INTRODUCTION


Superstition, plays a part in all our lives,and altough many people would argue that reason should always 
triumph over instinct, the question is - does it? Let me quote you and example which will certainly put you 
in the kind of quandary that faces anyone who takes a firm line in such discussions. Suppose, for arguments 
sake,you stand behind a reinforced glass partition,and ask someone on the other side to take a swing at you 
with their fist. What will happen when they do? You'll flinch,and even step bakc even though you know the 
glass will prevent the fist touching you. Instinct has triumped over reason,has it not?

We may apply exactely the same argument to omens and superstitions. They form the mental insticts that for
thousands of years have swayed our reason and no matter how far we advance in science and technology, they 
still lurk in the corners of our consciousness,often affecting our social behaviour and attitudes to life. 
Perhaps, the very speed of our progress has played a part in the persistence of these beliefs. With man in 
space, 'miracles' being worked in medicine, and fresh dicoveries constantly stretching the boundaries of our
knowledge, it is hardly suprising that we are anxious and doubtful about the future as were our forbears in 
their unselected times, so many of whose superstitions are now in our canon.

We will let you pounder over superstitions, read and learn...


ACCIDENT

In Japan there is a superstition  that if a cup or glass containing medicine for a sick person is accidentally 
upset, then it is an omen of that person's speedy recovery.


BALDNESS

Baldness, the curse of many a man, has according to an old British superstition, a cure though not a very pleasant 
one;it requires liberal amounts of goose dung to be rubbed into the blad patches! perhaps men would prefer a preventive
measure supplied by another superstition - never cut your hair when the moon is waning for it will thin and fall out.


BLOOD

Among British country folks there is an old superstition that a drop of blood taken from the little finger of a man's left 
hand and secretly put in a woman's drink will make her fall a passiontely in love with him. A less savoury belief is that 
anyone who bleed on the day of Halloween, October 31, will not live long thereafter.


BREASTS  

There is a quaint old superstition to be heard in Devon that a woman whose breasts are sore may cure this by going to 
church at midnight and removing some lead from one of the ornamental windows and shaping it into a heart which she
then wear on a chain around her neck.


BREEZE

Sailors would be well advised to take a note of the widely recorded European superstition that a breeze - as distinct 
from a wind - can be raised by scratching a nail on the foremast.


BRIDGE

In several European countries it is considered an ill-omen to take leave of a freind on a bridge, for to do so means 
that you will never meet again. And it is unlucky to go under a railway bridge either on foot or in a car when train 
is passing overhead.


LIPS

An itching or tingling sensation of the lips is an omen that someone is going to kiss you soon, says as a superstition 
noted on both sides of he Atlantic.


LAUGH

Among many country people excessive laughter is still looked upon as an evil-omen, for the person is held to be 
'possessed' by his mirth and cannot hope to live for a great deal longer.  In parts of Britain it is said that to 
laugh before breakfast will lead to tears before nightfall.


LEATHER

The popularity of leather owes much to the superstition which arose in early times that it possessed the power to 
scare demons and evil spirits away.


LETTER

For letters from freinds to cross in the post is said to be an ill-omen, and to presage a quarrel or trouble between
them, according to American superstition.


CHEWING  GUM

There is a superstition which has developed in America that if a young man presents his girl-freind with a stick of 
chewing gum over which he has secretely and earnestly requested that she fall in love with him, then if she takes it 
and chew it thoroughly, she will be unable to resist his charms.


CHEEKS
Throughout much of the world it is said that if your cheeks feel as if they are burning, someone is talking about you.
There is, though, usually a simple explanation of emotional stress or other psychological influece behind the blush.


CIGARS

The girls of that famous American 'witch town' of Salem in Massachusetts have a superstition that if you accidentely 
step on a cigar then  you will marry the first man you meet thereafter.


COFFEE

Coffee drinkers in America beleive they can see omens of the future on the surface of their cups. If there are bubbles 
which float towards you then money is on its way, while if they float in the opposite direction times are going to be 
hard.


COMB

A comb which has been used by a dead person should never be used by anyone else or it will invite death, according to 
Hungarian tradition. In Britain a mother is advised never to comb a baby's hair until it has finished teething, or else 
for every tooth of the comb that falls out so will be one of the child's teeth be lost before its due time.

COTTON

If you find a piece of cotton sticking to your dress or suit then you can expect an important letter. This universl supper-
stition goes on to add that the cotton will probably lie in such a shape that it has the appearance of a single letter which 
will indicate te initial of the person from whom the correspondence is comming.

CRYING

It may be a comfort to mothers of children who seem to cry a great deal that there is a supperstition still prevalent in many 
rural areas of Europe that a child who 'cries long will live live long'. Though whether this is much consoltioon after a disturbed 
night is doubtful.

DAY

The frame of mind in which you get up often has alot to do with what kind of day you will have, and there
is a British supperstition summed up in verse,about the effect of waking up and mistaking which day of the week
it is:

            'Lose a day, you lose a freind,
             Gain a day, you gain a freind.'


DEATH PREDICTION

There is an old Jewish tradition that it is possible for a husband and wife to learn who will die
first day by calculating the numerical value of the letters in each of their names. (The formula
being A=1, B=2, etc). If the result turns out to be even, the man will die first; if odd, the woman.

DEATH TIDE

Amon many folk who live by the sea there is a common superstition that a person will not die until
the tide begins to ebb, and this is explained by the fact that they sea their lives as being ruled
by the mighty ocean. Similarly it is believed that a child cannot be born until the tide is nearly in.



DIMPLE

In most parts of the world, a dimple is considered lucky and the British believe this is so because
the mark was made by the impression of God's finger. In centain parts of America, though, the reverse,
the reverse is said to be true, as summed up in an old rhyme: 'Dimple on the chin - Devil withen.'


DOUBT

There is a delightful Jewish superstition that if you are in doubt about any matters count the 
number of buttons on the coat you are wearing at the time. If there are an even number, then you
are right; if an odd number, wrong.


DRINK

When enjoying a drink, whether alcoholic or not, remember the old superstition that it should never be 
stirred with a knife or else you will get stomach ache!



XYZ

It is said to be unlucky for an author to have the letter X,Y and Z in the last sentence of any book,
for this is an omen that he will never write another. This author is prepared to take the chance,
and for once actually defy superstition for the sake of the record! (Although you will notice they
are not actually all in this last sentence!)


EYEBROWS

There is an old saying that 'meeting eyebrows neer know trouble' and that anyone whose eyebrows do
join across their nose will always be lucky -although in some countries of Europe such a person is
accounted as being untruthful and perhaps even a vampire or werewolf as well!

EYES

In many countries itching eyes are looked upon as good and bad omens - if the right eye feels ticklish
then you are in for some good luck, but if it is the left then things are not so good. A cure for this 
affliction should it continue is to bathe the eye or eye in rainwater collected from the leaves of
the teazel plant. It is also widely held that if a man's right upper eyelid twitches then it is a sign
of good luck while the left is unlucky. Strangely,for women the reverse is true! many English country
folk believe that a stye in the eye can be cured by rubbing it gently nine times with a gold wedding
ring or any other small piece of gold. And, finally the Americans have a delightful old verse indicaton
the old supperstitions about differnt coloured eyes:

         'Blue-eye beauty, do your mammy's duty,
          .....................................





Comming more tomorrow...