Taomeow Posted October 17, 2009 Dear bums, I am collecting "superstitions" from all over the world. If you ask me why I will explain, but regardless -- this is a request for submissions. If you know of a "superstition," a taboo, a good-luck/bad-luck omen, etc., please describe it. And if you know its source (a Finnish grandmother, a West Kongo tribe, etc.), please point it out too. Look forward to all returns! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zhuo Ming-Dao Posted October 17, 2009 Most of the advice given to you by a Chinese medical doctor might be seen by some as superstitious, particularity those things relating to what you should or should not do or eat during certain seasons. When my wife was in China she would be constantly criticized for preferring cold (or even lukewarm) drinks over warm ones because it would be hard on her system. To an outsider this sort of thing seems like pure superstition, even if it has logical reasoning behind it. Similarly, you could throw all of feng shui into this category. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thelerner Posted October 17, 2009 A weird nonsensical habit I picked up as a kid and have to kept to this day is: I don't step on cracks. I started at a young age when I walked to school and now its ingrained. My walking pattern automatically adjusts to avoid the crack that make up the squaire side walks that line most blocks. Other then that I'm mostly sane. Michael P.S Mom still has pain free back. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Taomeow Posted October 17, 2009 P.S. Please don't hesitate to mention the ones you personally "don't believe in." Just if you know of someone who believes it (be it an individual or a whole culture), let me know. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vajrahridaya Posted October 17, 2009 Throw salt over your shoulder for good luck. Don't walk under a ladder being used. 7 years bad luck for breaking a mirror. I suppose one can empower these beliefs with faith and make them seem to become real for you personally. But I don't believe in any inherent property either way with these. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Taomeow Posted October 17, 2009 Most of the advice given to you by a Chinese medical doctor might be seen by some as superstitious, particularity those things relating to what you should or should not do or eat during certain seasons. When my wife was in China she would be constantly criticized for preferring cold (or even lukewarm) drinks over warm ones because it would be hard on her system. To an outsider this sort of thing seems like pure superstition, even if it has logical reasoning behind it. Similarly, you could throw all of feng shui into this category. Yay, this is exactly why I'm looking for them. What's superstition to one time and place is science to another, and why drinking cold drinks is a lousy habit (and iced ones a horrible one), a widespread Chinese "superstition," is something I could explain from the POV of today's western science (constricts blood flow to inner organs, immobilizes lymphatic flow and disables immune responses from both humoral and cellular immune systems, inhibits digestive enzymes, damages some strains of beneficial bacilli in the gut, cranks up the inner thermostat to "cold environment" when this isn't the case, straining it and causing it to falter which causes a cascade of metabolic mistakes, in particular in the hypothalamus-pituitary-pineal axis, and on and on and on!) I know of hundreds of "superstitions" that aren't superstitions at all if you look a tad deeper -- and I need more! Please keep them coming! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Taomeow Posted October 17, 2009 A weird nonsensical habit I picked up as a kid and have to kept to this day is: I don't step on cracks. I started at a young age when I walked to school and now its ingrained. My walking pattern automatically adjusts to avoid the crack that make up the squaire side walks that line most blocks. Other then that I'm mostly sane. Michael P.S Mom still has pain free back. Thanks! What's the "why" of this one? Why are you not supposed to step on cracks -- mom would get back pain, is it? Incidentally, there's a widespread superstition among licensed psychologists who believe that non-stepping on cracks is a sign of OCD. Go figure. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
宁 Posted October 17, 2009 dear Meow, aren't you in fact looking for folk-lore-type scraps of the ancient art of omens? there's this idea that sticked to my mind, that this art is of unsuspected importance Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Taomeow Posted October 17, 2009 dear Meow, aren't you in fact looking for folk-lore-type scraps of the ancient art of omens? there's this idea that sticked to my mind, that this art is of unsuspected importance Yup, dear Little1. We're on the same page here. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zhuo Ming-Dao Posted October 17, 2009 (edited) In China and Japan you are not supposed to give a gift of a clock to someone, because it would decrease their life expectancy. Also, you are not supposed to give four of anything as a gift, because the word for four (shi) is a homophone for the word for death (shi). Because of this, most major hotels or large buildings will not have a fourth floor in the same way that Westerners often do not have a thirteenth floor. Edited October 17, 2009 by Zhuo Ming-Dao Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
innerspace_cadet Posted October 17, 2009 My mother's boyfriend- now deceased- was a second generation Irish American. He once said his parents thought it was bad luck to exit a house out of a different door than the one you entered through. Any time you entered through the front door, you had to leave the house from the same door. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doc benway Posted October 17, 2009 The following superstitions and practices came from my Jewish grandmother of Western European (German-Polish) extraction - 1. She had a very large and beautiful quartz crystal. She would put a piece of silver under it and make a wish for very important things. They would always come true but would take a toll on her health of some sort. 2. She would go crazy if I described another person's illness or injury and made any sort of gesture to describe or demonstrate the injury on my own body. 3. She would invoke a Yiddish expression "ken ayina hora" which literally means "without the evil eye" if I ever made a complimentary comment about someone's health, appearance, or good fortune of any sort. She was of the mind that a compliment would potentially invoke a jinx. 4. To treat a wart, she would cut off the root of an old potato, rub it on the wart and bury it in the ground. Three weeks later, when the root was rotten, the wart would fall off. I later found out that potatoes are a source of trichloroacetic acid which is a common ingredient in most modern, over the counter wart medications. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ninpo-me-this-ninjutsu-me-that Posted October 18, 2009 Dear bums, I am collecting "superstitions" from all over the world. If you ask me why I will explain, but regardless -- this is a request for submissions. If you know of a "superstition," a taboo, a good-luck/bad-luck omen, etc., please describe it. And if you know its source (a Finnish grandmother, a West Kongo tribe, etc.), please point it out too. Look forward to all returns! China Don't walk on a man hole cover, the water below is stagnant, therefore the qi is also so if you walk on it it can affect you....ie. 'unlucky' as they put it. If you do so and your with a friend they will hit you suddenly to take away the bad luck. There is a story kind of connected to this(in my mind anyway). During the Qing dynasty there were those, as usual who wanted to overthrow them. They sought out some feng shui people to find a way. The Qing came from the north east region so the feng shui guys said that they drew their power from a particular hilly area, and most importantly from certain 'dragon lines'/'ley lines' within the earth in that area. So, the particular part of the energy line that was said to be the dragons head. representing the Qing Dynasty, needed to be cut off from the rest of the body/energy line. They did this by digging into the earth at that point, and filling the hole with manure, thereby cutting off the flow of power. Don't have the foot of your bed toward the bedroom door, apparently makes it easier to die . A girl I know her grandfather had been dying in bed for some time and was in a lot of pain, he was going to die yet still didn't. They called someone in, he suggested changing the position of the bed so the feet were towards the door, they did so, and he died the same day. Don't have a mirror facing your bed, actually I don't know why, they simply say it's cos if you wake in the night and suddenly see yourself it's gonna give you a real fright! must be another reason though. You can't get your hair cut for a month after the moon festival, if you do it means your uncles gonna die!! Great if you don't like your uncle I suppose. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
