Warding off evil spirits

Do you refuse to walk under a ladder? Here's why!

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Many of our most enduring superstitions —such as refraining from stepping under a ladder or avoiding spilling salt— date back centuries. Many have to do with religion, while others we have borrowed from ancient cultures’ traditions. Yet, almost all of them have in common the need to prevent bad fortune or, on the contrary, to attract good luck. In this article, we have compiled 12 popular superstitions and their respective origins. You probably already follow many of them, but do you know the fascinating stories behind them?

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Did you know that many buildings don't have a 13th floor, and many hotels skip rooms ending in 13? This is a superstition deeply rooted in Western culture! The bad reputation of the number 13 is at odds with the lucky number 12, which represents wholeness: the number of months of the year, the gods of Olympus, the signs of the zodiac, etc.

The number 13, on the other hand, is associated with a legend from Norse mythology. Loki, a shape-shifter god, was the thirteenth to arrive at a party, where he tricked another guest into killing the god Baldur. Does this story sound familiar? For Christianity, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, Judas, was the thirteenth guest at the Last Supper.

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While felines were considered sacred animals in civilizations such as Ancient Egypt, in the Middle Ages, black cats began to be associated with witches.

During the time of the European Inquisition, many women were accused of practicing witchcraft, and their black feline companions suffered the same fate. The belief that black cats were the incarnation of witches and that crossing paths with one brought bad luck reached the United States at the time of the Salem witch trials.

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We are all afraid to walk under a ladder, but very few know the origin of this superstition that extends across several cultures. For Christianity, anything in the shape of a triangle symbolizes the Holy Trinity. If you walk under a triangle-shaped ladder, you would be profaning the sacred and invoking the devil.

In medieval times, in turn, the space below an open ladder was associated with the bottom of the gallows. Thus, it was believed that a person who made the mistake of walking under a ladder would face their own death by hanging in the near future.

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Some believe this superstition is ancient, dating back to the Egyptians, no less! As far as we know, in the Land of the Pharaohs, it was very common to use parasols to protect from the sun, but opening them indoors was considered an insult to the Sun God.

Another theory claims that our belief that opening an umbrella indoors brings bad luck originated in Victorian England. At the time, modern mechanical umbrellas began to become popular, and people considered it too dangerous to open them indoors. Pretty common sense, don't you think?

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The idea that rabbits bring good luck is probably rooted in Celtic folklore. They believed that since rabbits live underground, they have a direct line of communication with the gods.

In more recent times, the animal's reputation for fertility made rabbit amulets popular among women hoping to conceive. Most rabbit's foot amulets today are made of fake fur and plastic, yet the superstition is as alive as ever.

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There are at least two theories that explain why spilling salt brings bad luck. In ancient civilizations such as Sumerian, Egyptian, and Greek, salt was an extremely expensive and coveted commodity, so spilling it was a huge waste.

The other theory states that salt was considered a magical substance used to perform rituals. Spilling it meant the devil was invited in. Luckily, if you make the mistake of spilling some salt, there is a way to nullify the bad luck: just throw a pinch over your left shoulder to scare away the bad spirits!

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In most English-speaking countries, it is almost an unconscious reflex to bless someone when they sneeze. Some believe this custom has its origin in an ancient superstition: the soul is separated from the body when we sneeze.

However, the most accurate theory states that this tradition began in the sixth century A.D. when a deadly disease began to spread through Italy. Pope Gregory the Great instructed people to pray for the sick when they sneezed with a simple but, according to him, infallible plea, "God bless you!"

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According to this popular belief, breaking a mirror brings seven years of bad luck. But why seven and not six or eight? Believe it or not, there’s an explanation!

For one, in ancient times, the mirror was considered a literal reflection of the soul. This, added to the Roman myth that our body is "renewed" every seven years, fed the superstition that breaking a mirror means condemning your soul to seven years of bad luck.

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Horseshoes are a classic symbol of good luck. But do you know where the tradition comes from? It originated in a Christian story about a 10th-century saint. According to legend, Dunstan was a blacksmith who one day was asked by the deceiving Devil to shoe his horse. The clever Dunstan, however, saw through the disguise and nailed the shoe to the Devil's foot instead.

The blacksmith finally agreed to remove the painful nails only if the Devil promised never to enter a house with a horseshoe hanging on the doorway. Still today, it is customary to hang a horseshoe with seven nails over the door to protect houses, barns, and stables from evil spirits.

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In the rich tapestry of symbols created by humans throughout history, few are as universal as the four-leaf clover. This rare variant of the common clover has transcended its botanical virtues to become an emblem of good luck.

The tradition of the four-leaf clover dates back to antiquity. Druids, the high-ranking professional class in ancient Celtic cultures, considered them powerful amulets capable of warding off evil spirits and bringing good luck. The difficulty of finding one in the wild —an estimated 1 in 5,000— probably contributed to its mystique and value as an amulet.

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Knocking on wood to prevent disappointment is a very popular superstition in the United States. However, it has its origins in the ancient pagans who believed that spirits lived in trees. To invoke them and ask for protection, they would knock on the trunks. The ritual was also performed to thank them when something good happened.

Other cultures later adopted the tradition. Some Christians associated the gesture with the rite of touching a crucifix when taking an oath, while Jews connected it to knocking on the wooden doors of synagogues when seeking refuge during the Spanish Inquisition.

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The custom of predicting the weather through animals was adapted from German culture. In the ancient tradition of Candlemas, celebrated on February 2, members of the clergy distributed blessed candles that were used to determine how long the winter would last.

In the same way, Germans also kept track of the hibernation time of animals. They used to closely follow badgers, but when settlers came to the United States and chose Pennsylvania as their home, they found groundhogs to be a better option.

Common slip-ups

You're saying it wrong! These are the 10 most common grammar mistakes

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We all slip up from time to time, but it turns out that some errors are more common than others, especially when it comes to reading and writing. Of course, there is no "unique" way to use language, but even if we've spoken English since childhood, there are still common "mistakes" that native speakers tend to make. Read on to see if you make any of these too!

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Ever received a message that reads, "I love they're new house"? Homophones are words that sound the same (or very, very similar), and this is the case with "there," "their," and "they're," which is why many native speakers tend to confuse them.

However, these three words have quite different meanings and functions. "There" can be used with the verb to be, as in "There's a problem with your order," or as an adverb to indicate place: "I found the cat; it's there!" On the other hand, "their" functions as a possessive, indicating ownership, as in "I love their new house." Finally, "they're" is a contraction of "they are," as in "They're a lovely couple."

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You've probably written or read something like "I think your right about that" or "I'd love to meet you're parents." These usages are considered incorrect, but don't worry—you’re not alone! Like the words in the previous entry, "your" and "you're" are homophones, meaning they sound identical when spoken.

To understand them better, remember that "you're" is a contraction of "you are" (pronoun + verb), as in "You're the best friend I ever had." Meanwhile, "your" is a possessive adjective, which indicates that something belongs to "you."

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This case is different from the previous ones. The common confusion between "fewer" and "less" has nothing to do with pronunciation but rather with meaning, as both are quantifiers used for comparisons and indicate a smaller quantity.

The key is knowing which type of noun each word should be used with. "Fewer" is used with countable nouns (things you can count individually), as in "He made fewer mistakes this time." On the other hand, "less" is used with uncountable nouns (things you can't count individually, as they are considered a whole), such as in "You drank less water today than yesterday."

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Another case of commonly confused words is "affect" and "effect." In addition to their similar pronunciation, these two terms also have related meanings, making it even more challenging to distinguish between them.

"To affect" is a verb meaning "to cause a change" or "to influence." For example, you can say, "Cold weather affects my mood." On the other hand, "effect" is a noun that indicates the consequence of an action or change, as in "The storm had a devastating effect on the city." To simplify: "affect" is the action, while "effect" is the result.

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Many times, we tend to say things like, "The teacher gave an assignment to Lily and I." While that's quite common, it's actually a grammatical error.

We know it’s difficult to tell them apart: both are pronouns used to refer to oneself. However, each has a different function. "I" is used as the subject of the sentence (the one performing the action), as in "Sarah and I went to the store." "Me," on the other hand, is used as the object of the sentence (the one receiving the action), as in, "The doctor told Lucas and me to drink more water."

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Another pair of very, very similar words: lose and loose. The key to distinguishing them is understanding what kind of word each one is.

"Lose" is a verb, meaning it always indicates an action (and can be expressed in the past, present, or future tense). For example: "I don't want to lose my keys" or "Joan lost the remote control." On the other hand, "loose" is an adjective, meaning it describes the characteristics, state, or condition of something, as in "I prefer loose pants; tight ones make me uncomfortable."

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"I slept well last night" or "I slept good last night"? (Spoiler: it's the first one!) But why? While both "well" and "good" are used to describe something positively, they are different types of words.

"Well" is an adverb, meaning it describes the verb. In the sentence "She sings well," the adverb modifies the verb "sings." Meanwhile, "good" is an adjective, so it describes a noun, as in "She's a really good singer!"

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The confusion between "could have" and "could of" is so widespread that many of us sometimes don’t even notice it. This error usually occurs because of the way they sound when pronounced.

When said quickly in conversation, "could have" can sound like "could of." But there's only one correct form: "could have" ("could of" has no grammatical meaning). For example, "I could have done better on the test" is correct, while "I could of done better on the test" is not.

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Ok, homophones really can cause chaos, and this is the case with the words "lay" and "lie," which also have similar meanings. We must warn you: If you say, "I need to lay down," you're officially guilty!

While both words have to do with position, "lay" requires a direct object (something being placed), whereas "lie" does not. In other words, "lay" means to put something down (it needs an object), while "lie" means to recline or rest (no object needed).

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Finally, we have a word that has often been used incorrectly or exaggeratedly in recent times: "literally" — or just "lit" if you're really cool.

According to the dictionary, "literally" means something happened exactly as stated, without exaggeration. However, in modern slang, it's often used to emphasize or dramatize a situation. For example, you might hear someone say, "I literally died laughing." Of course, if they're saying it, then luckily, they didn't literally die!