Superstition is a traditional belief that a certain action or event can cause or foretell an apparently unrelated event. It is often viewed as irrational or involving the supernatural. Common superstitions include the belief that carrying a rabbit’s foot will bring its owner good luck. Many people say that if a black cat crosses their path, they will have bad luck. In each case, the action and the event it foretells are traditionally thought to be connected. For instance, the rabbit’s foot is likely associated with growth and prosperity because the animal is perceived as especially fertile, energetic, and independent.
Most people, including highly educated individuals, act superstitiously from time to time. Even if people do not express a superstition, they may nonetheless knock on wood or avoid walking under a ladder to prevent bad luck. Many people view superstitions as things of the past. But people create superstitions in everyday life, and new superstitions circulate in modern times. Superstition is common in sports. Many baseball players believe, for example, that a pitcher will give up a hit if anyone mentions that a no-hit game is being pitched. Other athletes have items of clothing that they consider lucky and believe they cannot win without.
Kinds of superstitions.
Many superstitions deal with important events in a person’s life, such as birth, entering adulthood, marriage, pregnancy, and death. Such superstitions supposedly ensure that a person will pass safely from one stage of life to the next. For example, a person born on Sunday will always have good luck. A bride and groom will have bad luck if they see each other on their wedding day before the ceremony. A pregnant woman must eat the right food, or she will give her child an unwanted birthmark. After a person dies, the doors and windows of the room should be opened so the spirit can leave.
Some superstitions involve a type of magic. One form of such magic comes from the belief that similar actions produce similar results. Many people believe a newborn baby must be carried upstairs before being carried downstairs. In this way, the child will be assured of rising in the world and having success. The same principle appears in the custom of putting money in a purse or wallet being given as a gift. The giver wants to make sure the purse or wallet will always contain money.
A number of superstitions involve someone taking a deliberate action to cause something to happen or to prevent something from occurring. Most of these causal superstitions involve ensuring good luck, avoiding bad luck, or making something good happen. For example, in the United States, carrying a silver dollar is supposed to bring good luck. Some people will not start a trip on a Friday, especially if it is the 13th day of the month. Friday and the number 13 are both associated with bad luck in Western cultures. According to a Japanese belief, the number 4 is unlucky. This is because shi, the Japanese word for 4, sounds like the Japanese word for death. Thus, many buildings in Japan have no fourth floor.
Other superstitions foretell an event without any conscious action by the person involved. Some of these sign superstitions foretell good or bad luck. For example, finding a horseshoe or a four-leaf clover means good luck. Breaking a mirror or spilling salt brings bad luck. Other sign superstitions foretell a certain event or condition. A ring around the moon means rain will soon fall. A person with red hair has a quick temper.
Some sign superstitions may be changed into causal superstitions. If a person hangs a horseshoe over a door, witches cannot enter. In some cases, a person may avoid the bad luck involved in a sign superstition by taking immediate action. For example, someone who has spilled salt may cancel the bad luck by throwing a pinch of salt over the left shoulder.
The role of superstitions.
Many people scoff at superstitions because they consider such beliefs to be unscientific. However, many scholars believe that some superstitions have a scientific basis. For example, people in England once used tea made from foxglove plants to treat some forms of heart disease. Today, physicians often prescribe digitalis, a drug made from dried leaves of the purple foxglove, for patients with weak hearts.
Most people have fears that make them insecure. Superstitions help overcome such fears by providing security. They reassure people that they will get what they want and avoid trouble. For example, millions of people believe in astrology and base important decisions on the position of the sun, moon, planets, and stars (see Astrology ). Superstitions will probably have a part in life as long as people wonder about the world and their society, seek control in their lives, and have uncertainties about the future.
