Belief in an omen (omen) or superstition about good luck and bad luck has existed for centuries. Various signs, rituals, customs and customs have a symbolic meaning in certain cultures. Familiarities include: walking under a ladder, spilling salt and the black cat that brings bad luck. However, this can also be socio-culturally determined. Sometimes the black cat is seen as a lucky sign. Do you want to know the origins of superstitions about the ladder, salt and various omens of good or bad luck?
Prediction or superstition – Culture-dependent omens of good and bad luck
The belief in an omen (omen) or superstition goes back many centuries. In ancient times, interpreting omens from the Gods was the task of the seers. Nowadays, superstition is part of our cultural heritage and in some cases has become intertwined with folk wisdom. Some omens that are said to bring good luck or bad luck are widespread. Common examples are: walking under a ladder, spilling or spilling salt or seeing a black cat, which is said to bring bad luck. Yet superstition is culturally bound. An omen or its interpretation can differ considerably from country to country and even have an opposite meaning.
The black cat
The black cat is a good example of this. In some cultures and folk superstitions, such as in Europe and America, it is an omen of bad luck, but in England, for example, it is a sign of good luck if a black cat crosses your path. There are also differences in position and direction; While one person says that it is only bad luck if you see the black cat approaching head-on, the other says that this is only the case if you see it running away or shooting past sideways. There are more omens about cats, horses and spiders. .
Omens and prediction – Luck and misfortune – Tradition and superstition
Sometimes an omen or superstition comes from historical tradition or generalization of a special event that led to good or bad luck in the past, or because a certain situation was always followed by certain circumstances (for example a certain type of weather).
Origin: walking under a ladder and spilling salt
Walk under a ladder
It is believed that the superstition that walking under a ladder would bring bad luck dates back a long time ago. The Egyptian God Osiris is said to have descended from heaven on a ladder, as did the ancient Persian God Mithras, who was later worshiped by Roman soldiers. Because the gods used ladders so often, it became taboo for people to walk under them: they did not want to anger the gods. (Another, more practical reason could be a bit more banal, namely the danger of collapsing, falling over or having the ladder fall on top of you).
Spill or spill salt
For example, salt was precious to the Gods – as well as to humans – as it was an important means of trade. It was sprinkled on the heads of animals that were sacrificed to the gods. Salt was also used to conclude binding agreements. Tampering with salt was therefore associated with bad luck in several respects:
- It displeased the gods
- It became a sign of broken trust.
- A waste of money on a material level.
In several countries, spilling salt is still associated with misfortune or quarrel and this fact is also passed down from generation to generation, without knowing its origin.
Superstition and practical origins
As a result, more superstition has arisen, which has taken on a life of its own, but the origin of which is not known or realized or whose source can no longer be traced. A fairly well-known example is that putting hats (and coats) on the bed is said to bring bad luck. However, what underlies this is that in previous centuries people wore hats and struggled with a serious lice problem (and did not yet have adequate remedies against lice). Placing a hat or coat on the bed therefore meant a rapid spread of lice on the hat and coat to the (pillow on the) bed and vice versa. A very practical reason!
Signs of good luck and bad luck – Good luck signs and bad luck signs
Lucky signs or bad luck signs about superstition or symbols that are seen as good or bad omens and are regarded as superstition or folk wisdom in various countries. It should be noted – just like with the black cat above – that what is considered a bad luck sign in one culture can be seen as a good luck sign in another culture or country. Although the source or origin is not stated, you can guess why some of the signs mentioned could bring good or bad luck; this already shines through, as it were.
Omens of good luck or good luck signs
Lucky signs animal and nature
- A robin flying into the house.
- A strange dog following you home.
- A white butterfly.
- Hearing crickets sing.
- Walking in the rain.
- A sprig of white heather.
- Finding a four-leaf clover.
- Wearing a rabbit’s foot.
- Encountering sheep.
- A ladybug.
- Catch two rats in one trap.
- Receive a beehive as a gift.
- Bats at dusk.
- Carry a piece of oyster shell in your pocket.
- A pea pod with nine peas in it.
- Cutting your hair during a storm.
- Look over your right shoulder at the new moon.
Lucky signs appearance and habit
- Burn the cut edges of your nails.
- Find a hairpin and hang it on a hook.
- Seeing long hair.
- Put your dress on inside out.
Lucky signs objects
- A horseshoe.
- Rubbing two horseshoes together.
- Pick up a pin.
- Picking up a pen from the street.
- Picking up a nail that was pointing in your direction.
- Shards, except those of a mirror.
Lucky signs habit and behavior
- Sneeze three times before breakfast.
- Sneezing three times (nice weather the next day)
- Sleep on unironed sheets.
- Messing around while making a toast.
And it is also believed that meeting a chimney sweep will bring you luck.
Signs of misfortune or misfortune signs
Bad luck signs animal and nature
- An owl that calls three times.
- A rooster crowing in the evening.
- Killing a seagull.
- Kill a cricket.
- Three butterflies together.
- Seeing an owl during the day.
- Encountering a hare along the way.
- A bat flying into the house.
- Peacock feathers.
- A five-leaf clover.
- Red and white flowers in the same bouquet.
- Bring white lilac or hawthorn blossoms into your home.
- Blossom and fruits on one branch (except orange trees)
- Violets that bloom out of season.
- Bring eggs inside after dark.
- Throw away ashes in the dark.
- Look over your left shoulder at the new moon.
Bad luck signs appearance and habit
- Putting a hat on the bed (see superstition source above)
- Wearing an opal unless you were born in October.
- Putting a button in the wrong buttonhole.
- Put on your left shoe before your right shoe.
- Cut your nails on Friday.
- Dropping a glove.
- Take off your shirt inside out.
- Place shoes on a chair or table.
- Making a piece of clothing ruined while wearing it.
- Leaving your slippers on a shelf above your head.
Bad luck objects
- Dropping an umbrella.
- Open an umbrella in the house.
- Put an umbrella on the table.
- Place a bellows on the table.
- A ring that breaks on your finger.
- Borrow, lend or burn a broom.
- Breaking your glass while making a toast.
Bad luck signs habit and behavior
- Singing before breakfast.
- Take off your wedding ring.
- Get out of bed with your left leg.
- Take something outside on New Year’s Day.
- Giving away a wedding gift (to others)
- Encountering a pig immediately after a wedding.
- Sitting on the table without keeping one foot on the floor.
Bad luck signs around Christmas
- Bring Christmas greenery into your home before December 24.
- Leave Christmas decorations up until after Epiphany.
And finally, it is believed that encountering a gravedigger will bring bad luck.
read more
- Omens & Predictions – Luck Feast
- Omens & Predictions – Candles Flames
- Omens & Predictions – Food Holidays
- Omens & Predictions – Cats Horses Purrs