Your Superstitions and Strange Beliefs - or how to ward off bad luck, wicked juju, and the evil eye

[PandaChai]

Should the thread be expanded to include signs & omens? Because I sinned last night and awoke to this, this morning:
Ver archivo adjunto 5267244

I have swept, and vacuumed, and crawled on my hands and knees with my nose to the ground looking for miniscule shards more times than I can count, and I am still stepping on pieces of glass from this incident, usually after having some very un-Christian thoughts. It's a very sharp reminder that He knows the hearts of men, to be sure.

On the other end of the spectrum, whenever a big dandelion puff (or whatever they are) blows into the window, I always catch it and make a wish before putting it back outside again; ostensibly so it and my wish can make it to the Fairy (or Faerie, if you're nasty) Queen.

 

[Aiōn]

When I lose an eyelash I make a wish before I blow it away, if it doesn't move I will usually adjust my wish and try again.

 

[Shidoen]

When I lose an eyelash I make a wish before I blow it away, if it doesn't move I will usually adjust my wish and try again.

On the eyelash thing I don’t know if it’s true or not but if all your eyelashes are gone I was told that your eyeballs will fall out of their sockets.

 

[Imp]

I refuse to make direct reference to beneficial things in my life because I fear the wrath of fate ? that would create the opposite effect. For instance I don't use anti insect medicine on my c a t s because they don't get f l e a s but I can't say it out loud. I used the f-word at the vet to refer to those creatures. Speaking of c a t s my old girl is 12 tomorrow!

 

[Aiōn]

I just found out that the director of The Exorcist, William Friedkin passed away on August 7th this year which is the day after I made and uploaded a The Exorcist themed Halloween poster for this site which I think is quite spooky,

A few years ago I woke up and randomly thought of Doris Day, I looked her up to find that she had died that day. Another time I put up a shitty DVD box set to sell on eBay and found out a week later that one of the cast members had committed suicide. I checked the listing and it was listed on the same day it had happened.

 

[Perfectly Innocent]

My most flawed belief of sorts is the typical “everything happens for a reason” themed nonsense, which I know is flawed because it can’t be ELI5’d back to a fundamental starting point without invoking mythological woo best confined to ancient religious textbooks or pre-scientific civilisations.

With all that said, I also refuse to believe our current human civilisations are NOT the most technologically advanced they have ever been, and I can’t quite explain that either…

 

[Matt Damon]

From now on, any time someone asks me why I have a low opinion of other people and their judgement/reasoning skills, I'm going to show them this thread.

 

[SpiceyHuman]

Most of my superstitions are related to weird stranger danger/OCD saftey precautions, but theres a few of the "typical" superstitions as well.

Whenever I approach my car, I try to glance under it to ensure that there are no evil stalker children waiting to slash my tendons and kidnap me.

Same sort of thing when approaching my front door. I have some tall hedges with a blind spot, so I walk at an angle from my driveway to make sure no one will leap out at me.

Cannot go to slep with any doors cracked open.

Must sleep on the side of the bed farthest from the door.

Make sure theres a gun I can safely access before I go to bed, with a large knife as a backup.

Check all the entrance door locks before I retire for bed.

Bullet proof panels in the diaper bag, whenever I go out with my kids,an addition vest is hidden in the car.

Now for the actual superstitions:

No Ouija boards. Wont even stay in the same house as someone who says they have one.

No sceances or ghost hunting trips. I've actually been invited to several and declined.

No night-time graveyard trips

Lots of opened Bibles, crucifixes, holy water, and rosaries throughout the house.

I keep a small "exorcism" kit in a container which containers an additional bible, a book of prayers, holy water, rosarie, crusifixes, laminated prayer/saint cards, prayer coins, and other saint iconography. Theres also a few other non Christian/Catholic items in there like navajo prayer beads, quartz crystals, silver trinkets, a dream catcher, evil eye pendant, sage smudge stick, salt, white chalk, prayer candles, etc

I cannot go to the kitchen at night for numnums unless I remembered to leave the hallway light on.

When hunting or fishing, "thank" the animal for it's meat and fur. try to give it as quick a death as possible as well.

The next one is kind of gross but i keep a few super cheap plastic ponchos, gloves, hand sanitizer, etc in my car, so that if I see a dead animal in the middle of the street, I can at least drag it off to the side of the road or the medium so it doesnt get smushed further. If it looks like it could be a pet, I note the location and will make a FB or NextDoor post announcing that someones pet is possibly there and apologize for their loss, so they at leasg wont continue to wonder where their lost pet is and retrieve the body.

 

[Otterly]

Must sleep on the side of the bed farthest from the door.

I am sure I have read somewhere that it’s a universal human preference to sleep with your head facing away from a door and as far as you can from the door as well.

 

[NoReturn]

When hunting or fishing, "thank" the animal for it's meat and fur. try to give it as quick a death as possible as well.

I am sure I have read somewhere that it’s a universal human preference to sleep with your head facing away from a door and as far as you can from the door as well.

This way if a lion gets me I get a quick death by neck-bite instead of it eating my face, you see.

 

[Shidoen]

I still believe Bigfoot exists, eating berries and slamming snakes against rocks.

 

[LonesomeDud]

I actively hid having sex with a girlfriend and now wife from secular friends because I thought they'd respect me less.

I know it's stupid.

 

[Day Walker]

I think this comes from the Bloody Merry urban legend getting stuck deep in my psyche. When I go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, I don’t look in the mirror. I know I’ll only see myself if I look but just in case I don’t, I don’t.

 

[Aiōn]

I am sure I have read somewhere that it’s a universal human preference to sleep with your head facing away from a door and as far as you can from the door as well.

Yeah it's bad Feng Shui to sleep directly by a door because you subconsciously feel less secure. Also with your feet directly facing the door (coffin position) or with your head facing in the same direction as a window or bathroom.

I planned my current home using Feng Shui before I moved in. I figured out the direction the building was facing and used my Kua number to find my lucky and unlucky directions and and then decorated and arranged everything accordingly.

 

[12345]

I try to swear a little less for the rest of the day if I see a Cardinal since seeing one means someone who has passed on is checking in on you, and it never felt right to swear around my grandparents.

 

[msd]

If I knock over salt, I have to throw it over my shoulder or I get bad luck

Being in nature and it being pure silent is very bad juju

Knocking on wood to prevent myself from being jinxed

 

[Walrus and Carpenter 2.0]

i wouldn't wear a dead man's ring or something like that. i don't even think its healthy keeping a lot of dead people's personal stuff . If i was dead , became a spirit and caught someone touching my sketchbooks and using my things i'd probably reeeee from the grave and curse them.

I actually own my great great uncle's ring (my great grandfather's younger brother) and he committed suicide while wearing it. It's a really cool ring, 14K gold, figural (shaped like a mountain lion), and has diamond chips for eyes. I would wear it but it is too small for my fingers. Uncle Eddie killed himself at my great grandparents' house and my great grandfather was convinced that he came back to haunt it.

A couple of things about Ouija boards, my aunt (my mom's younger sister) has always been terrified of Ouija boards so of course my mom hid the family Ouija board under her sister's bed for a couple of months and then made a big production of "mysteriously" finding it while her sister was present. Also, William Fuld, the original manufacturer of Ouija boards, died by falling from the roof of his factory in Baltimore while watching workmen install his new flagpole. Real "Final Destination" stuff.

 

[Aiōn]

My Grandmother died last year and a few days after she died, I sat down on my couch. I had a fan out because it was the tail end of summer (it was one that was bought at her recommendation) and it suddenly turned on. It's the kind that has a remote control.

I always try to remain grounded when I experience something that seems supernatural, so it could have been a power surge(?) but I do wonder if it was her.

 

[Stan]

It’s good luck to give a poor man alms on Halloween. It’s even better luck to give a poor man alms on New Year’s Day. If you give a poor man alms and he blesses you, accept the blessing.

I also toss the salt over the left shoulder if I spill some. It’s a pagan tradition but I do it anyway.

If you cross the midline of the church, bow to the focal cross or crucifix in the space. You’re not blundering through Walmart here, you’re in the house of god.

If you get smoke in your eyes, chant “rabbit, habit” until the stinging stops.

When hunting or fishing, "thank" the animal for it's meat and fur. try to give it as quick a death as possible as well.

The handful of times I have slaughtered my own poultry, I give them a speech where I sound more like a boss laying off an employee for budget reasons. “It’s not a you thing, but you’re a male, and we already have a drake, so we need to cut down these numbers before November so the whole flock can fit
in the duck house. I’m sure you’ll find an excellent position in your next life as a chicken.”

I think that if you’re too sinful for heaven and too mediocre for hell then you get reincarnated until you achieve one of those states; after which God hangs up your jersey number for keeps. After each life you live you have to give an accounting for what you did and why.

Cross yourself if an ambulance, police, or fire truck crosses your path with the sirens running. but for the grace of god that could be your emergency they are responding to.

It’s a bad idea to read your own Tarot cards more than once a season. Don’t query the deck multiple times for the same question. You’re insulting the oracle.

Don’t repeatedly query the Yi Ching if you don’t like it’s answer, either. The Yi Ching will start issuing troll responses if you do.

I’m told not to query the Yi Ching on any matter I could decide for myself. To wit, the Yi Ching will usually generate an equivocal answer if you do ask it inane questions like “what should I have for dinner”, “which color tulips would look nicest out front”, “why do I get so much junk Mail” etc.

 

[Drkinferno72]

Something bad will happen in March, the rest of the year is fine.