Stone Soup

Friday the thirteenth post for the Friday Five is superstitions. I have tried to post this three times before and lost it each time. I am beginning to get a little superstitious about it. Let's hope it sticks this time. No, I am on the 4^th try now…the problem is with Multiply.

Although it was denied, superstition ruled life when I was growing up. My mom shook her head at it and told us it was all nonsense, people who were superstitious didn't believe in God. She did her best to banish old family beliefs but we still saw her under the thumb of a few.

1. Do not open an umbrella indoors; worse still do not stand under an open umbrella indoors. It was supposed to bring you bad luck. But how else was one supposed to get the umbrella dry quickly? Maybe the belief had something to do with not being able to see the pointy thing at top and knocking valuables off a shelf with it?

2. Pearls mean tears. We weren't allowed to have pearls on anything, no pearl jewellery, buttons or hair clips. I love pearls now and my pearls have brought me only enjoyment. They sit so pretty on the neck.

3. Speak of a dreaded thing and it will happen. I think this goes back to ancient times when people were afraid of angry jealous gods and believed speaking of a dreaded thing gave them ammunition to punish with. I find that expressing my fears has always diminished them.

4. Never lay a hat on the bed. A hat on the bed can cause a death in the family and who would want to be responsible for that! I used to purposely throw my hat on the bed and nothing happened other than my grandmother shrieking and quickly removing it!

5. Finding a four leaf clover will bring you luck. My mom was delighted to find one while sitting in my grandmother's back yard one day and that set me to searching for my own luck all summer and some summers after that. Even now, if I am sitting near a clover patch I will browse for luck! I have come across them from time to time. My very first 4-leaf clover is pressed between the pages of my childhood bible. In light of the second paragraph in this post, that is an incongruity isn't it.

An afterthought: clover patches in a lawn mean it needs fertilizer, specifically potassium...the third number in fertilizer.

Have a lucky day!