THE HISTORY OF EVERYDAY SUPERSTITIONS.
Humans believe we’re rational, cerebral beings. That we rely on logic, science, and mathematics to interpret out life and the world around us…until we break a mirror. Or see a black cat in our paths. Or throw a penny in a well. But why do we do that? And where do these strange practices originate from?
Breaking mirrors- Mercury Poisoning and Narcissistic Romans.
How many people have broken a mirror in their lives? Playing baseball, out of anger- either way, the superstition is something that probably lingered in the back of your minds. The saying goes that if you break a mirror, you’re cursed to have bad luck for seven years. But why? Unsurprisingly, it’s the Greeks and Romans fault. People in Ancient Greece believed that reflections were a pathway to the soul. But the romans were the ones who actually manufactured the first mirrors out of polished bronze, and they believed their gods watched their souls through them. Damaging mirrors was illustrated as disrespectful to the gods, as if they didn’t want their soul to be seen, and therefore caused bad luck. There is also another popular theory, and that contains mercury poisoning! In the 1400s people made mirrors containing mercury, which as we know today, is HIGHLY TOXIC. When these mirrors would break the mercury vapours would come out, and it could poison whole families and lead to physical symptoms, such as hallucinations, trembling, neurological damage, comas, or even death. The seven years is roughly the time that it takes for severe mercury poisoning to start showing physically. The people in this period didn’t know that their mirrors were killing them, and instead blamed it on their bad luck.
Black Cats- Cute, Cuddly, and Carriers of the Bubonic Plague
Picture this- it’s 1348. The plague has killed your neighbours, family, and maybe even lovers. You’re venturing out of your boarded up house to get some groceries, and a black cat crosses your path. Nowadays this wouldn’t be an issue. You’d pet the cat and go on with your life, but back then? It was a death sentence. But why are they feared? Blame the fleas. Or more specifically, blame the plague that the fleas carried. As we know today, rats weren’t the cause of the bubonic plage, it was fleas that travelled in traders’ ships from Spain. Rats were just their bus. However, rats weren’t the only mammal in Europe that carried them. Cats and dogs were also plague-carriers. Black cats however were especially feared for numerous reasons, being that they were harder to spot, you couldn’t easily see flea movement or symptoms, and pest-infected animals were not a good idea to be around. Black cats still get a bad rep from something that happened years ago. There’s no need to fear them. Or is there…?
Wishing Wells- Throwing Coins in a Hole all Around the World
I know most people as a child threw money into a wishing well or fountain. Or maybe tried to steal from one. Either way, it’s an odd superstition that’s apparently been around for thousands of years. Let’s go back to ancient Europe, where the ancient druids were roaming about, doing whatever ancient druids do! They believed that sacred wells held the power to grant wishes and bring health and prosperity to them and their families. They would leave offerings of jewellery, coins and even weapons like swords or daggers. Whether there was any founding for this I’m not sure, but it wasn’t just them that believed water held a great power. Ancient romans threw coins into fountains as offerings to their gods, people in China throw coins into rivers as offerings to the river gods for protection and affluence, and even some native American tribes see springs as sacred and make offerings to honour and show respect to the water spirits. Apparently throwing hard-earned coins into bodies of water is an international thing!
Whistling Outside, at Night, or Indoors- When are we Even Allowed to?
“Whistle While You Work” is a famous song from Snow White, the first ever Disney film. I can imagine people whistled a lot more after watching that movie, however whistling is seen as bad luck in many countries. The only differences? When and where its bad. In turkey for example, whistling at night is deemed as calling out to the devil. Russia and other Slavic cultures, however, believe that whistling indoors believed to bring poverty. There is even a Russian proverb saying, "whistling money away." In the UK, there is a superstitious belief in the "Seven Whistlers" which are seven mysterious birds or spirits who call out to foretell death or a great calamity. There is even a famous case in the 1800s that hundreds of mine workers stopped working for day, saying that they heard a whistle and proceeded to refuse to work.
Whether you believe in any of these things or not, it’s interesting to learn about them because of the curious links and similarities between superstitions in different cultures. Who knows, maybe there’s some semblance of truth about them, or at least a reason why they are so firmly believed in in some cultures, but less so in others. Either way, avoid breaking mirrors please. And who knows, try your luck with a wishing well sometime soon!
