Omens — Reading Them

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 234, 2 October 1937, Page 7 (Supplement)

Omens — Reading Them

Superstitions of the Past That Survive To-day.

rO has not seen the girl who upset l salt cellar jump up and throw a pinch of salt over her left shoulder with her right hand and then taste a pinch to prevent any ill consequences from spilling the salt? The girl's perturbation at this accident may be accounted for in these lines:— Tte thought love decayed When the negligent maid I»et the salt cellar tumble before her. A great many people are very careful not to cross their knives and forks at the table, and no.t a few think it unlucky to find a knife; and a knife as a present is said to be sure to cut all love in two. There is hardly a mother or nursery maid that does not teach a child to get out of the right side of the bed in the morning, putting the right foot down first, and when up to. put on the right stocking and shoe first, and if the stocking should chance to be put on the wrong side out, it must be worn so all day, as it will bring good luck. There is no expression more commonly used to a fretful child than— "Yo.u surely got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning." To sneeze while putting on the shoes is very unlucky. Indeed, to sneeze at all is considered an ill omen; hence the custom of saying— "God bless you." The custom of throwing old shoes after folks for luck is one universally followed. Scarcely a bride has ever left the door of her father's home without a shower of ojd shoes following her. Tennyson says— And where'er they move Good luck shall throw her old shoe after. Many girls might whistle as well as boys, but for the superstition couched in the lines— A whistling girl and a crowing hen Can scarcely come to. a good end, which prevents many of them from even trying. The feathers of the peacock are considered unlucky. It is considered unlucky to break a mirror. If a picture falls from its frame it is considered very unlucky, and any girl will seek for a stone lost from a ring until she is almost blind, no.t so much for the value of the stone aS for fear of ill luck sure to follow. There is a young lady who is so superstitious that if she lets a letter fall after writing it she will burn it rather than send it off. S-he also considers it the worst kind of luck to drv a letter before the fire. "Sing before breakfast, and vou'll crv j before supper," is a well-worn maxin. i and to sing during meals ensures disappointment. A well-known lady shuffles seven cards before undertaking any special work. If four black cards turn up she abandons the work. No girl who has any regard whatever for her welfare will manicure her nails on Friday and Sunday, and there are a few who consult the white spots on their nails to decipher the probabilities in store for them. Beginning at the thumb, they so read— Friends, foes, gifts, beaux, Long journeys she goes. The nail upon which the white spot appears determines what she mav look for. " Spiders used to be called moneyspinners. There is an old couplet which says—if J

I A spider weaving his net in some higl» place Comes dropping down before yojur face, You may look for money ia some unexpected place. Of superstitions concerning courtship and marriage there are dozens, which any girl can tell you. If one upsets a chair, or falls in going upstairs, there is no probability of a wedding within a year. If three unmarried ladies having the same Christian name happen to meet at the table, one of them will marry during the year. If four unmarried persons shaking hands, cross, two of them will marry during the year. There is a superstition amojig girls to this effectChange the name and not the letter, You marry for worse and not for better. Everyone must have noticed that there are very few weddings in May. The ancients advised that it should be avoided, as that month was under the influence of evil spirits averse to happy households. Ovid says— If you regard old saws, mind this, I say, 'Tis bad to marry in the month of May. On the other hand June is considered the most propitious for marriage, Jnne roses and June weddings being most happily associated in every lady's mind. It is considered a very bad omen to postpone the wedding day after it has been once set, and unlucky to marry in colours.