%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
For the avoidance of doubt... Yes... I definitely have an opinion... |
| Prompt: Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. Did you know according to the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina, an estimated 17–21 million people in the United States are affected by Paraskevidekatriaphobia (fear of Friday the 13th), making it the most feared day and date in history. Are you superstitious? Do you know people who are afraid of Friday the 13th? Do you carry some kind of lucky charm? Do you avoid activities because of the date? *** No – I’m not superstitious. Well… not really… Ok here’s the thing. I do a lot of superstitious stuff out of habit. I don’t actually believe that anything bad will happen if I don’t /do something, but I automatically just do things. It’s like superstitious OCD or a weird superstitious programming. I wore blue to my wedding (and something old, new, and borrowed). I cross my fingers for luck. I touch wood. I will pick a penny up. And I look out for the third death or event of misfortune if two have happened close together – because THEY COME IN THREES…. Most people will be aware or heard that if you break a mirror, you get seven years bad luck, or the need to toss spilled salt over your left shoulder. Most children would have sung a song about not stepping on cracks, or magpies and crows – one for sorrow, two for joy. People actively refuse to walk under a ladder and panic if a black cat crosses their path… Itchy feet mean you are going to go travel. Itchy palm means money is going to cross your palm. Ears burning – someone is talking about out. A chill… it must be a ghost. Most of it is ground in pagan beliefs and has been passed down through the centuries. And that’s before we go searching for four-leafed clovers or lopping of rabbits’ feet. Our lives are packed full of them. I love reading and writing about superstitions. I am always amazed how many are woven into our traditions and everyday lives and yet how so many people don’t realise the ties they have to witchcraft, wicca, and paganism. The witch-craft element is the reason I love it all so much. I write supernatural stuff which has a core of European/Celtic/Welsh mythology. I don’t know if I write it because I love it, or I love it because I have immersed myself in it to write it. Either way it all ties up nicely... I have a book full of superstitions. I study it and lace little nuggets into my stories; for example, one of my characters is named Wren after a water bird that is considered good fortune around bodies of water – she happens to save another character from drowning – it’s the sole reason I chose her name. That book has so many tags sticking out of it. Every other page there is something else I want to draw on. Separately, one of my friends was born on Friday the 13th. She wasn’t supposed to be, but another woman in hospital at the time was so freaked out about her baby being born on such a terrible day that she refused to be induced. My friend’s mum didn’t either way, and so she took her place. I think that was one of the stories that made me decide that I wanted the number 13 to be my lucky number… and in turn Friday the 13th to be my favourite day – it’s a child logic, but it’s still true now that I’m an adult. Good things can happen on it. |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
