Charles Platt, page 13
After everybody else has failed—generally represented by the two elder brothers, but not always—
the forlorn hope sets out and faces difficulty after difficulty. Do such manly efforts ever fail? Of course not! The Princess need not be a woman—she merely represents the glorious ideal after which you have been striving, no matter what that ideal may be.
It is important to remember that from the earliest dawn, right up to the present generation, Man has aIways been the fighter, the food-winner, the conqueror of endless difficulties—while Woman has been that Godblessed creature, the bearer of children.
This one essential fact has dominated everything Man has touched! In Music, it is found in the riot of his emotions; in Art, it is the naked woman who forms his masterpiece! In Fairy Tales the Princess is the reward of those who faithfully toil at the daily tasks.
Besides the popular superstitions already discussed, there are many others that are interesting, besides vast numbers that are purely local and of no importance. As these do not fit into the groups I have given, I am including them under the general heading of “Oddments,” which they are indeed.
It was a prehistoric belief that green rings in the grass were made by Fairies while dancing-modern science has proved that this is actually correct, but the fairy in question is really a fungus that affects the growth.
A crooked pin was sincerely believed in as the best agent for dropping into Wishing Wells if you wanted a truthful result. It is impossible to suggest the slightest justification for such an idea, even if we accept Wishing Wells and the like as possessed of the powers of an oracle. Indeed it would seem that a crooked pin was a very valueless gift to offer—possibly it was not intended as a gift, but as a stimulus to the interest or curiosity of the sprite in charge. This is the only reason I can suggest.
Never burn egg-shells, or the hens will not lay! Naturally this old belief is no longer respected in this go-ahead century, for we do not keep hens ourselves, but buy all the eggs we require, so it does not really matter to us if the other person’s hens lay or not.
When eating, if you miss your mouth, it is a sign of an illiiess. This was probably medically correct in most cases! Conveying food to the mouth is not an act of the reasoning powers, but is purely and essentially what is called an “automatic” action. When these go wrong in any way, our nerves are overworked, and an illness is quite probable.
Naturally it applies to many other automatic actions as well, but this one was seen easily and therefore was noted in preference.
If you upset your chair when rising from it, you have been telling lies. This may easily be true in many cases, for it would be a proof of agitation.
The Sun always shines on Sunday—little or much! This is a very general belief, apparantly, and is not intended as a catch. For naturally the Sun is almost certain to shine somewhere, little or much, every day of the year. It is intended to apply locally, and is an interesting little bit of weather lore.
Everybody knows the old doggerel about the red sky at night!
“A red sky at night is the shepherd’s delight,
A red sky in the morning is meant as a warning”
or words to that effect, for it varies greatly.
Naturally most of our English weather conditions reach us from the ocean, that is from the West, for land and hills tend to break up cloud and wind formations. Now the sun sets in the West, and if the air is clear of moisture the light will be a rosy red. Hence we may expect a fine day to follow. This red light is reflected on the clouds in the East—that is, those that have already passed over us, and can affect us no more.
But in the morning, the sun has changed his position and the light now falls on the clouds to the West. These are coming towards us!
There is a natural tendency in our atmosphere to alternate between sunshine and shower—it is the varied duration of these alternating periods that makes what we call “weather.” Rainfall, if at all heavy, seldom lasts for more than a few hours continuously—it is the quick succession of several such periods that make up a wet day.
There is a widespread superstition that “Rain at seven, means fine at eleven,” and this is largely largely correct in practice.
A popular calendar superstition is that whatever happens to you on New Year Day shows the run of your luck for the following year. But, as I have said before, New Year has been shifted several times!
If there is anything at all in this, it would apply most correctly at the end of March—the old form, which is really the beginning of spring. Undoubtedly everything does alter about that period—our health, our hopefulness, our energy, all are affected by the change in Nature.
But equally clearly it would cover a period of several days, varying according to our sensitiveness.
There is a somewhat similar superstition that gives twelve days, one for each month, and it seems to me that a blending of the two would be ideal. Why not watch the first twelve days of spring, and see how they affect you and your prospects?
If the Sun goes to bed soon after rising, it foretells rain—going to bed clearly indicates being hidden by cloud.
In Bavaria, they say that profanity increases the number of Mice! Naughty Miss Mouse—she evidently enjoys bad language!
Nine hairs from the cross on the back of a she-donkey, when worn in a silken bag round the neck, will cure a sore throat. Probably a silken scarf would answer just as well—it is very warm and comforting in bad weather.
In Italy it is considered unlucky to sleep under a Walnut tree! I see no reason for this, unless the wood is brittle and therefore a branch might fall on you.
Ambitious maidens should secure Dandelion heads, when in seed—you blow on them as hard as you can, and see how many efforts are required to puff away all the fairy fluff made by the dandelion. Each puff signifies a year’s wait! If you are not in a hurry, well, you need not blow your hardest and best, of course.
A Rainbow in the West shows further rain—in the East, then you may expect fine weather.
Throw an orange pip on the fire, ladies—if it bursts, “He” is all right ; if it is burnt, look out for trouble.
This is a very safe and reliable test, as it only applies to men, so our wives and sweethearts need have no fear.
Fridays and Sundays are bad days on which to cut your hair or nails—or, of course, to allow any one to cut them for you. Friday was the ancient Sabbath, dedicated to the Goddess of Love. The idea behind these superstitions is that you are flouting the gifts of the gods. If cut during the waning Moon, they will not grow so fast.
This seems to offer a chance for cleanshaven men—if shaved during the waning Moon, the beard should not prove so vigorous. It would mean a thin time for barbers!
A weird superstition was firmly believed in some few years ago—and may be to-day, perhaps—that the mummy of the priestess Amenra, in the British Museum, could put a curse on those who stared at it in idle curiosity. Roses have been placed on the coffin lid by visitors anxious to placate the annoyed Dead—much to the annoyance of the officials.
As a matter of fact, the mummy itself is not there—only the dummy, or mummy cover. The trouble was started, so it is said, by the late W. T. Stead, in 1889—he held very advanced views upon the question of the Spirit World.
The laying of Foundation Stones is really an act of human sacrifice, but the living individual is replaced by the “ransom”—of coins and other articles—deposited in the hollow space, that would certainly have held a living human a few centuries ago.
Candles, too, have had many responsibilities thrust upon them. They should be lighted at birth, at a marriage, and at death—in order to keep off evil spirits. The waving of a candle flame indicated the presence of a spirit in the room, and it is generally asserted that a collar of tallow round the wick is a sign of the death of some one in the house.
Also if a candle refuses to light, it is considered a sign of a coming storm—this no doubt might be due to moisture in the air, a natural phenomenon of which humans are not so actively conscious, though it affects many animals and birds and plants, and therefore gives rise to much useful weather lore. The moon is supposed to affect the weather, and also to control the luck of those who see it; in many English rural districts to-day, the people bow or curtsy to the new moon.
A whistling woman and a crowing hen are two of the most unlucky things in the world for those who come across them. The usually accepted explanation of this superstition is that when the nails for our Lord’s Cross were being forged, a woman stood by and whistled.
No one should comb the hair at night, though there seems to be no objection to the use of the brush. But rough combs, naturally, would be in use hundreds of years before brushes, and possibly the scattered combings might act as scent for night prowling hungry beasts.
Nor should any one cut his or her own hair—curiously enough this does not signify ill luck to the individual, but he or she will prove an unlucky person to meet!
If your hair, when thrown on the fire, will not burn, it is a sign that you will live to be drowned.
Baking also came in for much superstitious ceremony—indeed one cannot easily imagine so important an event being free from these curious beliefs. If a little flour or meal is left on the table, after the last loaf or cake is ready, it must not be returned to the bin or meal chest, but should be knead-ed into a small additional cake and given to a child.
If bread, when being baked, should happen to break, a hungry stranger will come to share it. It is not good to count the loaves or cakes after a baking—they will not last.
In Berks, it is believed that fits can be cured by wearing a ring made from the metal of five silver six-pences, procured from as many different bachelors, who must not know for what purpose the coins are to be used. In the same district there is a firm belief in the efficacy of a string of blue beads, or a piece of uncooked bacon for the curing of colds or sore throats—they should be hung round the neck.
To remove warts, though in a somewhat selfish way, I am afraid, tie up some pebbles in a bag with a piece of silver money and throw it on the road; whoever finds the bag and keeps the money, to him the warts will go!
For a sore throat, tie a thread of scarlet worsted round the throat and also round each wrist—this is believed, in Ireland, to be very effective.
We still have our hair singed, in the fond delusion that burning makes it grow thicker and prevents the ends from splitting, though unfortunately no one can tell us why it should have this desirable result. Is it really a relic of the old Negro superstition that loose hair or the cut ends could be used in Witchcraft against us. They made a practice, therefore, of burning and thus destroying the hair while still on the head.
For a final example of superstition I will give the custom of the Chinese, who throw thousands of pieces of paper into the sea when friends sail—each piece containing a prayer.
Their faith, apparently is not great, but surely one prayer of the many must catch the eye of some kindly and beneficent god.
And then—all’s well!
Many women are interested in the proper gems for each month; the idea is that those born in the month should wear these gems, so as to ensure luck. Strictly speaking each month should be divided into three sections—the two middle weeks carry the strict luck symbols of the month, while the last week joins the first week of the next month as an in-between sort of temperament.
Thus people born between the eighth and twenty-fourth of January should carry the Garnet; those born between the twenty-fifth of January and the seventh of February can carry either or both the indicated gems—the Garnet and Amethyst. So it goes through the full year.
The details vary slightly in different parts of the world, but principally as concerns the flowers—the following list is generally accepted for Europe:—
Jan. : Garnet—Snowdrop ..Constancy
Feb. : Amethyst—Primrose ..Sincerity
Mar. : Bloodstone—Violet ..Courage
April : Diamond—Daisy ..Purity
May : Emerald—Hawthorn ..Hope
June : Moonstone or Agate—Wild Rose or Honeysuckle ..Health July : Ruby—Lily ..Passion
Aug. : Sardonyx—Poppy ..Conjugal Happiness
Sept. : Sapphire—Convolvulus ..Repentance
Oct. : Opal or Amber—Hops or Golden Rod ..Loveableness Nov. : Topaz—Chrysanthemum ..Cheerfulness
Dec. : Turquoise—Holly ..Unselfishness
Some superstitious readers may notice that this book contains thirteen chapters. Should this fateful, but not unlucky, number unsettle their nerves, there is a very easy method by which they can put things right.
Let them begin again at Chapter I!
THE END
Popular Superstitions, Charles Platt
