cms@gatech.edu (12/24/90)
I found a list of superstitions about Faith I thought you might find
interesting. Here they are:
A woman who dreams she is in church listening to a preacher will marry
one. The same is true if she dreams of white linen.
If you dream of a church, it means your enemies are about, or your
habits need changing.
If a knife or a dishrag falls to the floor, the preacher is coming.
If you open the Bible after you have made a wish and you find the
words "And it came to pass" under your finger, your wish will come
true.
It's bad luck to place something on top of the Bible, or to lose one.
If you see a rainbow, say the Lord's Prayer and you'll have good
fortune.
A star shooting in the sky means someone has died. If it shoots to
the right, that person has gone to heaven; if it shoots to the left,
he's gone to hell.
Don't do anything important on August 1. That is the day the devil
was kicked out of heaven, and he always messes up people's plans on
that day.
If someone burns food while cooking, he is feeding the devil.
A sudden silence in a room of talking people means an angel is passing
through.
If a baby smiles while asleep, angels are talking to it.
Hold your breath while traveling past a cemetary.
Don't ever fish on Sunday.
The seventh son is always a healer. The tenth son is always a
preacher.
A child born on Christmas Day can understand animals, see spirits, and
will be generally very lucky.
To make husbands stay home: Take sugar and cinnamon and mix together.
Write name of husband and wife nine times. Roll paper with names and
put in a bottle of holy water with sugar and honey. Lay it under the
back step.
To hold a man: Take a piece out of the seat of his drawers, tie a
ring to it (any ring) and put a fig leaf in the ring. Roll all this
together, and carry it on you.
To make sick or punish an enemy: Take a soiled undergarment of
theirs, hang on a bare rafter, and get some hackberry switches and
whip the garment. They will be so sore they can't get out of bed.
When two people of the same name live in a house, ghosts stay away.
Say, "What in God's name do you want?" when you first see a ghost, and
you will know no fear.
A baby born near midnight will have the ability to see ghosts.
A ghost will come and knock on your wall when someone in the house is
going to die.
Christmas Eve is the favored time for ghosts to walk on earth.
Never carry an ax into the house; it means death.
Only carry a hoe through the same door of your house that you brought
it in, or someone in the house will die.
If you miss a row while planting, or hear a crowing hen or rooster
after dark, or see the wind blow out a candle, these things mean
death.
If an owl comes into your room and sits at the foot of your bed, it's
as if an angel is sitting at your bedside, and it means that whoever
lies in that bed shall die.
If three people look into a mirror at the same time, the youngest of
the three will die.
Never let a swing stop on its own. Stop it yourself or someone close
to you will die.
If a bird flies into your house, it's an omen of death.
After someone dies, their picture will begin to fade.
Beware the queen of spades, the death card.
If a dog howls while looking at the ground, it's because he senses
that death is very near.
If a rooster crows at the back door, death is on the way; if it crows
at the front door, you'll have visitors.
Whenever you see a white horse, look over your shoulder and you'll see
old Mr. Devil.
I remember my Grandma used to call rubbing the blue dress of a statue of
Mary "superstitious." Grandma would tell me to touch the feet, kiss, and
make the sign of the cross; that's respectful. Rubbing for luck is
superstitious and not very pious anyway. Everybody has superstitions,
I suppose.
Oh, yes, here's one I remember my other grandmother telling me:
No one in the world is exactly six feet tall because six feet is the
perfect height of a man and Christ was six feet tall because he was
perfect but no one else in the world was perfect except Christ
therefore no one else in the world is exactly six feet tall.
Another supersititous practice I remember is picking a particular
verse in the Bible, say 5:3, for example, and reading every book in
the Bible where that verse occurs from Genesis to Revelation. The
story told by this method will either tell you something very
important about yourself or explain some mystery.
Another superstition is that if you pronounce the name of Yahweh
outloud, it will give enemies power over you.
A fairly common one that everyone knows is that making the sign of
the Cross is a ward against evil or drives away the devil. (It's also
something Catholics do when we're startled, but that's cultural, not
superstitious).
In a book I have discussing folklore in the Talmud, I found this:
"In several of the instances the intention behind the act determines
whether it may be done or not. If a superstitious motive prompts it,
then it is forbidden. We see this principle being applied in the
earlier Rabbinic period. For example, 'People may go out (on the
Sabbath) with a grasshopper's egg (as a cure for earache), a fox's
tooth (the tooth of a live fox was a cure for oversleeping and of a
dead fox for insomnia), or the nail from a cross on which a person has
been hanged (this was supposed to be a cure for inflammation and
fever), as a remedy. These are the words of R. Meir; but the Rabbis
forbid them even on a weekday because they belong to the ways of the
Amorite (i.e., heathenish practices the Jews should not adopt)
(Shab. vi. 10).
Here's another: "If one wants to know whether he will live out the
year or not, let him light a lamp during the ten days between the New
Year and the Day of Atonement in a room where there is no draught.
Should the light continue to burn (as long as there is oil in the
lamp), he will live through the year. If one is about to undertake a
business transaction and wishes to know whether it will succeed or
not, let him rear a cock. Should it grow fat and well-favoured, his
enterprise will prosper. If one wishes to undertake a journey and
wants to know whether he will safely return to his home or not, let
him stand in a dark room. Should he see the shadow of a shadow, he
may know that he will return home. But this is not an infallible
sign! Perhaps (through not seeing his shadow) his mind will be upset
and affect his luck for the worse! (Therefore he should avoid using
this test) (Hor. 12a)."
Does anyone else know any other superstitions?
--
Sincerely,
Cindy Smith
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