Get Lucky: Good Luck Superstitions and Lore

Full Moon and Good Luck

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A " Jonah " is a long-established expression among sailors, meaning a person either a sailor or a passenger who is bad luck, which is based on the Biblical prophet Jonah. The comic character Jonah's name is a direct reference to the long established sailor's superstition. This concept is prominent in the film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Friday is considered to be an unlucky day in some cultures, and perhaps the most enduring sailing superstition is that it is unlucky to begin a voyage or 'set sail' on a Friday.

The Dies Infaustus , on which old seamen were desirous of not getting under weigh, as ill-omened. Dies Infaustus means "unlucky day". Sailors are often reluctant to set sail on Candlemas Day , believing that any voyage begun then will end in disaster. In 18th century New England, rolling clouds and roaring waves were thought as bad omens, so sailing on days under such conditions was considered inadvisable. Sirens were mythological, often dangerous and beautiful, creatures, portrayed as femmes fatales who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island.

In another myth, Hera , queen of the gods, persuaded the Sirens to enter a singing contest with the Muses , which the Sirens lost; [12] out of their anguish, writes Stephanus of Byzantium , the Sirens turned white and fell into the sea at Aptera "featherless" , where they formed the islands in the bay that were called Souda modern Lefkai. Another mythological creature, the Scylla , is a similar female sea demon that is both dangerous yet beautiful.

It is considered very unlucky to kill an albatross; in Coleridge's poem, the narrator killed the bird and his fellow sailors eventually force him to wear the dead bird around his neck. Having bananas on a ship, especially on a private boat or fishing yacht, is considered bad luck. Whistling is usually considered to be bad luck with the possible exception of the sources mentioned below. It is said that to whistle is to challenge the wind itself, and that to do so will bring about a storm.

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Another tale is that it has been considered bad luck ever since the mutiny aboard HMS Bounty ; Fletcher Christian is said to have used a whistle as the signal to begin the mutiny against Captain William Bligh. Sailors also had a culture of items or practices that were believed to bring good luck , or trinkets to ward off bad luck or the evil eye. While in many cultures , a black cat is considered unlucky, British and Irish sailors considered adopting a black " ship's cat " because it would bring good luck.

Evidence published in by a geneticist the University of Leuven shows that Egyptian cats spread their mitochondrial DNA through shipping lanes to medieval northern Europe. Some sailors believed that polydactyl cats were better at catching pests, possibly connected with the suggestion that extra digits give a polydactyl cat better balance, important when at sea.

Cats were believed to have miraculous powers that could protect ships from dangerous weather. Another popular belief was that cats could start storms through magic stored in their tails. If a ship's cat fell or was thrown overboard, it was thought that it would summon a terrible storm to sink the ship and that if the ship was able to survive, it would be cursed with nine years of bad luck.

Sailors' superstitions

Cormorants , in some Scandinavian areas, are considered a good omen; in particular, in Norwegian tradition spirits of those lost at sea come to visit their loved ones disguised as cormorants. Whistling on board a sailing ship is thought to encourage the wind strength to increase. On boats and ships where whistling was taboo, the cook was usually excused, because as long as he was whistling, he was not stealing the food. Traditionally, a type of kobold , called a Klabautermann , lives aboard ships and helps sailors and fishermen on the Baltic and North Sea in their duties.

He is a merry and diligent creature, with an expert understanding of most watercraft, and an irrepressible musical talent. He also rescues sailors washed overboard.

The name comes from the Low German verb klabastern meaning "rumble" or "make a noise". An etymology deriving the name from the verb kalfatern "to caulk" has also been suggested. However, despite the positive attributes, there is one omen associated with his presence: Saint Nicholas is probably the most famous; according to his hagiography , he calmed a storm by prayer. Saint Brendan the Navigator is also considered a patron saint of sailors and navigators, due to his mythical voyage to St. Saint Erasmus of Formiae , also known as Saint Elmo, may have become the patron of sailors because he is said to have continued preaching even after a thunderbolt struck the ground beside him.

This prompted sailors, who were in danger from sudden storms and lightning, to claim his prayers. The electrical discharges at the mastheads of ships were read as a sign of his protection and came to be called " Saint Elmo's Fire ". It is often considered lucky to touch the collar of a sailor's suit.

Mermaids usually are considered lucky, but not universally. In Trinidad and Tobago , sea-dwelling mer-men "were known to grant a wish, transform mediocrity into genius and confer wealth and power. Mermaids appear in British folklore as unlucky omens, both foretelling disaster and provoking it.

List of lucky symbols

In some versions, she tells them they will never see land again; in others, she claims they are near shore, which they are wise enough to know means the same thing. The story was adapted into a Disney film with a bowdlerized plot.

Good Luck Charms: A Few at a Glance

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Sections History Genealogy Irish America. Irish freedom began on this day in in historic election. Travel off-the-beaten-path in Irish animated movie shortlisted for a Oscar award. Irish Film Institute wins prestigious digital preservation award. In any case, the rabbit's foot is dried out and preserved, and commonly carried around by gamblers and other people who hope it will bring them luck. Rabbit's feet, either authentic or imitation, are frequently sold by curio shops and vending machines.

Often, these rabbit's feet have been dyed various colors, and they are often turned into key chains. Few of these rabbit's feet carry any warranty concerning their provenance, or any evidence that the preparers have made any effort to comply with the rituals required by the original tradition. Some may be manufactured from fake fur and latex "bones. Rabbit's feet became popular in America starting in the early twentieth century.

Sailors' superstitions - Wikipedia

As such, several theories regarding the evolution of lucky rabbit's feet have developed. One theory states that ancient Europeans were amazed that, in gait, the rabbit's hind feet touch the ground before its front feet, and thus ascribed the hind feet magical properties. Some of the early roots of the practice come from Britain.

It is known from Reginald Scot's records that people carried hare and rabbit feet to ease arthritic episodes.

Some scholars argue the rabbit's foot originates in the system of African-American folk magic known as hoodoo. The various rituals, though they differ widely one from another, share a common element of the uncanny, and the reverse of what is considered good-omened and auspicious. A rabbit is an animal into which shape-shifting witches such as seventeenth-century Isobel Gowdie claimed to be able to transform themselves. Witches were said to be active at the times of the full and new moon. Silver bullets , of course, are reputed to be effective against uncanny creatures such as werewolves , and often silver bullets were prescribed to kill any rabbit that would be used to create a lucky rabbit's foot.

These widely varying circumstances may share a common thread of suggestion that the true lucky rabbit's foot is actually cut from a shape-shifted witch. Indeed, some rituals require a rabbit to be shot in a graveyard at night in order for the foot to be effectively lucky. Hoodoo is a catchall phrase, originally used in a negative context by white slave traders and owners to describe traditional African folk practices.

Signs and Symbols of Good Luck

Hoodoo is not the same as voodoo, which is a Caribbean creole folk religion. Hoodoo was predominant in areas with large slave populations, as it was in Africa. In most cases, hoodoo is the modern practice of an ancient African magical tradition.

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