How superstitious are you? Does Friday the 13th
leave you quaking in your shoes?
I’m convinced even the most hardened of us
have some superstitions. For instance, how many of use the expression “knock on
wood” when we mention something good? That’s handed down from pagan groups who
worshiped trees. Ancient Celts regarded trees as homes of certain spirits or
gods.
 |
| Knock on wood for good luck |
A tree worshiper might have laid his hands on a tree when
asking favor from the spirits that lived inside it or did so after good fortune
as a show of gratitude. He is seeking protection against the anger and envy of
the gods who dislike mortals bearing too much pride or who aren’t grateful.
 |
| A tree spirit |
If a black cat crosses your path, do you have to turn
around? Personally, I love black cats and have one to which I’m partial. (I
started to say I own one, but of course one doesn’t own a cat, one is staff for
a cat.)
 |
| Sebastian, our black cat on what he views as his bed |
Once when taking a neighbor somewhere a black cat crossed
the road in front of us. The neighbor begged me to turn around and go the other
way to avoid bad luck. I thought she was joking at first, but she was serious.
In our family, (more superstition) the number thirteen has
been lucky on many occasions. Our eldest daughter was born on the thirteenth. She
had a medical condition for which we found a solution on the thirteenth.
Several other pieces of good fortune have occurred on the thirteenth.
My book THE TEXAN’S IRISH BRIDE includes many of
the Irish bride’s superstitions. Researching them was interesting. If you haven’t
read that book, I hope you will—it’s free on Amazon at http://a.co/j1U15UZ
In the meantime, don’t worry about black cats crossing your
path… um, knock on wood.
1 comment:
My son was born on Friday the 13th so certainly no bad luck there!
I really loved The Texan's Irish Bride. I loved her father--he had something to say about everything. LOL. Awesome book.
Post a Comment