13 lucky, they consider 17 unlucky.

Many people believe that spilling salt will bring bad luck, and if you should do it, you have to toss a pinch over your left shoulder.

In ancient times, salt was a highly valuable and scarce resource, often used as currency, hence the origin of the word “salary” from the Latin salarium. Spilling it was seen as wasteful and disrespectful, potentially bringing bad fortune.

Salt was also believed to have purifying and protective properties. Spilling it might symbolically “break” its protective barrier, leaving one vulnerable to misfortune or evil.

The superstition gained traction in Christian traditions due to Leonardo da Vinci’s painting The Last Supper. In the artwork, Judas Iscariot is depicted with a spilled salt shaker near his elbow. This association tied spilled salt to betrayal and bad luck.

To counteract the bad luck of spilled salt, a common remedy involves tossing a pinch of the spilled salt over the left shoulder. The left side is traditionally associated with evil or the devil in many cultures, and the act of throwing salt is thought to blind or repel malevolent forces lurking there.

Some speculate that the superstition may have been a way to emphasize the importance of careful handling of salt, given its value and utility in preserving food.

Another superstition is that when people are hoping for good luck, they will cross their fingers. This is more of a superstition in the UK and former British Colonies.

In pre-Christian Europe, crossing fingers was a way to invoke spirits or deities to grant a wish or bring protection. The intersection of two fingers symbolized a cross or unity, thought to trap positive energy and ward off evil.

With the rise of Christianity, the gesture took on a religious connotation. The crossed fingers were seen as a subtle representation of the Christian cross, a symbol of faith, hope, and divine intervention. Early Christians often used the gesture in times of persecution to silently signal their faith and seek protection.

Crossing fingers became associated with making wishes, as it was thought to bring focus and divine favor to one’s hopes. The gesture was often performed in secret, emphasizing its personal and mystical nature.

Crossed fingers have a very different meaning in some countries, such as Vietnam, where it is considered rude.

In some parts of continental Europe, the same thing is conveyed by holding your thumbs.

Many of the superstitions I’ve mentioned so far are actually ones that are common in Western countries, but not all of them.

Some superstitions are specific to certain countries.

For example, the number 4 is considered unlucky in China. The reason for this is very straightforward. The number four and the word for death are very similar to each other.

Four is pronounced ? and death is ?. (my apologies to any Mandarin speakers out there)

The superstition regarding the number four manifests itself in many different ways.

Many car owners in China avoid license plates that end in the number four. In Beijing, they will restrict car usage based on the last number of the license plate. Two numbers are restricted each weekday to cut down on congestion and pollution.

The days where 4 and 9 are restricted are the days with the highest congestion because so few cars have a license plate that ends in four.

One of the best examples of avoidance of the number four that I’ve personally seen is at the Aria Hotel in Las Vegas.

The Aria was built with the goal of catering to Chinese gamblers in mind. As such, the hotel has no 4th floor and also no floors in the 40s. In the elevator, the floor after floor 39 is floor 50.

…and just for good measure, it is also missing floor 13 as well.

One unique superstition to Britain is what you do when you see a single magpie without any others. Encountering a magpie by itself is considered bad luck.

If you come across one, you are supposed to greet the magpie and say something like “Good morning, Mr. Magpie. How’s your family?” or “Good morning, Mr Magpie, how is your lady wife today?”

Even tipping your hat or some other form of acknowledgment is necessary to ward away bad luck.

Some superstitions are specific to certain industries and communities. One such group that has several notable superstitions is the theater world.

The first notable superstition is that you are never supposed to say the word Macbeth in a theater. If it is referenced, it is referred to as “The Scottish Play” or “the Bard’s Play” or something to that effect.

Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s most intense and dark tragedies, featuring themes of ambition, murder, and the supernatural. The inclusion of witches and their incantations was controversial, as many in the 17th century believed in the real power of witchcraft. Legend suggests that Shakespeare used actual spells in the witches’ dialogue, angering real witches who cursed the play.

Tales of accidents and misfortunes reinforced the superstition during early productions. In the first recorded performance in 1606, the actor playing Lady Macbeth reportedly died suddenly, and subsequent productions were marred by injuries, accidents, and even fatalities.

Numerous modern productions of Macbeth have had unfortunate incidents, such as accidents, technical failures, and injuries, perpetuating the superstition.

Laurence Olivier narrowly avoided injury when a stage weight crashed during his 1937 performance, and in 1942, during a production directed by John Gielgud, three actors died, and the costume designer committed suicide.

If someone accidentally says the name, they are often required to perform a cleansing ritual, such as exiting the theater, spinning around three times, spitting, cursing, knocking on the door before re-entering, or quoting a line from another Shakespeare play.

Another theater superstition is avoiding saying “good luck.” In theater lore, saying “good luck” is thought to tempt fate or bring bad luck instead. By wishing for something undesirable like “breaking a leg,” the hope is that the opposite will occur.

No one is really sure where the superstition originated. One theory holds that breaking was another way of saying bending and that bending your leg was another way of saying taking a bow at the end of a show.

Regardless of where and when it originated, its modern manifestation dates back to the early 1920s. It may have come from understudies sarcastically telling the actors with the main roles to “break a leg” so they would get the part.

Some people have their own personal superstitious idiosyncrasies. Perhaps no one was more superstitious than the Hall of Fame baseball player Wade Boggs.

Boggs had a host of superstitions that dominated his life.

Boggs was known as the “Chicken Man” because he ate chicken before every game. This pre-game meal became such a staple of his routine that it even inspired a cookbook called “Fowl Tips,” featuring chicken recipes.

He had an incredibly precise routine leading up to every game. He took batting practice at exactly 5:17 p.m. every day, and he ran sprints at precisely 7:17 p.m. This hyper-specific timing became a hallmark of his superstitious nature.

During games, Boggs would write the Hebrew word “Chai,” the word that means”life,” in the dirt before each at-bat. He wasn’t Jewish himself; he just believed that the practice had brought him good luck and positive energy.

Boggs always took the field at the same time during warm-ups, and he followed a meticulous process of putting on his uniform and preparing his gear, ensuring everything was done the same way each time.

Did any of this help? Well, he thought it did, and you can’t really argue with the results. He won 5 batting titles, was a 12-time all-star, and made it to the Hall of Fame.

Superstitions play a role in providing psychological comfort, structure, and a sense of control in situations of uncertainty or stress. They often arise from cultural traditions, historical beliefs, or personal rituals and serve as a way to cope with the unpredictability of life.

While they may lack any scientific basis whatsoever, their persistence highlights humanity’s deep desire for meaning in a complex world.