My Mother Always had Some Strange Superstitions…

You never passed the salt without putting it down on the table first. If you dropped the tea towel accidentally, it meant we would have a strange visitor. If you could hook something on the moon, it meant bad weather was coming. And you never pass someone on the stairs.

Was this insanity or was there truth to these bizarre attempts to avoid bad luck? And where did such superstitions come from, anyway?

Salarium Argentum…

Salt. So, we sprinkle it on French fries what’s so special about it?

Well, salt has been one of the world’s major commodities for a very long time. The Romans even paid their workers with the mineral — Salarium Argentum. It’s where we get the word salary. You wouldn’t think it would come up much, but in the bible alone there are over 30 references to salt.

Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

- Colossians 4:6

In Christianity, salt represented anything from loyalty to purification. It’s understandable that such a seasoning signified some serious sentiment (that’s what we call alliteration!).

However, there was more to it than that. The belief is that an angel sat on the right shoulder of any person — guiding them in the direction of wholesomeness. On the left shoulder sat the devil — goading sweet wickedness into the ears of unsuspecting individuals (think Kronk from The Emperor’s New Groove).

When someone spilled salt — a sin due to how important and pricey it was — a smidge of it thrown over the left shoulder would blind the devil.

Seven Years Bad Luck…

Many of us have been there — we buy a new mirror and begin hanging it on the wall only for someone to poke their head around the corner (almost making you drop it in the process…) and say, “Don’t drop that! You’ll have seven years of bad luck!”.

You roll your eyes. What nonsense! If you drop the mirror, what you’ll have is hundreds of little mirrors…

To the ancient Romans, a mirror was an uncanny reflection of one’s self — a perfect imitation of the soul gazing back. In this way, it’s easy to understand that a crack or break in the mirror would represent the individual’s imminent demise.

To the Romans, illness or ill fate had an expiration date of, you guessed it, seven years! However, all was not hopeless. To break the strange seven-year curse, simply bury the broken mirror on the night of a full moon.

Son of Greek God Cephisus and the Nymph Liriope, Narcissus — honoured for his beauty — died wasting away in front of his own reflection (talk about needing a hobby). It is possible that the Roman belief of mirrors holding bad luck stemmed from this mythos.

But the universe handed Narcissus a bad reputation. As the myth goes, a seer told his mother that Narcissus would live a good long life if he never recognized himself. After rejecting Echo and Ameinias’ advances, both known for their beauty, the Gods were furious. For this, Narcissus fell in love with his own reflection and died before it — sprouting daffodils that bear his name upon his death bed. But there are some who believe this wasn’t the case at all. Instead, Narcissus mourned the loss of his twin sister — the exact mirrored image of himself — and sat gazing at his reflection to see her image once more until he died.

The Flip Side…

Let’s end on a high note — not all superstitions are based on bad luck. In ancient times, metals were precious assets to society and civilization. Metals like copper, bronze and gold were valuable gifts from the gods and therefore held for good luck.

A coin also represents two sides — good and evil. If you’re lucky enough to find a coin head side up, it means good luck (tails up, not so much…But we won’t talk about that).

So, I leave you, dear reader, with the hopes of good fortune and prosperity. Whether you believe in the old wives’ tales, as my mother does, or not, I hope luck finds you on your travels.

Thanks for reading!

Enjoyed this piece? Check out the other Mythology Abroad blogs! They may just bring back your faith in the old Gods!

Tori Edwards

Tori is a professional writing student from Newfoundland, Canada. When not writing or drawing you might find her listening to rock and roll or summoning the stray cats from the neighborhood like a witch.