How Superstition Might Save Your Life
4 min readAug 1, 2020
The hidden wisdom in ancient traditions
We all have our little quirks.
Whether is touch wood, avoid 13, or the black cat, there are some irrational beliefs inside ourselves refusing to die.
We live in the rational, scientific era where what can’t be proved doesn’t exist, but deep down we don’t want to let go of our ancestral superstitions… just in case… you never know.
Where is all this coming from?
Superstitions have a distant and obscure origin but most are related to bad luck.
- 13 unlucky probably comes from the number of guests in the last supper
- Opening the umbrella indoors possibly comes from Victorian England — the metal spikes could be considered dangerous
- Tossing some salt over one’s shoulder was originated in Sumeria. Salt was a precious substance then, hence the term salary
- The ladder against the wall comes from ancient Egypt where a triangular shape was considered sacred and thus should not be trespassed
- The black cat comes also from Egypt, where it was considered good luck but then when exported to the west something got lost in translation
