Superstition
noun [C or U]
belief that is not based on human reason or scientific knowledge, but is connected with old ideas about magic etc,| Click to see full-size image. |
Every morning, without fail, I see a magpie on my commute into the office. Sometimes there is only one, but sometimes there are others. Every morning, I count how many there are. Then I chant in my head:
“One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl …"When there is only one of them, I panic, salute and chant in my most cheeriest of head voices:
“Morning Mr Magpie, how’s your wife and kids?"I congratulate myself on having warned off any bad luck for the rest of the day. I have performed this ritual for as long as I can remember. Why? Because I am horrendously superstitious. As is most of my family.
The most rational explanation to most of you will be that there happens to be a lot of magpies who live in the fields that line my drive to work. I don’t doubt this, but if there is any possibility that the old tales are correct and their presence is the result of some higher influence that is going to dictate what happens to me for the rest of the day, then I have to counteract this. Crazy, I know. This blind faith was probably not helped by my recent sighting of five magpies in one group (
“five for silver...”), a few hours before I went home and FT'd an MTT I played. WELL CLEARLY IT’S TRUE!!
Saluting magpies isn’t the only superstition of course. There are many;
- Friday the 13th is a very unlucky day
- A rabbit’s foot brings good luck
- Do not open an umbrella in the house
- Do not walk under an ladder
- An itchy palm means that money will come your way
etc, etc.
The real biggie in our house is that you must not EVER wash clothes on New Year’s Eve. If you do, you "wash out” a member of the family (in other words, they die). I experienced this particular nugget on the NYE’s Eve of my 19th year. About three hours before being due to set off to the party, I asked my mum to wash the top I was going to wear (hey, give me a break, I was a teenager!). Step One: Rejection. Step Two:
“Okay, then I will do it myself”. Step Three: TERROR. My Dad had to take me into town to buy a new top so I had something to wear. We went to that extreme.
It seems like I am not alone. Every known civilisation that has existed has myths or superstitions in their history that have played an important part of their culture. Maybe it is driven from fear? Or the need to find a justification for why terrible bad luck has happened to us.
By far the most bizarre one I have ever heard is to clap immediately after sneezing to avoid killing a fairy. Okay, even I don’t do that one!
So this morning, I ask one favour of you. Please tell me I am not alone? Please tell me that you all have little superstitions that you comply with?
Share!
Until next time
B
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