Tag: dailyprompt-1875

Away with the fairies

Joey Jones4 Comments

Are you superstitious?

When I looked up superstition, I was surprised by how sharp some definitions were. A few make it sound like a flaw in thinking. But that has never matched how it feels to me.

Britannica offers something more balanced. It suggests that superstition is simply one of the ways people have tried to understand uncertainty. That feels closer to the truth, especially here in England, where so many old beliefs still linger quietly in the background.

Some superstitions began as common sense wrapped in a story. Don’t walk under ladders was never about magic. It was an early safety warning. Even the old idea that bridesmaids shouldn’t wear green has roots in folklore, scandal and for a time, poisonous dyes. What survives now is only the faintest echo.


I’ve realised that a lot of superstition is really old wisdom in a folkloric coat.

I don’t believe the universe is keeping score, but I do understand the small rituals people keep. A familiar object, a repeated gesture, a moment of steadiness before doing something uncertain. That isn’t superstition to me. It’s human. And if I sometimes imagine a little magic in the world, maybe a glimmer in the woods with Patch, a stone on the windowsill catching the light — that’s simply my way of staying open to wonder.


So no, I’m not superstitious in the traditional sense. But I do understand why people reach for these old beliefs. They’re about being human, and that feels like the most grounded truth of all.

And perhaps that’s all superstition ever was, our way of finding a little steadiness in a world that has always been bigger than us?

Not so lucky for the rabbit, eh?

Joey Jones3 Comments

Are you superstitious?

One of my earliest memories is rabbit’s foot brooch pinned to the coat of someone I loved dearly. I never remember asking about it, but I studied it a lot. What is a child with an affinity to animals, to make of such a thing? I remember it was encased in silver and has a small yellow stone placed in the centre. Maybe Citrine. This yellow stone from the quartz family was popular in the 1920’s. Is it possible it had been handed down?

In ancient times Citrine was carried for protection against snake bites and evil spirits. In latter times to spark imagination, fresh beginnings and prosperity. Over the years being used against bad luck and today towards the good.

It is incredible how many countries around the world share superstitions, even with varying forms it’s quite extraordinary that similar beliefs are held worldwide. The exact origins of the rabbit’s foot amulet are not clear, at all. With many areas having their own ideas. There are some dark and grim associations but I prefer to look to the light. For instance the slaves of West Africa are recorded as seeing the animal as witty, intelligent and willing to strike back ( Think Mr McGregor’s garden). Others say the fertility aspect of their characteristic to be a lucky thing.

Am I superstitious? I’m certainly interested in all things spooky. A black cat crossing my path, that’s fine by me. ‘ Morning Kat’ I’d probably say. Would I walk under ladders? Why would you? To see if you are unlucky enough to have something fall on you head. Do I count magpies? No. Would I drop coins into a wishing well or throw them into a fountain? Yes.

And yesterday I ‘ touched wood’, to rouse the deities for protection.