Stevie Wonder will forever live in my heart as a track that come on while I was having a post lunch coffee with a friend, half way through a perfect day in November 2023. This track started to play in the background a few moments ago and got me wondering about superstitions in our life. I have to admit, I still will throw salt over my left shoulder sometimes, crazy I know, but some things remain in our memory, a bit like a perfect first meet…
Superstitions are the little quirks of human behaviour that refuse to die, no matter how advanced our technology or how many satellites we fling into space. They are like that one relative who always shows up uninvited and insists on telling you how mercury being in retrograde is the reason your Wi-Fi is slow. For centuries, humans have clung to these beliefs, weaving them into cultures and passing them down like family heirlooms nobody asked for.
The origins of superstitions are as varied as they are bizarre. Many began as practical advice wrapped up in mystical packaging. Take, for example, the idea that spilling salt brings bad luck. This dates back to when salt was so valuable it was practically currency. Waste it, and you risked more than just flavourless soup. To ward off misfortune, you throw a pinch over your left shoulder to blind the devil waiting there. Yes, apparently the devil lurks specifically on your left side, hoping to trip you up whenever you misjudge the angle of your salt cellar.
Science and psychology have, of course, tried to explain why we hang on to these odd traditions. Humans are pattern-seeking creatures. Our brains are wired to connect dots, even when there are no dots to connect. Psychologists call this phenomenon apophenia, which is a fancy way of saying we see shapes in clouds and believe a black cat crossing our path will ruin our day. Superstitions also give us a sense of control in an unpredictable world. Rubbing a lucky charm or avoiding cracks in the pavement can soothe anxiety, even if deep down we know it does absolutely nothing to alter the laws of the universe. It is essentially emotional comfort food.
In the UK, where tea solves almost everything, superstitions are particularly entrenched. Breaking a mirror is said to bring seven years of bad luck, which probably originated from ancient times when reflections were thought to hold pieces of your soul. Walking under a ladder is avoided, partly because it is genuinely dangerous, but also because it was once seen as disrupting the holy triangle formed by the ladder and wall. Black cats in Britain, interestingly, are seen as both good and bad omens, depending on whether you are a medieval witch or a twenty-first-century Instagrammer. Knocking on wood to ward off misfortune likely stems from pagan beliefs that spirits lived in trees, while saying “bless you” when someone sneezes comes from the idea that sneezing might accidentally eject your soul or meant that you had caught the plague…
Of course, magpies deserve their moment in this parade of peculiar beliefs. In the UK, spotting a lone magpie is considered a sign of sorrow, thanks to the old rhyme that begins, “One for sorrow, two for joy.” To ward off the bad luck of a single bird, many people still salute or say, “Good morning, Mr Magpie, how is your wife?” as if a polite greeting can convince fate to behave. It is charmingly absurd, yet countless walkers and drivers still do it without a second thought, proving how deeply these tiny rituals are woven into everyday life.
Horseshoes, often nailed above doorways for luck, go back to the Middle Ages when iron was believed to ward off evil spirits and the crescent shape was thought to trap them, leaving your home protected. As for four-leaf clovers, their rarity made them a symbol of good fortune in Celtic tradition, with each leaf said to represent faith, hope, love, and luck, turning a simple plant into a tiny talisman that still delights anyone lucky enough to find one.
Beyond British borders, superstitions take on wonderfully inventive forms. In Japan, the number four is considered unlucky because its pronunciation is similar to the word for death. In Turkey, chewing gum at night is thought to turn it into rotting flesh, a mental image guaranteed to make you spit it out immediately. Russians avoid whistling indoors to prevent financial ruin, while Italians fear the number seventeen because its Roman numeral form, XVII, can be rearranged to spell “I have lived”, which is ominously final. In the United States, Friday the 13th has become the ultimate unlucky day, despite the fact that for many it is just a good excuse to binge horror movies.
What is fascinating is how these beliefs endure, even when logic and evidence point the other way. People who would scoff at astrology still hesitate before walking under a ladder. Athletes are notorious for their rituals, wearing the same socks or eating the same breakfast before every match, just in case the universe notices. Pilots, surgeons, actors, and even politicians have their private lucky charms and routines. It is almost as if superstitions serve as a secret handshake with fate, a way of saying, “Look, I am doing my part, so please go easy on me.”
At the heart of it all lies a simple truth. Superstitions are less about the external world and more about our internal one. They are the stories we tell ourselves to feel safer, braver, or more hopeful. Whether you throw salt over your shoulder, avoid stepping on cracks, or whisper a quick blessing after a sneeze, you are participating in a ritual as old as humanity itself. It may not change the outcome, but it can change how you feel about it, and sometimes that is enough.
So next time a black cat crosses your path, give it a little nod. It might bring you luck, it might not, but at least you will have acknowledged one of the most enduring quirks of human nature. After all, as superstitions prove time and again, the line between magic and psychology is thinner than we think.
