Superstitious Past

Superstition Past:  This is going to be the first part out of three where I dive into the realm which is superstition  and in this section I am going to explore the past history of superstition and see if it had a cultural relevance.

First of all let us see what superstition actually means:

“    An irrational belief that an object, action, or circumstance not logically related to a course of events influences its outcome.

        A belief, practice, or rite irrationally maintained by ignorance of the laws of nature or by faith in magic or chance.

        A fearful or abject state of mind resulting from such ignorance or irrationality.

        Idolatry.”

(Oxford English Dictionary. 1989). 

(http://www.answers.com/topic/superstition)

According to the website the origin of superstitions came around the 13^th century,

“Origin: 1350–1400; Middle English supersticious < Latin superstitiōsus, equivalent to superstiti(ō) superstition + -ōsus –ous”

(Random house dictionary. 2010)

(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/superstitious) 

So now that we have a small understanding off it we can move on.

Superstition has been around for hundreds of years, whether we choose to embrace it or ignore it, it still affects us in a way or another. People have been using superstition to try and explain things that they do not fully understand, for example ghosts, demonical beings, evil spirits that does not necessarily have to be human.

It does have a strong link with the supernatural but does not just delve into the supernatural world, but hangs on to that as a possible reason or answer for what question that may have been asked to explain something that does not have a scientific answer. The supernatural answers would have been very common in the past when science was not as advanced as it is today. 

People would have believed in this very easily as they did not have the knowledge we have today and they would have believed in superstition quite heavily.

Here are some old sayings that people might have believed in, watch out though as you might recognise some of these and you actually thought they were right, you might be in for a shock.

“If you blow out all the candles on your birthday cake with the first puff you will get your wish.”

(corsinet.  2009)

“If a candle lighted as part of a ceremony blows out, it is a sign that evil spirits are nearby.”

(corsinet.  2009)

(www.awesomemyspacecomments.com. unknown).

(badluckbunny . March 06, 2009)

 “If a black cat walks towards you, it brings good fortune, but if it walks away, it takes the good luck with it.”

(corsinet.  2009)

(Lani K . (unknown)

 “Keep cats away from babies because they "suck the breath" of the child.”

(corsinet.  2009)

(Twin Palms. (2009)

“A cat onboard a ship is considered to bring luck.”

(corsinet.  2009)

 

(Worth1000 . 22nd september 2011)

 “Its good luck to find a four-leaf clover.”

(corsinet.  2009)

I am sure you must have at least heard some of those that were listed, if not then don’t worry there are plenty more superstitions left to explore yet.

Then moving on to health, as there are superstitions on how to cure diseases as well or illnesses here are just a few:

“To cure a cough: take a hair from the coughing person's head, put it between two slices of buttered bread, feed it to a dog, and say, "Eat well you hound, may you be sick and I be sound."”

“The dried body of a frog worn in a silk bag around the neck averts epilepsy and other fits.”

“If you catch a falling leaf on the first day of autumn you will not catch a cold all winter.”

(corsinet.  2009)

(Beau. october 2009)

“Lettuce is believed to have magical and healing properties, including the power to arouse love and counteract the effects of wine.”

(corsinet.  2009)

(image.spreadshirt.com. unknown)

One saying really caught my attention as I do think this does have a cultural relevance, not with just English culture but with most cultures around the world.

“Cross my heart and hope to die, 

Cut my throat if I tell a lie.”

(corsinet.  2009)

Lying is a big issue when we are all kids, our parents tell us not to lie and tell the truth and obviously that saying above is a bit extreme, but holds value if you understand what it is meant to do.

(unknown. unknown)

Lying is something we all do, in any culture we get told not to lie and always speak the truth, nowadays telling a lie does not really count as a big deal especially in today’s society. Although, when in a court of law obviously not telling the truth will be taken extremely serious as it is a felony to lie or withhold information which could decide the fate of a fellow man. 

The word for lying in court is called “Perjury” and there was an incident where a man was accused of this in court.

Here is a small section of that article:

“Millionaire novelist Lord Archer has been jailed for four years after being found guilty of perjury and perverting the course of justice.

Co-defendant Ted Francis was found not guilty of perverting the course of justice by a jury at the Old Bailey on Thursday.”

(BBC News. Thursday, 19 July, 2001)

(BBC News. Thursday, 19 July, 2001)

Even though the quote was extreme were it said “cut my throat if I lie” it does have some good intentions behind it.

Here are some interesting superstitions from the book

“Encyclopedia of superstitions by E. and M.A. Radford”

E. and M.A. Radford and Christina Hole (1949. ). Encyclopedia of superstitions . New York: Philosophical Library

Magpies 

“One sorrow, two mirth,

Three a wedding, four a birth

Five heaven, six hell

Seven the De’ils ain sell.”

(E. and M.A. Radford and Christina Hole (1949. ). Encyclopedia of superstitions . New York: Philosophical Library. 225-37-59.)

This one is referring to the bird which is magpies, apparently depending on how many you see it means different things.

Blood

Olden day saying to stop bleeding:

 “In the blood of Adam death was taken,

In the blood of Christ it was all to-shaken,

And by the same blood I do thee charge,

That thou do run no longer at large,”

(E. and M.A. Radford and Christina Hole (1949. ). Encyclopedia of superstitions . New York: Philosophical Library. 225-37-59.)

This is apparently what people used to chant to stop bleeding.

Beds 

“If one day you would be wed,

 

Turn your bed from foot to head.”

(E. and M.A. Radford and Christina Hole (1949. ). Encyclopedia of superstitions . New York: Philosophical Library. 225-37-59.)

This quote suggests that this needs to be done if you want to get married someday.

Moving onto the more supernatural side of superstition, I am now going to talk about sixth sense and the nature of it when it comes to animals. First let’s try and understand what sixth sense means.

Well the proper term for sixth sense is:

“Extrasensory perception

Meaning: (Psychology) the supposed ability of certain individuals to obtain information about the environment without the use of normal sensory channels also called crypt aesthesia

Noun 1. Extrasensory perception - apparent power to perceive things that are not present to the senses”

(Collins English Dictionary 1991).

Basically as the word is long and a bit of a mouthful to say, people have shortened it to sixth sense which is much easier to say in my opinion. 

Now that we have a understanding of what (extrasensory perception) sixth sense is, we can now move on and see how that fits into the supernatural side of superstition.

There is an article of a suggested sixth sense involving a dog.

Here is a small section of the daily mail article:

“Animal instinct, pet owners swear by it. From cats sensing impending health problems like seizures, to dogs barking madly when unfamiliar footsteps appear on the garden path.

Even as far back as 373BC, it is recorded that animals, including rats, snakes and weasels, deserted the Greek city of Helice in droves just days before a quake devastated the place.  

(Daily Mail Reporter. 14th January 2010)

CCTV footage has emerged of a news station office in North Carolina seconds before an earthquake struck on January 9.

It shows a dog idly passing the time on the floor before, apparently without any duress, springing up and making a swift exit.

(Daily Mail Reporter. 14th January 2010)

Second’s later seats swing out of position, draws slip open and fixtures and fittings begin to wobble. Then, the shuddering really starts. 

While our K9 friend has escaped prior to the quake, people dash for the exits when the room begins to shake forcibly.”

(Daily Mail Reporter. 14th January 2010) 

After reading this article it somehow does show that dogs might have senses that we do not have, but there could be a million reasons why this occurred.

Maybe the dog sensed the early tremors that were too low for us to respond to before the earthquake struck and decided to trust his instincts and run for cover or safety.

Or maybe the dog heard something and decided to investigate what it was, people may argue saying it was only a few seconds before the earthquake so is that really a sixth sense thing.

Well no one has defined a minimum or maximum time length that needs to go by for it to be counted as a sixth sense or even a premonition. So the mystery continues whether this was just a coincidence or an actual sixth sense event, this is up to the individual to decide on.

 (Coren, S. 2009)

There is also a website that tells of a personal story about a sixth sense incident involving a dog, as it is just website whether this is fact or fiction we do not know we just have to take the authors word for it.

Here is a small section of the story:

“For the last few years of his life, Grandpa Bill languished from a terminal illness. When he wasn’t in the hospital, he stayed with us. It was during those stays that Bill became very close to an Irish setter adopted by my mother. 

During the final days of his life, Bill was back in the hospital. It was during that time that Rusty started acting strangely. She would pace back and forth in front of the bed in a spare room where Bill slept when he stayed at our home.  

A nurse checked on him around three in the morning and found he had passed on. Around the same time and without explanation, Rusty awakened everyone in our household. She began to howl uncontrollably. Less than an hour later, we received the sad news of Bill’s passing by phone.”

(Bill Knell. 2007)

So this story that has been told kind of indicates that maybe dogs have a supernatural sense, which can be connected to superstition as these kinds of things are extremely hard to explain.

 

(Lady Sybilla. 2011)

Once again it is left upon the reader to decide for them whether to accept or ignore this as actual fact. 

I am going to finish my points on the past of superstition on a musical note.

Stevie Wonder made a song that was called “Superstition”.

Here is some information about the title.

“Wonder debuted this hard blast of funk live while opening for the Rolling Stones in the summer of 1972, intent on expanding his audience.”

(Jann S. Wenner. 1972).

In the song he talks about common superstitions that people have. 

Here are some of the lyrics of this song:

“Very superstitious, writing's on the wall 

Very superstitious, ladders bout' to fall 

Thirteen month old baby, broke the lookin' glass 

Seven years of bad luck, the good things in your past

When you believe in things that you don't understand 

Then you suffer 

Superstition ain't the way”

(unknown. unknown)

Conclusion:

From what I have researched I think that superstition in the past seems to be popular with the public in one way or the other, musically Stevie Wonder brought this into the light nicely, talking about superstitions which I am sure the people at that time were intrigued by the idea of superstitions. 

Stories that people have told of their own experience encountering the supernatural like the one about the dog being restless for days before the owner died, this is sure to have caused interest between people about the supernatural and superstitious side of things. Making them question that maybe there could be something there that the dog sensed that his loved ones could not.

All in all I conclude that superstition in the past had some form of popularity and also cultural relevance between the people and those affected.