#MondayMusings – #HappyLaborDay – #GoodLuck/BadLuck

/ Marcia

Happy Labor Day to all my friends here in the U.S. Hope you have a fun day planned with family and friends! Me, I’m celebrating by starting a new series for the blog. As you can tell from the header, Monday Musings is the title, and it will cover whatever I’m thinking about or wondering at the time. From fun stuff to more serious chats, I’m going to post questions or observations that I hope will generate interesting conversations here on TWS. Obviously, I plan to do this on Mondays, but not necessarily every Monday. Just when I think of a topic I’d like to explore. 

Today, I’m going to toss out a totally non-serious question I think could be fun: do you have certain things you consider to be either good luck or bad? Are you at all superstitious? Inquiring minds wanna know. 😁

For myself, there are several things I’ve held to be lucky for me all my life. I think I learned them from my grandmother, but regardless of where they come from, there are a couple of things I do without even thinking. I don’t go into a blind panic about any of them, or run around screaming, “Bad luck, bad luck! We’re all gonna die!!” Nothing like that. But … I still do or say them to this day.

First, if I spill salt, I always throw a pinch over my left shoulder. This is a very old superstition dealing with the idea that the devil is always behind you on the left, watching for a chance to lead you astray. And salt has a long history of being  expensive and often difficult to obtain. Hence, spilling ANY was not a happy event, and thought to be bad luck. Tossing it over your shoulder into the devil’s eyes was how you protected yourself from him causing you serious problems. No, I don’t believe the devil is really standing behind me, nor that a bit of salt in his eyes would stop him from causing whatever deviltry he had in mind that day. But it’s something I’ve always done without even thinking about it, and it makes my husband laugh every time he sees me do it.

Another thing I automatically do is smile like crazy when I’m cooking eggs, and one of them turns out to be a double-yolker. Somewhere along the way decades ago, I read that double-yolked eggs are widely considered good luck, so when one ends up in my frying pan, I look forward to a great day.

Now it’s your turn. What things do you consider good luck or bad luck, and do you have any “ritual” you do when one of them occurs?  Or are you totally unsuperstitious altogether? Again, inquiring minds wanna know! 

62 thoughts on “#MondayMusings – #HappyLaborDay – #GoodLuck/BadLuck”

  1. I do the salt over the shoulder trick! I’m also very careful with mirrors, and don’t go out of my way to walk under ladders either- but that’s from a practical view as well and I don’t fret if there’s no choice in the matter.
    Friday 13th is usually a lucky day for me and so I look forward to them.
    I enjoyed this one, Marcia! Already wondering what the next will bring… 😀 ❤ 😀

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Interesting, Trish. I’m with you about ladders. Walking under them just isn’t smart, unless you don’t worry about a can of paint possibly falling on your head. 😁 Mirrors don’t bother me, and I can’t say that Friday the 13th has ever been especially unlucky either. But my hand just automatically shoots out to pinch a bit of salt and tosses it over my left shoulder. I don’t even think about it, I’m so used to doing it. Aren’t we funny creatures?

      Thanks for stopping by today! 😀 ❤

      Like

      Reply

    • I don’t really know, Craig, but personally, I think the sight of a bald eagle is lucky just because … BALD EAGLE! Beautiful. Majestic. Fantastic to watch on the wing or perched on a branch. I hope you see a ton more of them, and that they really do bring you luck, no matter why. I haven’t seen one in the last two years. (But then, I’ve barely been out of the house, and they almost never show up in my living room.)
      😂😂😂

      Thanks for sharing, Craig! 😀 🦅

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  3. I’m a scientist, so not a great believer in luck or coincidence, however, I would be delighted with a double yolker, a four-leaved clover, and always throw a bit of salt over my shoulder for no other reason than it’s fun!
    The science bit is that studies show that if you believe you are lucky, you will be, because you tend to note and add weight to the fortunate things that happen to you. Likewise, if you believe you’re unlucky, you dwell on misfortune.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • I can certainly agree that both of these attitudes will impact your day in MANY ways, some of which will definitely seem to be good or bad luck. But if doing them puts me in the frame of mind to recognize good luck when it happens, I’m still all for it! 😁

      Thanks for weighing in, Jackie. Your comments make perfect sense, even for those of us who mostly admire science when it focuses on wildlife. 😁🐻🐺🦝🦊

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  4. I’m not superstitious at all, but will avoid walking under a ladder. Mainly, because I don’t want it to fall on me. 🙂 I think black cats are amazingly beautiful creatures and so misunderstood. I do have what I consider a lucky number. Number 4 is it for me. Fun post, Marcia!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Thanks, Jan! And I’m with you on black cats. We have one in our group of four right now, though he’s a tuxedo cat, rather than solid black. But we’ve had those, too. So many, in fact, that if they really were bad luck, we’d have been DOOMED by now! 😁And I agree with you on the ladder, for the same reasons. It could cause pain, and I usually try to avoid anything that might do that. 😉 I’ve never had a lucky number, though. Or if I did, I didn’t realize it.

      Thanks for sharing today, and here’s to a great one! 😊

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  6. I don’t really hold to superstitions. When I had my black cat, Shadow, when Friday the 13th would roll around and people would ask me if I was superstitious, I’d say “If I was, I wouldn’t have Shadow”. But on occasion, I do find myself doing something like tossing a pinch of salt over my shoulder if I spill some or knocking on wood. I think it’s more of a “just in case” reaction than actual belief.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • I think that’s probably true of many of us, Jeanne. For me, the salt thing is just a reflex action, and I also knock on wood. (I’ll be MANY who say they aren’t superstitious do that without even thinking about it.) As I mentioned to Jan above, we’ve had many black cats over the years, and one of our current four is a mostly black tuxedo cat named Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. Harry is 11 now and one of the sweetest cats we’ve ever had.

      Thanks for sharing today, Jeanne. I’m enjoying hearing from everyone! Next Musings will probably be of a more serious nature, though you can expect the topics to be extremely varied, depending on what’s on my mind that day. Always glad to see you here! 😀 ❤

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  7. I love labour day because it often falls on my son’s birthday. Yes, I was in labour on labour day!! I avoid walking under ladders but I love black cats and have owned 3 of them over the years. Currently I have two dogs and one of them is frightened of ladders so there must be something to it!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • How lovely that Labor Day has an extra meaning for you! Hope your son’s birthday is/was/will be fun! I love black cats, too. (Okay, I love pretty much ALL cats, but all the black ones we’ve had over the years have been especially affectionate, it seems.) Thanks for stopping by, and keep on avoiding those ladders. It’s safer that way, purely from a practical standpoint. 😀 ❤

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  8. This sounds like a fun Monday feature, Marcia. I don’t consider myself very superstitious, but I do notice that bad things happen in threes for me. When I’m driving and have a near miss with a logging truck and then someone stops suddenly in front of me, I know KNOW that there’s going to be a 3rd, and I drive very carefully. I can’t tell you how many times that happens. It’s weird!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Oh, yeah. I forgot about things in threes. I think that’s something a lot of people are aware of, even if they aren’t particularly superstitious. Hopefully, the “miss” part of near miss will be the thing that repeats two more times. There’s an old saying down here “A miss is as good as a mile.” (It sounds like something’s been left out, but that’s actually it.) And it just means if something bad misses you, it doesn’t matter by how much. It’s the MISS that counts. 😀 ❤

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  11. I’m not superstitious at all. The way my mind works is, if anything, I might be more likely to try and prove these things as fiction rather than to give them merit. (not that I’ve purposely walked under any ladders lately.😊) As another blogger mentioned before, I come from a scientific perspective. Of course, there are things that science can’t explain, but I don’t look at these as matters of superstition.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  13. Great new feature Marcia.. I was born on Friday 13th and that has usually been lucky for me but not necessarily for the people around me lol… funnily enough when we went to live in Spain I discovered it is Tuesday 13th there which has the bad reputation. I do believe coinciences that bring people or experiences to you are often classified as good luck… those who bring bad luck always came with valuable lessons… ♥♥

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  14. I avoid going under ladders, for both superstitious and practical reasons. But I too have always found that Friday the 13th is a lucky day for me. I think that’s partly because I go into it with a positive attitude.
    Fun question, Marcia!
    (I thought I had the problem solved re: WP not letting me “like” things, but alas, not.)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • I’m sorry about the WP problem, Kass, but glad you enjoyed the question. I had fun reading what everyone had to say. Next Musing will be along in a week or two and will likely be a more serious topic at that time.

      Glad Friday the 13th is lucky for you, no matter whether it’s the positive attitude, or not. Either way, it’s all good! 😀 ❤

      Like

      Reply

  15. Good one Marsh. I’m very superstitious. Yes, I throw salt, don’t walk under ladders, and don’t like saying jinx when someone says the same thing as me at the same time. LOL ❤

    Like

    Reply

  16. Pingback: Smorgasbord Blogger Weekly – September 12th 2022 – #Bullying Pete Springer, #Memories Robbie Cheadle and Judith Barrow, #Luck Marcia Meara, #Reviews Sandra Cox, #Grief D.G. Kaye | Smorgasbord Blog Magazine

  17. Hi Marcia, this is a fun idea. I also do the salt thing. I consider a broken mirror to be bad luck, along with a black cat crossing my path, stepping on cracks, and walking under ladders. I have never found a four-leaved clover although I always look and they are considered lucky. I have more than you mentioned so you can see I have small town English superstitions. Haha

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Hi, Robbie! You do have a lot of them listed here, but nothing too unusual, and I suspect you have plenty of company with most of them. I’m even betting that some who declared they were NOT superstitious at all say “cross your fingers,” or “knock on wood” when they want something to go their way. Maybe they don’t really believe those things are any guarantee, but we’re all used to doing many of them without a second thought.

      Thanks for stopping by, and while I won’t be posting a lot until after year’s end (except for this rest of this month and a bit into October), this feature will probably pop up here and there amid what I DO manage to share. Hopefully, you’ll continue to enjoy it. 😀 ❤

      Like

      Reply

  19. The salt I can relate to it is my grandmother was responsible for that ritual which I still do, old habits die hard… my mother used to remove the offending shoes promptly if we dared put new shoes on the table never got to find out what bad luck that invoked but I would still never put new shoes on a table…Just googled that one not good…apart from that Friday 13th doesn’t bother me or any other bad luck sayings or doings…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Oh, never heard of the new shoes on the table one. By new, do you mean shoes that haven’t yet been worn? Like fresh out of the shoebox? And the salt one is indeed, very, very old, dating back centuries to when salt was hard to come by and expensive, so spilling it was rotten luck, indeed. Don’t know when throwing it over your left shoulder to chase the devil away was added as a countermeasure. But superstitions are interesting, aren’t they?

      Thanks for stopping by to share your thoughts, Carol! Nice to see you here! 😀 ❤

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

        • Got it now! Thanks, and I hope your week is going well, too. I’m getting a few things scheduled ahead, so I can really slow down for a few weeks, in the hopes that taking some extra care of myself will mean I can start the new year full of vim and vigor! We’ll see how that goes when January arrives. (And yep, I’m both crossing my fingers and knocking on wood! Hehehe.) 😀

          Like

          Reply

Looking forward to hearing what YOU think! NOTE: If in doubt about leaving comments on this blog, please read the privacy statement in the menu at the top of the page.

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s