Probably comes from the myth that if you go to bed or lay down soon after eating that you will gain weight. That's not true, though. It doesn't actually matter what time of day you eat. Some people do have nightmares from eating to much before bed.

Actually, if I lay down for a "rest" after a heavy meal I always wake up a cranky cow. So I guess there's some truth in that!

I've been reading "The Magical Household" by Scott Cunningham (my favorite author) and it has tons of supersitions in there:

A few I remember off the top of my head:

if you walk on top of (forget exact number) of manholes you will have bad luck. This is because back when they were first made, the coverings weren't that great, and you were very likely to fall in.

The direction you sleep (north, east, south or west) tells how well you will sleep (For Example it is best to sleep North, but if you Sleep south you'll sleep terribly).

If you can't sleep, check the dishes! It is said you will sleep very ill indeed if your kitchen is dirty.

If you wish to sleep well simply tell your pillow you wish to sleep and give it a kiss!

If you wash your hair, you has better eat and drink something before bed or faeries will steal you away!

Three pennies under the front porch is suppose to bring more money into the home.

Lipstick was originally worn to keep even spirits from entering you through your mouth, and to keep your soul from leaving with your exhales.

If a man brushes his facial hair often, it will increase his sexual desire.

Wow! That's an amazing list, Midi!



Aha. Get growing those beards, guys! Milky, did you find that your Movember experience made you feel more like... Well, you know?

Hmmm...

Oh and I meant EVIL spirits from entering, not even. Oops, sorry.

I forgot to mention also that with the kissing your pillow and telling it you want to sleep, you can do the same thing for your dreams. Simply tell your pillow you want to remember your important dreams and give it a kiss and you should remember. At least I think that is how the dream one went. Let me check....
haven't found it yet, but i wanted to post this i found while looking:

Putting a red onion on your bed post helps the bed's occupant recover quickly from illness and keeps sickness away from the healthy. it warns that if you do this, you might dream of Italian restaurants.

Another way to speed recovery or stay healthy is by hanging Fir Branches over the bed.

Okay found it. You don't have to kiss a pillow or talk to it. Simply say every night that you will remember all important dreams and you will, so the book says.

I love Scott Cunningham, too, such a down to earth author


I remember one superstition about walking under ladders... I would have thought it would be unlucky because something could fall on your head, but it's meant to symbolise the breaking of the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) as the three component parts wall, ladder and floor each represent one of the components. Not sure I believe it personally, I'm more worried about something falling me from a great height (though I still do it just to prove a point that I'm not superstitious).


My sister is the most superstitious person I have ever met... which stuns me as she is a militant atheist and discounts all versions of a greater/higher power in the universe - so where all of the bad stuff comes from I have no idea

She always claps her hands whenever she sneezes, all because of the movie Ferngully (apparently a fairy dies everytime someone sneezes unless they clap their hands).

The knife and fork on the plate I always thought was just good manners, to leave your plate looking tidy... guess I was wrong.

People often say "bless you" when I sneeze, and I think it is something to do with warding of the plague (I think sneezing is one of the first symptoms of The Black Death).

Throwing salt over your left shoulder when you spill it is said to throw it in the face of the Devil that is supposed to sit on that shoulder. Being cleansing, it protects you from evil. In Paganism salt is also used to protect your home, it is placed on all of the entry points of your house, especially the thresholds (doors) and keeps evil out.

Another superstition that baffles me is the one about never putting hats on your bed bringing bad luck. Rodeo riders consider it an omen of impending death... more practical is that hats harbour head lice and you don't want them at anytime.

That is really interesting about the ladder Minty...and very funny about your sister, if I may admit. I've never been huge on believing superstitions, only reading them at every chance. Oh, I do believe you right on the mark about the sneeze being the first (or one of the first) signs of the Bubonic Plague!

My sister is just a walking contradiction most of the time... she cannot understand why I have my faith, but then she claps when she sneezes and until a few years ago whenever we had thunder and lightning she would insist on lighting a candle to keep the people she loved safe, I even had to write a little verse for her to say whilst she was lighting it and putting it out. When I explained that this little ritual of hers was actually candle magic she looked at me like I was mad... go figure

-- Sun Feb 20, 2011 3:22 am --

Going back to the third light from a match, it was to do with the enemy finding targets (I think)... the initial striking would alert the enemy to your location, the second person taking a light would give them enough time for them to take aim and the unlucky person that was third was usually shot.

Either that or it was to do with U-boats, it being so dark at sea at night, even the smallest light can be seen for miles and it would give away your position if alight for long enough (say like three men lighting cigarettes)... then you would very soon have a torpedo screaming towards you and everyone else aboard your ship!

We sleep with our heads to the north and I always have a terrible time falling asleep.

Never touch a Thai on the head. Not really a superstition, but more a rule of thumb...er...hand.

And there kills that superstition!

I am not only the rule breaker, but the exception to them all!

I remember reading that in older times, people would not urinate in holes in the desert as that's where djinn live.

The horseshoe has lots of sayings to it...some people say a U on is to keep the good luck in, but turning it upside down makes the good luck fall out. I personally agree with (can't remember who it was, I'm sorry) who said that it's iron to protect against faeries. There was a time when faeries were often feared...some were helpful, but lord forbid you pissed one off, or crossed paths with a malicious one. Cold iron is meant to ward off the fey. And as was pointed out, using an old shoe that was no longer fit for use was like recycling the material.

I salute magpies, but I don't flap or spit or whatever. The number doesn't bother me either.

I don't think black cats are unlucky, personally, but I have heard that tortoiseshell cats (or calicos) were/are considered lucky in Japan, especially by sailors.

I also remember that the number 4 is unlucky in both China and Japan. The character for 4 is the same for death in Chinese, and in Japanese, one of the words for 4 "shi" also means death. My Japanese teacher taught us that "shi" or "yon" are both acceptable, but didn't explain at any point why she never said shi. Found it out later XD

(Anyone seen in the Grudge 2, when the American student gets pushed into the closet and made to count to ten...things turn funny when she gets to four?)

I used to sleep heading south, but I changed to north when I had dreadful nightmares. Apart from very rare occasions (depending on what I may have read or seen horror-wise) I've been fine ever since.

I never even thought about sleeping direction before. All of the people in this house sleep facing differing directions... me - north, Mum - south, Dad (who sleeps alone because of his health problems most of the time) - east and Sissy and her fella - west.

I admit I chose north for myself as it's called the witches direction, and my altar faces north, too.

I sleep East and I must admit its a toss up between east and north for me, though I've never actually slept facing south or west that I can ever remember...