Superstitions,by AP Miller
Superstitions, are they really the old wives tales?
Hello Readers! I am one half of the husband and wife writing team of AP Miller. We write in many genres, and are published with nine publishers thus far. We live in the mostly sunny city of Las Vegas with our two dogs Brutus and Elliot who are constantly plotting for world domination.
I was asked here today to talk about superstitions and very excited to be here!
Most of us grew up believing if a black cat crossed our path it was seven years bad luck. If you broke a mirror it was bad luck.
Seeing an ambulance pass also sent bad luck your way.
And finally my favorite: Friday the Thirteenth. (love the film)
But, not all superstitions were deemed as bad. For instance if you held certain gems in your pockets or wore them on a chain around your neck they brought luck.
How did they come about? Well some say the old wives tales,and this is true to an extant. They did generate many years ago, but lets face it earlier generations had the need to believe much more then we do today weather it depended upon knowledge, reason or some type of experience.
There are many kinds of superstitions, for the most part people of other countries have their own beliefs that we may feel are outlandish, but because of their religious beliefs it’s a normal part of their lives.
Religion played a huge part in the majority of superstitions. The Catholics believe that if their infants were not baptized the devil would take their soul. As a Catholic I can vouch for that one. My mother drummed that in my head once I became pregnant. But then again the Catholic Church also believed superstition was a sin.
Believe it or not most of our own lifestyles were based on superstition, and the fact that whatever we were taught was the truth since nothing else proved those theories wrong. Many superstitions were said to have originated during the plagues that were sweeping through Europe. There are many agnostics who would see other religions as superstitions.
What about miracles? Are they superstitious? Some may think so. This would apply to an omen, would that also be a superstition? I say we believe in whatever we wish to help lead our lives as long as it works. Some of us carry amulets; others don our homes with statues and pictures, while the rest of us wear jewelry. As long as it makes us feel comfortable and we aren’t being criticized for our own beliefs there is nothing wrong with it. I for one have my own theory on superstitions but they have all worked for me.
To Happy Reading!
AP Miller
AP Miller is the best selling award winning husband and wife writing team. For more information about them and their books visit: www.apmiller.weebly.com
posted by Terry Kate at
11:39 AM
7 Comments:
I really enjoyed the post! Especially since I blogged on this same theme today over at Damsels at the Gate blogspot. It's a fascinating topic with a wide range of subject matter. My article covered the more bizarre aspects of superstitions, in regards to the Middle Ages. It was really interesting comparing the two.
Thank you Lisa! I just read your post...I found it to be very interesting!
You learn something new every day.
very true indeed
The problem with superstitions is that they always lack empirical basis. We hang onto our charms or avoid our curses because we associate them with events of patterns in our past. But the thing is, our mind will always seek to reinforce those patterns. we see anything good that happens as the effects of a good luck charm if we have one on us, and ignore the things that aren't so good unless it's really outlandish. In the end no clover, ritual, or what have you will alter your reality. But you can alter your perception of the events that do happen, and you don't even need to believe in luck to do that.
Good post. Superstition, a great topic because there are so many and of course the differences in each superstition when comparing different cultures/religions.
Very intriguing article. I will note that while tehcherrykitty has nailed what the problem is with superstitions, they are still quite prevalent not only in fields where they are famous (sports, theatre) but also in several fields that are quite firmly based in science, including aviation and computer operations. Computer geeks are surprisingly superstitious about how they interact with computers. I guess it's just a form of cultural OCD. For what it's worth, I have OCD and I'm using the analogy to call out the supposedly healthy people who claim to not have OCD on their hypocrisy. Either way, we all have our little rituals we do for our own reassurance. Great article.
Nice post. When I was pg, my mother told me if I raised my arms over head the cord would strangle the baby! My mother in law said that if a baby wore a mole's foot around it's neck, he/she wouldn't have teething pain! I'm always interested in where these types of superstitions and old wives tales come from!
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