Beliefs, omens and superstitions
Luck and unluck, the evil eye, knocking on wood and the small customs people keep without asking why.
Beliefs, omens and superstitions are the small customs people keep without asking why: knocking on wood, salt over the shoulder, avoiding the number thirteen, the evil eye, a black cat crossing the road, a first visitor of the new year. They are found on every continent and are rarely tied to a priest or book. This page looks at where they come from, what the word superstition hides, and why they persist.
What they look like
Beliefs differ by place. The number four is avoided in China, Japan and Korea because it sounds like the word for death, while thirteen is avoided in much of the West. In India, a sneeze before leaving home may delay a journey, and a lemon and chillies are hung over a shop. The evil eye is feared under many names: nazar, mal de ojo, ayin hara. First-footing at new year in Scotland is said to bring luck to a house.
Whose word is superstition
The word superstition has a history. Roman writers used it for religion they disliked, and Christian writers for forbidden practice. Today it often means someone else's belief. Many religions regard some of their own customs as faith and others as superstition, and where the line falls depends on the speaker. Using the word can mark a speaker as modern and a neighbour as backward. Tests of common superstitions show that people who hold them are not less educated or less rational than others, and many hold them lightly.
Why people keep them
Psychologists find that superstition rises with uncertainty and stakes, which is why athletes, sailors, students and gamblers are known for them. Anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski observed in the 1920s that Trobriand fishermen used rites in dangerous deep-sea fishing and not in safe lagoon fishing. Most people who follow small customs say they do so partly in jest and partly just in case. Similar customs turn up in places that have never met each other, which suggests that people everywhere respond to risk in similar ways.
When belief causes harm
Most superstitions are harmless. Some are not: beliefs about witchcraft have led to killings in parts of Africa, India and Papua New Guinea, and beliefs about albinism have led to attacks in Tanzania and Malawi. Others cost people money, as when a fee is demanded to lift a bad omen. Education, law and trusted community leaders have all been part of reducing harm. Campaigns by health workers, teachers and community radio have been effective where they listen first and explain later.
Belief on EveryJaadu
The entries written up so far, best known first.
馃嚜馃嚞 EgyptCurse
A spoken wish for misfortune to befall a person or placeBelief 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚜馃嚞 EgyptAncient Egyptian afterlife beliefs
A system of rituals and texts guiding the soul through the underworld to eternal rebirthTradition 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
馃嚜馃嚞 EgyptLucifer
A Latin name for the planet Venus that became an epithet for the Devil in Christian traditionFigure 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚜馃嚞 EgyptHeka岣隃
The ancient Egyptian deification of magic, medicine, and primordial creative powerBeing 路 Healing 路 Protection Historical
馃嚜馃嚞 EgyptDjed岣廳
An ancient Egyptian pillar symbol representing stability and resurrectionCharm 路 Protection 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚜馃嚞 EgyptCurse of the pharaohs
A belief that disturbing ancient Egyptian tombs brings illness or death to the living.Belief 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt and 1 moreAncient Egyptian religion
Polytheistic worship, divine kingship, and funerary rites along the NileTradition 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt and 1 moreUraeusj隃t
An ancient Egyptian rearing cobra emblem of royal power and divine protectionCharm 路 Protection 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚥馃嚘 Morocco and 1 moreZuhri夭賵賴乇賷
A human-djinn hybrid child in North African folklore, sought for treasure ritualsBeing 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Cursing and harm Fading
馃嚛馃嚳 AlgeriaTassili Mushroom Figure
Neolithic cave art in Algeria interpreted by some as depicting psychedelic mushroom use.Belief 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Wonder and entertainment Historical
馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt and 1 moreCurse of Ham
A biblical story used to justify slavery and racial discriminationBelief 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚜馃嚞 EgyptEgyptian days
Medieval calendar days believed to bring bad luck for new ventures and medical proceduresBelief 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Curse of the pharaohs: Jerzy Strzelecki, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Curse: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
- Ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs: Hunefer, Public domain, source
- Lucifer: Gustave Dor茅, Public domain, source
- Djed: Anonymous ( Egypt ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Uraeus: Bj酶rn Christian T酶rrissen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tassili Mushroom Figure: I redrawn the rock art written by ancient people., Public domain, source
- Curse of Ham: 袣褋械薪芯褎芯薪褌芯胁 袠胁邪薪 小褌械锌邪薪芯胁懈褔. Ksenof贸ntov Iv谩n Step谩novich (1817-1875), Public domain, source
- Egyptian days: Unknown Unknown (Paris scriptorium), Public domain, source
- Ancient Egyptian religion: Moh hakem, CC BY-SA 4.0, source