Black Cats and Being Superstitious

I’m superstitious.  I throw salt over my shoulder to blind passing witches and will never pick up a penny unless it’s head’s up.  I knock on wood to stun the fairies (they’re mischievous), and I don’t like crossing under ladders.

BUT… I love the number 13, and I love black cats.  Did you know that black cats are the least adopted?  Did you know that October is a dangerous month for these precious animals due to their completely unfair reputation?

I don’t personally have any black cats right now, but I have in the past.  My sister in law has always had black cats, and they’re exactly the same as other cats.  Except, you know… they’re black.  Normally, I like scary stories, but not at the expense of a living thing.

So where did the whole black cats being unlucky thing come from?  Well, it comes from a couple of different places, but it boils down to black cats being evil, and often blamed for being a witch’s familiar.  Because we all know how often “old woman” and “cat” goes in the same sentence, right?  Apparently a witch was just the earliest crazy cat lady.  Here’s a link if you want a more in-depth explanation.

I bring this up because I want you to realize that there are some people who are superstitious out there.  If you have a beloved black kitty, please keep him or her close to home in October especially.  And next time you go to adopt, remember that black kitties need homes too.

What’s your favorite superstition?

L is for Luck (And a Friday Writing Prompt)

Most of us believe in luck, whether it be good luck or bad luck.  My work partner (The TV Guy) makes fun of me because I’m superstitious.  Being superstitious is more about being able to control your luck, and why take chances?  If using a particular pen to address an envelope increases my chances of a writing submission being accepted, why not do it?

Although I don’t really believe I’m blinding passing witches, I still throw spilled salt over my left shoulder.  I know the wood fairies have better things to do than cause me problems, but I still knock on wood to stun them.  I’m quirky, not crazy.

Today is Friday the 13th.  If superstitions had their own holiday, today would be it!  There are a lot of theories as to the origin of the superstition around Friday the 13th, and it’s fun to speculate where it came from, along with where the whole superstition about 13 came from in the first place.  (Incidentally, fear of the number 13 is triskaidekaphobia.)  I know that Wikipedia isn’t exactly a paragon of accuracy, but I’m including this link because they do a decent summary of possible explanations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friday_the_13th

My grandparents considered Friday the 13th a lucky day, and it certainly seemed to work for them… they got married that day.  I consider 13 one of my lucky numbers, along with 31, since I got married on 10/31.

So, on to today’s writing prompt… Write about your (or your character’s) superstitions?  Do you (or your character) have any superstitions?  Why or why not?  What are they?  Do you (or your character) tell people about them?  Or would you (or your character) prefer to keep them a secret?

Personally, I knock on wood for the entire world to see.  And if whoever I’m with chooses to mock the wood fairies… well, that’s their problem!