Question

Story on superstition based on forgo theme

Answer 1

Irrational as they may be, we all have a superstition or two. Whether it's a lucky pair of pants or an aversion to Friday the 13th, superstitions are important to us because they give meaning to the often random nature of luck and put us in the driving seat of our destiny. Here we run through the surprising cultural histories behind some of the world's most common supernatural beliefs.

1. “Knocking on Wood”
Indo-European, Celtic, or possibly British
Any list of superstitions would have to begin with arguably the most well-known and universal superstition: ‘to knock on wood.’

The actual origins, and even meanings, of the phrase are as varied as the cultures which use it, with some suggesting roots in the Indo-European or Celtic belief that spirits good and bad resided in trees who could be either called upon for protection or chased away by knocking on their home, and others (particularly Christians) linking the practice to the magical power of the wooden Crucifix. Most likely among the different theories, historians have attributed the superstition to a 19th-century British children’s game called “Tiggy Touchwood” in which young players claimed immunity from being tagged by touching the nearest piece of wood. Adults picked up on the habit and the phrase (the British still say “touch wood” today), and the rest is history.

As with many superstitions, there are subtle variations and sometimes not so subtle varying origins. Italians ‘touch steel’ rather than wood, perhaps more related to iron horseshoes; Poles and Russians touch unpainted wood, Turks knock twice, Latin American knock on wood with no legs (i.e. chairs). It’s best to memorize them all before traveling.

“The Postman’s Knock” (From the collection of The Postal Museum)
2. “Throwing Salt Over Your Shoulder”
European/Christian, ancient Roman
Perhaps the next most common superstition, at least in the West, involves tossing salt over one’s shoulder. Like ‘knocking on wood,’ this superstition also involves the idea of ‘warding off evil’ - in this case, the Devil himself. In Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper, Jesus’ betrayer, Judas Iscariot, is portrayed as having accidentally spilled salt. Since Judas was associated with doing something bad, the argument goes that, ipso facto, so was salt, and throwing it over your shoulder would blind the devil waiting there.

Since, in other versions of the superstition, “Old Scratch” was thought to reside just over your left shoulder, ready to tempt you, the salt was thrown to the left.

Still, others say that the sheer value of salt alone in ancient times led to the belief that to spill it was to incur bad fortune (like among Romans), requiring a corresponding ritual or act of penance to prevent worse loss from occurring.