The widespread notion that the spilling of salt produces evil
consequences is supposed to have originated in the tradition that Judas
overturned a salt-cellar at the Paschal Supper, as portrayed in Leonardo
da Vinci’s painting. But it appears more probable that the belief is
due to the sacred character of salt in early times. Any one having the
misfortune to spill salt was formerly supposed to incur the anger of all
good spirits, and to be rendered susceptible to the malevolent influences
of demons.[276] When, in oriental lands, salt was offered to guests as
a token of hospitality, it was accounted a misfortune if any particles
were scattered while being so presented, and in such cases a quarrel or
dispute was anticipated.[277]
Bishop Hall wrote, in 1627, that when salt fell towards a superstitious
guest at dinner, he was wont to exhibit signs of mental agitation, and
refused to be comforted until one of the waiters had poured wine in his
lap. And in Gayton’s “Art of Longevity” we find these lines:—
I have two friends of either sex, which do eat little salt or
none, yet are friends too; of both which persons I can truly
tell, they are of patience most invincible; whom out of temper
no mischance at all can put; no, if towards them the salt
should fall.
The Germans have a saying, “Whoever spills salt arouses enmity,” and in
some places the overthrow of a salt-cellar is thought to be the direct
act of the Devil, the peace-disturber. The superstitious Parisian, who
may have been the unfortunate cause of such a mishap, is quite ready to
adopt this view, and tosses a little of the spilled salt behind him,
in order, if possible, to hit the invisible Devil in the eye, which,
temporarily at least, prevents him from doing further mischief.[278]
This is probably a relic of an ancient idolatrous custom; and salt thus
thrown was formerly a kind of sop to Cerberus, an offering to pacify
some particular deity. In like manner the natives of Pegu, a province of
British Burmah, in the performance of one of their rites in honor of the
Devil, are wont to throw food over their left shoulders to conciliate the
chief spirit of evil.[279]
When salt was spilled at table the pious Roman was wont to exclaim, “May
the gods avert the omen!” and the modern Sicilian, in such a case,
invokes “the Mother of Light.”
Among the Greeks it was customary to present salt to the gods as a
thank-offering at the beginning of every meal. Louis Figuier, in “Les
merveilles de l’industrie,” places these three happenings in the
category of ominous mishaps in a Grecian household: (1) the omission
of a salt-cellar from among the furnishings of a dinner-table; (2) the
falling asleep of one of the guests at a banquet, before the removal
of the salt-cellar to make place for the dessert; (3) the overturning
of this important vessel. It seems evident, therefore, that the origin
of the belief in the ominous character of salt-spilling is of far
greater antiquity than is popularly supposed; and Leonardo da Vinci,
in portraying Judas as upsetting a salt-cellar, probably had in mind
the already well-known portentous significance of such an act. But some
observers have failed to discover any trace of a salt-cellar in the
original _Cenacolo_ on the refectory wall of the Milanese convent. In
the well-known engraving by Raphael Morghen, however, the overthrown
salt-cellar is clearly delineated, and the spilled salt is seen issuing
from it. An animated discussion on this moot-point enlivened the columns
of “Notes and Queries” some years ago.
The following passage is to be found in a work entitled “Hieroglyphica, a
Joanne Valeriano” (1586), being a treatise on ancient symbols:—
Alioqui sal amicitiæ symbolum fuit, durationis gratia. Corpora
enim solidiora facit et diutissime conservat. Unde hospitibus
ante alios cibos apponi solitum, quo amicitiæ firmitas ac
perseverantia significetur. Quare plerique ominosum habent si
sal in mensam profundi contigerit. Contra vero faustum si vinum
atque id merum effusum sit.
Which has been rendered into English as follows: “Salt was formerly
a symbol of friendship, because of its lasting quality. For it makes
substances more compact and preserves them for a long time: hence it was
usually presented to guests before other food, to signify the abiding
strength of friendship. Wherefore many consider it ominous to spill
salt on the table, and, on the other hand, propitious to spill wine,
especially if unmixed with water.”[280]
In Gaule’s “Magastromancer” (1652), overturning the salt is mentioned in
a list of “superstitious ominations.” According to a popular Norwegian
belief, one will shed as many tears as may suffice to dissolve the
quantity of salt which he has spilled;[281] and in east Yorkshire, also,
every grain of spilled salt represents a tear to be shed. Moreover,
saltness has been thought to be an essential attribute of tears, and
this intimate connection between the two may have given rise to some
of the many superstitions connected with salt.[282] In Bucks County,
Pennsylvania, in order to avert ill-luck after salt has been spilled, one
should not only toss a pinch of the spilled salt over the left shoulder,
but should also crawl under a table and come out on the opposite
side.[283]