CHAPTER IX
HOUSEHOLD BELIEFS
If the keys of a careful housewife get rusty in spite of her care, it means that some one is saving money for her.
A hot cinder jumping out of the grate signifies the coming of good fortune.
If meat shrinks while being boiled in a pot, it is a bad sign, but if it swells, it means that prosperity is in store.
The first cake taken out of an oven should be broken, not cut; otherwise all the rest of the cakes baked that day will be soggy.
Do not sweep the dust out of the front door. It indicates that your good luck will be swept out with it.
If a leaf of soot hangs in the grate, it announces the coming of a guest.
If a rooster stands upon the threshold of your house and crows, a stranger may be expected.
If you neglect to close down the lid of your teapot, a guest will come and have tea with you.
If your tea-kettle sings, it is a sign of contentment in the home.
In sweeping, beware not to sweep the dirt over a girl’s feet, as it will prevent her from marrying that year.
If you wash your hands and face in a bowl of water that has been used by some one else, it foretells a quarrel with that other person.
Trousers made on Friday are unlucky and will soon tear.
To break up your bread into crumbs at the table is an omen of coming poverty.
To drop a coarse comb foretells a visit by a man,—a fine-tooth-comb means a visit from a woman.
To throw away a piece of bread is an indication of carelessness and brings bad luck.
LOOKING-GLASS OMENS
Mirrors have always been regarded as divine instruments and used as objects of divination, hence a certain amount of superstition attaches to them. It is wonderful, indeed, that by nature’s law of reflection, one can see the image of that which is outside of the glass, and it has been considered unlucky to destroy in any way that power to reflect.
To break a looking-glass is considered unlucky, and the person breaking one will have bad fortune for seven years.
If the looking-glass is willfully broken and thrown away, it has no effect upon one’s fortune.
In Catholic countries a person accidentally breaking a mirror, crosses himself and says: “May the Saints avert ill fortune.” The curse is thereby lifted.
In the days of ancient Greece, divination was performed by means of water and a looking-glass. This was called catoptromancy. The mirror was dipped into the water and a sick person was asked to look into the glass. If his image appeared distorted, he was likely to die; if clear, he would live.
Looking-glasses are often used by fortune tellers in a way similar to crystal globes. They can tell from the nature of the images they perceive what will be the future of the inquirer.
To break the glass over a friend’s portrait is a bad sign. It often betokens the death of the person who is the original of the picture.
It is considered ill luck to see your face in a mirror by candlelight.
SPILLING OF SALT
Salt has usually been considered in the light of a sacrificial element. Greeks and Romans mixed it with their cakes that were offered up on the altars of their deities. It was a necessary part of the sacrifice. Hence any accident to the salt on a table was considered unlucky.
Among pagans salt was regarded as having redemptive power and was used when doing any important business as a preventive of ill luck. It was thrown on the ground with an invocation that was supposed to ward off unfriendly spirits.
Among the Jews, it is still a mark of hospitality to break bread with a stranger, and the bread is first dipped into salt. “Sharing one’s salt with a stranger,” has become synonymous with hospitality.
Salt has been regarded as the symbol of friendship, therefore the overturning of a salt-cellar is looked upon as the breaking of friendship.
To spill salt at table is considered unlucky. To change the spell, however, it is only necessary to take a pinch of the salt and throw it over the left shoulder.
In Da Vinci’s picture of the Last Supper, Judas Iscariot is represented as overturning the salt. It is evident from this that the spilling of salt was considered a bad omen in the epoch when this picture was painted.
In some Eastern countries, the spilling of flour is viewed with the same feeling of awe as in the case of salt.
To put too much salt into the food when cooking, is supposed to be proof that the cook is in love.
KNIFE SUPERSTITIONS
It is considered unlucky to accept a knife from a friend without giving something in return. You therefore buy the knife and avert the “cutting of friendship.”
A penny is usually offered in exchange for a knife, but among some believers, a pin is all that is necessary.
To drop a knife on the floor, means the coming of a visitor.
Knife and fork should never be crossed at the table, as this would presage bad luck. They should be laid side by side.
To cross knives is to invite a cross or misfortune. The origin of this belief probably lay in the disinclination to make the sign of the cross sacrilegiously.
To leave a penknife open after you are through with it is a sign of danger and is unlucky.
To drop a knife accidentally so that the point penetrates into the ground and it stands upright is a sign of coming success.
To place an open knife near a sleeping child is considered a good omen.
CANDLE SUPERSTITIONS
Candles have always had a peculiarly religious character, and have from time immemorial been used in the service of churches and for sacred rites. Many queer superstitions attach to them.
In Catholic countries it is customary to bring candles to church in honor of one’s favorite saint or of the Madonna. The size of the candle and its decoration gave evidence of the donor’s religious enthusiasm.
Many of the saints had their own peculiar preferences as to the color of the candles.
A birthday cake should have as many candles on it as there are years in the person’s age. This will ensure another year of happiness.
When the wax of a candle forms a loop like a handle, it is called a “coffin handle,” and portends bad luck.
The dripping of tallow or wax down the side of a candle, is called a “shroud” and foretells death to the person towards whom it is directed.
A spark in the wick is called a “letter” and foretells the arrival of good news.
A knot in the wick, burning with a red glow, indicates the visit of a stranger.
A wick charred but remaining over the flame is a sign of good luck.
To kill a moth hovering about a candle is a harbinger of good luck.
CONCERNING LADDERS
To walk under a ladder when it is leaning against a wall, is a sign of bad luck.
To pass under a ladder that is hung horizontally does not influence your luck for good or evil.
To climb a ladder with an odd number of rungs is a good sign and leads to success.
To be on a ladder with a pretty girl is a good sign and foretells matrimony.
To fall from a ladder is an omen of ill luck and foretells a loss of money.