h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Horseshoes: Apparently having it shaped like a U holds the luck in it like a bowl. Turning it upside down is bad as the luck will spill out. Terry Pratchett's "Lords and Ladies" also provides another possible reason for the use of the horseshoe, connected to iron, but I've no idea if this came from research or whether he made it up.

Saying "Bless you" after sneezing: It was believed that when a person sneezed their soul left their body temporarily. It was necessary to bless someone so that the devil didn't enter their body while the soul wasn't in it.

Walking under ladders: The triangle was once the symbol of Satan, so I hear. Any triangle, such a ladder placed against a wall, served as a portal into his domain.

I always understood that the triangle was the symbol of the Holy Trinity. By walking under the ladder you were breaking the Trinity, which would bring bad luck upon you.

The only other use I know of for iron, in a superstitious sense, is that people believed that fairies didn't like it and would avoid it. This would prevent them entering your house and leaving a changeling in place of your baby, or working mischief in other ways. What's Terry Pratchett's reason?

Another source of the horseshoe superstition relates to St. Dunstan. St. Dunstan was a blacksmith. One day Satan paid him a visit and asked to be shod. (I always thought the Devil had cloven hooves, but who knows!) St. Dunstan chained Satan to a wall and then set about his task with such vigour, and inflicted such pain on Satan, that Satan cried out for mercy and begged to be set free. As Satan fled he vowed that he would never again enter any place where a horseshoe was displayed.

As for the sneezing thing, I understood that people said 'Bless you' to stop the Devil stealing your soul before it returned to your body.

That's the trouble with superstitions. They're so old that nobody can really remember what they were about or why!

Pratchett's reason was exactly the same. The "Lords and Ladies" were feared by the vilagers, but it was common knowledge among them that the elves feared iron. He added some more literary licence about how it warped their senses and stuff, bt the theory was basically the same.

Re: "Bless you"

I've always thought that this was said as a sneeze was an early symptom of the Black Deah or similar, and you were thus doomed. "Bless you" seemed an appropriate thing to say under the circumstances

I've heard that about St. Dunstan and the Devil, in Northumberland its the story that the kids are told when they ask about the horseshoe over the door of the house.

I don't think that actual rabbits feet are lucky. The old country name for field clover is "rabbit's foot", and as clover is considered a lucky plant, that could be where people got it confused, to the unfortunate demise of all those poor bunnies!

I thought to get the cash out of a money spider you have to pick it up on a strand of cobweb and circle it round your head three times.
I also heard that putting shoes on the table means that you'll never marry.

You can break the bad luck of a single magpie by nodding and saying 'good morning/afternoon/evening Mr Magpie'.

I figure the walking under ladders thing stems from the ancient tradition of people working up them, so if one walks beneath, one is walking into a danger zone for falling objects, paint drips etc. The equivalent of a hard hat area on a building site.

Money spider - In most cultures spiders have traditionally brought good luck and conversely killing them brings bad luck. This is partly based on their abilitly to control disease through killing their main vectors, namely flies and other insects, but also their legendary connection with spinning (arachne, the generic name comes from the spinning lady of the greek legend). So when a spider (a money spider) runs across your clothes, it was beleived to have come to spin new ones. It is not a big jump of the imagination to go from new clothes to a present, and from a present to the arrival of a stranger bearing gifts or in the modern world . . . . money. Money spider is a term only recently bestowed upon the genus Linyphiidae, a group of spiders that includes far more species than any other genus.

1) Magpies: i grew up to knwo that blowing a kiss to a single magpie would counter the bad luck, though i have also heard things about saluting the and counting back wards from 10 or crossing your fingers till you see a dog

2)bless you: i was also once told you shouldn't say thank you when some one blesses you after sneezing as three ou's (attisuuu, bless you, thank you) in a row kills a fairy

Horseshoes: It's traditional to hang up two shoes, one cupped up and the other cupped down, interlinked. Both the good and the bad. Spiritual harmony and all that.
Mirrors: When a servant/butler/maid broke a mirror in Edwardian (or possibly Victorian) period houses, it took seven years for them to pay for the damage.

I've noticed its really easy to start new superstitions; they tend to spread, people pick them up. Walk under a ladder backwards for good luck. My personal favourite: "Drinking poison is bad luck."

Two superstions in my family one never give a present of a purse or handbag without a least a penny in it (otherwise you will allways be broke) the other is that Opals are bad luck any idea why?

I've always liked opals and have never thought them unlucky, although I was aware of the superstition about them. A quick web search brought up two possible reasons for opals being regarded as unlucky. One suggests that the 'superstition' was started by De Beers. Apparently, Queen Victoria loved opals, and they increased in popularity to the detriment of diamonds, hence the need for a 'smear campaign'. The other suggested reason is that opals crack easily, and it was considered bad luck to give a broken stone.

Of course, the irony of the last post number should not be lost - the number 13 being very superstitious in many cultures – I believe something to do with the number of disciples at the last supper – the last to arrive being Judas – who eventually betrayed Jesus. There are other theories about the number 13 though – but I cannot remember any now.

One I thought of - Never make a gift of a knife – If you receive a knife as a gift you must give the bearer a penny – or you “cut” the friendship.

The Norse myths include an 'unlucky 13' - the number of guests who were at a feast in honour of Baldur (I think), where Loki was the 13th guest and later caused Baldur's death. This may or may not predate Christianity, but could well have arisen separately.

My mother and mother-in-law apply the 'penny for a knife' to any gift that cuts (e.g., scissors or letter opener), but they usually ask for a silver coin as the blade is usually steel. They also insist that a purse or wallet is given with a coin inside so that the recipient will always have money.

Whoa, I'm doomed then. I work in a book store, and I walk under ladders about 12 times a day!

Mirrors:I always hears a broken one brought bad luck because they were expensive and hard to come by.This was a Roman superstition,who I've come to believe are responsible for a good many superstitions(or at least for keeping them going.).
Money stealers:does England have the equivelant of a money stealer?It's the seeds from cottonwood trees.They look like cottonballs floating around and if they land on you and stick,which they always do,your going to lose money.This generally happens around the same time after the elections are over and the politicians have forgotten their campagain promises.
Cracks:Step on a crack and you'll break your mothers back.

The 'step on a crack, break your mother's back' was a childhood 'game' we used to play. We never considered it a superstition, and certainly never believed it to be true. According to one source, the rhyme / superstition dates back to late 19th / early 20th century America and originally went "step on a crack, your mother will turn black". There were a lot of racists around then (still are, in some places, for that matter). Although the source describes this as a 'superstition', I stll regard it as a bit of nonsense that people (especially children) would say, but wouldn't really believe.

Oh, and we don't have 'money stealers'. The closest we have are dandelion seeds and, when I was a child, it was considered good luck to catch one (note that this does not mean having one land on you!). Again, it may just be a childhood thing rather than a superstion, as the habit of trying to catch them has died out as I've got older.

As for mirrors, glass mirrors were almost (but not completely) unknown before the 16th century. The reasons I've read for the bad luck have nothing to do with cost, but relate to health - your own or your soul's. Apparently, the Romans believed that life renewed itself every 7 years. By breaking a mirror you harmed your health, which would take 7 years to recover. Another explanation is that your reflection is a projection of your soul. If you break a mirror you harm your soul, which exacts a penalty of 7 years bad luck for your carelessness.

I remember it being something about blowing dandilion seed heads and making wishes (bit like birthday candle) and something about the number of times it took to blow all the seeds off.

hi there new to the site but wanted to offer these superstitions.My friend who is the most superstious person on the planet always said that if you broke a mirror and did not look at the shards your soul would be ok and you would not get 7 years bad luck.I also heard somewhere that if you broke a mirror and then broke another straight after it would cancel out the bad luck. Have to say I'm not brave enough to try that one! I was also told not to place a mirror opposite a window as this bounces the good luck out of the room.

I was also wondering about candles and insence as I was told these allows the stagnet are to move freely again and thus untrap the good energy. Anyone know about this? Does anyone know anygood superstitions about dragons, I absolutly love them but everyone else thinks they are just bad.