Do you avoid walking under ladders? If so, you’re not alone. Apart from a possible practical danger of something falling from above, many people also believe this action in itself is unlucky.
Actually, that superstition is believed to date back some 5,000 years and has been linked to ancient Egypt. It’s said that the Egyptian avoidance is related to the shape a ladder makes when it leans against a wall – a triangle. That shape was regarded as sacred and linked to the gods and the ancient Egyptians believed that passing through a triangle would show the deities disrespect.
Later on, ladders were linked to Jesus Christ’s death. The placement of a ladder against the crucifix made it a symbol of betrayal, wickedness, misfortune, and death.
Finally, criminals were forced to walk under ladders when they were on the way to the gallows in England during the 1600s.
But this is just one of many popular superstitions…
Are you superstitious? What is a popular superstition where you live? If you know the superstition’s origin story, please share that too!
Hi All,
Nope I've never had issues with ladders, chain letters which are pointless too me and haven't had a need to carry a rabbit's Foot obviously A Rabbits Foot isn't lucky when one considers what happened to the poor Rabbit for someone to obtain that Foot to begin with.
The only Superstitious I've ever listened too is the song by Stevie Wonder one of my favorite artist's along with the Drifter's. I did think the Drifter's song first sung by Ben E. King Stand by Me was about Superstition but, it was all about Death.
That's my thought's on Superstition. Although, if I consider something else regarding this topic of Superstition I'll share it.
When I was very very young, I was so traumatized by the silly rhyme “step on a crack, break your mother’s back” that I would never step on a sidewalk crack. Even as an old lady, I still catch myself avoiding the cracks. I also always pick up pennies, despite knowing it does not bring me luck. But it is free money!
Latvians take very seriously that a yellow cat brings good luck perhaps to offset the opposing effect of black cats. They won’t shake hands across a threshold and they throw salt overr their shoulder for good luck. I do hold a superstition, much like the Latvians I know, that an odd number of plants (flower blooms especially) is good luck and an even number brings bad luck. I picked this up from the Latvians duruing frequent churh / missionary interactions but, in fact I simply use odd numbers for the design appeal; it simply looks better AND you can always divide a larger number into odd groupings of plants. Not so with even numbers. Latvians are genuinely concerned when you meet them at the airport and the traditional flowers gifted for an arrival greetng are even in number. Probably more for tradition/style than superstition, I don’t wear white before Easter nor black (except for funerals) until Labor Day. . Humourous superstition from my childhood is that if my nose itches “someone’s coming with a hole in their britches.” Similarly if my hand itches I will soon come across a monetary windfall. My wife’s English version is that right hand itching is money in while left hand is money out.. Wedding superstitions include the bride carrying something old, new, borrowed, and blue, throwing rice exiting the church and carry the bride over the threshold all good luck and fertility. I’m in a technical field an almost all of my peers, when someone is bragging about a technical success, will knock on wood to dispel the jinx brought on by the braggong. I’ve seen bright science-minded people grow agoitated by someone bragging about a problem solved because of the jinx risk that bragging, or even a simple statement, brings.
Love Learning the Previously Unknown
TheMrTTT
The real superstition is the one who puts the man to the center of the cosmos, what are the so-called abramic religions, while in reality man together with all living forms is part of the cosmos, on how much man can affect cosmic sense It is up to every single person to discover it, the ancients before the advent of Christianity have experienced the journey to true knowledge, and is to what is important to refer and not to its surviving memories.
Help me understand how self-centerednes is a definition of superstition. I’m not making the connection.
Love Learning the Previously Unknown
TheMrTTT
Rupert Sheldrake posits that the ancients saw a spiritual connectioon across all things in the universe: living and non-living. What I know about the Abrahamic belief systems aligns well with this view. of “God in everything.” https://youtu.be/1TerTgDEgUE
Love Learning the Previously Unknown
TheMrTTT
I have 2 black cats … don’t believe they’re bad luck (except the one who tries to trip me!). They have also been known as being GOOD luck. I also have a Ginger cat and she is supposed to be GOOD luck. I don’t know about that, but she’s very sweet. I’ve been known to “knock wood”, not because it’ll do anything, just from forcde of habit … and always done with a laugh. Not walking under ladders I just think is common sense. Broken mirrors hold no fear for me. The ONLY thing that makes me nervous is a Ouija board … wouldn’t have one in the house or want to be with ten feet of one!! Why? Maybe just irrational fear, but I’ve “heard” too many scary/creepy thing about them! :-)
Lynnecat
I do because my nana is a asian, she has alot of supersitious that passed on us.