VOCATIONAL SUPERSTITIONS
SUPERSTITIONS OF KINGS
King Harold of England considered Saturday his lucky day.
According to Celtic chronicles, each king of Scotland had some favorite
day, and was forbidden by the astrologers of his reign from doing
certain things on designated days.
The kings of Ireland were not allowed to have the sun fall on their
beds at Tara Castle.
The King of Munster was forbidden to have a feast at Killarney from
Monday to the end of the week.
The King of Connaught believed it ill luck to wear a speckled garment
or to ride a speckled horse.
The King of Ulster would not go to certain parts of his kingdom during
March for fear of disaster.
October 14th was supposed to be a lucky day for the kings of England.
The sixth of April was a lucky day for Alexander the Great. On that day
he conquered Darius and won a great sea battle.
The sixth of April was also lucky for Alexander’s father, Phillip of
Macedon. On that day he captured Potidæa, his general overthrew the
Illyrians, and his horse won at the Olympian games.
The month of January has been unlucky for kings. Charles I was beheaded
that month. Napoleon III and King Victor Emmanuel of Italy died in
January.
King Louis XVI of France found the 21st an important day. On April
21st, 1770, he was married, and every great event of his reign occurred
on that day. On January 21st, 1793, he was beheaded.
Cromwell considered the 3rd of September as his lucky day. He gained
several great victories on that date.
The Duke of Monmouth was told by a fortuneteller that if he survived
St. Swithin’s Day he would be a great man. He died on that day.
Napoleon Bonaparte considered Friday his unlucky day and Monday his
fortunate day.
Henry IV of France considered Friday lucky and preferred to undertake
important things on that day.
The late Emperor of Austria was superstitious and attributed all his
family troubles to a curse that was launched against him by a countess
who believed herself injured by him.
The Hohenzollern family, of which the kaiser is the most talked-of
member, have their pet superstitions, one of them being that the
apparition of a woman in white betokens the death of one of the family.
CARD PLAYERS’ SUPERSTITIONS
Luck plays such an important part with gamblers and card players
that it is not surprising they have a multitude of beliefs and
superstitions. Where every move is connected with blind chance and
skill is entirely secondary, every detail of the game is watched for
some sign of import or some omen that will bring success. Here are some
of the many beliefs that are current in English-speaking countries:
To play cards on a table without a cover is considered unlucky.
A green cover is the most fortunate to play on.
To lend money to an adversary with which to play is unlucky. To borrow
money during a game is lucky.
In Monte Carlo and other gambling places there is a belief that after a
suicide of an unlucky player, all those playing against the bank will
win. When the news of a suicide becomes known, therefore, the card
rooms at once fill with eager players.
If you wish a friend to win at cards, stick a pin in the lapel of his
coat.
To drop a card on the floor during a game is a bad sign, and means the
loss of that game.
Singing, while playing, is a sign that your side will lose.
To have another person look over your shoulder while playing, or put
his foot on the rung of your chair, is a forerunner of bad luck.
To play at the same table with a cross-eyed man is a sign that you will
lose.
To lose your temper or get into a passion over the game is a sign of a
loss.
The four of clubs is an unlucky card to get. It is called the devil’s
bedstead.
It helps your luck to keep the chips carefully stacked up before you.
Most players have their own private superstitions based on past
experiences. A certain hand always foretells good luck, while the
cards coming in a certain order may mean the reverse.
Winning the first game often means that you will win the third. Holding
your cards in a certain way brings success.
Playing on certain days is unlucky for some, lucky for others. To play
before 6 P. M. on Fridays is unlucky.
Turning one’s chair around three times is often resorted to to change
one’s luck.
Playing with a fresh deck of cards is another way of forcing the
goddess of fortune to be propitious.
Most players have a lucky card which they touch with the index finger
before sitting down to play. This insures good fortune.
ACTORS’ SUPERSTITIONS
Actors may be counted among the most superstitious people in the world.
Their success depends upon so many unforeseen contingencies, and so
many elements enter into their enterprises, that they look with awe and
misgiving upon every trivial incident. In different countries they have
different rites and beliefs, but the following seem to be the most
prevalent in English-speaking lands:
Whistling in a theatre is a sign of very bad luck, and there is no
offense that is more quickly frowned upon by the manager. It was
formerly difficult for a vaudeville artist who made a specialty of
whistling in his act to get an engagement.
It is considered bad luck to change the costume in which an actor first
made his success in a piece. In cases of a long run the garment is
often worn until it becomes threadbare.
The witches’ song in Macbeth is believed to have an uncanny power for
evil, and many actors cannot be induced to play in that tragedy.
To repeat the last lines of a play at rehearsals is considered an ill
omen.
The pictures of an ostrich or peacock are considered unlucky.
To turn the handle of the wrong door in seeking a manager or
play-broker is considered very unlucky. To ward against failure, the
applicant must return home and start out afresh next day.
Yellow is an unlucky color for an actor. The color of one’s costume
often creates a loss of memory while learning a part.
The looping of a drop curtain is a sure forerunner of evil.
Wigs bring luck, and many an actor wears one although his part does not
call for it.
If an actor’s shoes squeak on making his entrance it is a sign that he
will have the applause of the audience.
If an actor kicks off his shoes and they alight on their soles, it is a
good omen; but if they fall on their sides, it is a bad sign.
Cats are considered very lucky by actors, and to have a cat run across
the stage during a rehearsal is considered very lucky. It brings bad
luck to kick a cat.
To have a person look over the actor’s shoulder while he is making up
and looking at himself in the glass is unlucky.
To stumble over anything in making an entrance is bad, and will cause
him to fail in his lines.
If his costume catches in the scenery as he enters he must go back and
make a new entrance or else have bad luck during the act.
The peep-hole through which the actor looks out at the audience is
usually in the centre, as either side may bring bad luck.
THEATRE SUPERSTITIONS
Managers have their pet superstitions as well as actors.
To accept a play that has not been refused by at least one manager is
considered by some as a sign of failure.
If the first purchaser of seats for a performance is an old man or old
woman it means that the play will have a long run. A young person means
the reverse.
To receive a torn bank note for a ticket is a bad sign for the box
office man, and means a loss of position. A big bill for which he must
make change is a good omen.
If an usher seats a person in seat thirteen or a multiple thereof, he
will have bad luck.
An usher considers it bad luck to have a lady tip him for a program,
but a gentleman’s tip insures good luck.
The first tip of the season is briskly rubbed on the leg of the usher’s
trousers and then kept in his pocket as a lucky piece.
To receive a smile from an actor over the footlights is a good omen.
A woman fainting in a theatre is considered a bad sign and means that
the play will come to a speedy end.
A death in a playhouse during a performance is a certain hoodoo, and
usually ends in an unexpected termination of the run of the play.
COMMERCIAL TRAVELLERS’ SUPERSTITIONS
Travelling men, whose lives are a constant struggle after orders, are
apt to consider trifles as an index of coming fortune, or the reverse,
and many are their peculiar beliefs.
When, on starting out, a drummer finds he has forgotten his order book,
he will take no orders till it is sent after him.
A necktie worn when the first order is taken is often worn till the
end of the trip, as it brings good luck. With some, the suit takes the
place of the tie.
A salesman often goes into a stranger’s store and tries to sell a bill
before tackling his own regular customer. He believes that if he is
turned down by one, he will be sure to sell to the right man.
A flock of sheep seen on starting out is a good sign. A pig or drove of
pigs is even better.
If no order has been taken for several days, the conscientious
traveller will rest up for a day, take a bath and change his clothes
for a change of luck.
Muttering some incantation or wish while a difficult customer is making
up his mind is often resorted to.
A lucky pocket-piece twirled in the left hand is supposed to insure an
order where the customer is undecided.
A horseshoe carried in the bottom of a sample trunk is supposed to
insure success during the trip.
DRESSMAKERS AND SEAMSTRESSES
Seamstresses have a code of beliefs of their own, many of which are
curious.
To prick a finger and draw blood while sewing a bride’s dress bodes ill
for the bride’s married life. To stain the dress with blood means an
early death for the wearer.
To try on a bride’s dress by the seamstress and wear it for an hour
before the bride wears it betokens an engagement for the seamstress.
To lose a thimble while making a bride’s dress means exceptionally good
luck for the bride.
To be employed to make a mourning outfit for a young widow betokens an
early marriage for the seamstress.
To turn the material on the wrong side and sew it thus by mistake so
that the dress will have to be ripped and resewn means good luck for
the wearer.
To drop your scissors on the floor means a visitor who will bring
welcome news. Should the scissors break, it means a keen disappointment.
To sew with the wrong colored silk or thread by mistake is a sign of
bad luck for the wearer unless the work is ripped and sewn over.
To make an all white dress is always productive of luck.
A spot of dirt or oil on a new dress where it will show means
disappointment for the wearer.
It was formerly considered unlucky for a bride to help sew her own
wedding dress.
SAILORS’ SUPERSTITIONS
The sea is one of the greatest marvels of creation, and perhaps the
most mysterious. It is full of dangers, and from time immemorial has
been the subject of many superstitions. It is natural that sailors
should attach a meaning to everything that promises a safe voyage.
The sea is supposed to be filled with monsters that cause no end of
trouble if they are not propitiated by some rite. A fleet on the sea
drives away these monsters.
A sailing vessel is supposed to sail faster when running from an enemy
than otherwise.
By speaking to his sailing vessel as he would to a horse, many an old
salt believes he gets greater speed.
A kingfisher hanged by a nail to the mast is used to prophesy the
direction of the wind.
When a great auk, an aquatic bird, appears, sailors believe they will
have a speedy voyage. If the bird settles on deck it is a good omen.
Seeing three magpies predicts a successful voyage. One magpie, however,
is a sign of bad luck.
A seal is considered a lucky omen, and it is wicked to kill one.
An albatross brings good luck and creates favorable winds. To kill an
albatross is an omen of very bad luck. This is portrayed in the “Rime
of the Ancient Mariner.”
A dove alighting on a ship is a sign of favorable winds.
Dolphins and porpoises playing about a ship presage a storm.
An eight-arm cuttlefish is regarded by sailors as a bad omen.
Barnacles that cling to a ship are believed to change into birds after
the vessel has been on a cruise for six months.
French sailors dread the nocturnal visits of a sort of mischievous Puck
or sprite who is supposed to play pranks while they sleep.
An appeal to the Virgin is supposed by Latin sailors to calm a storm at
sea.
Sailing on Friday is considered bad luck. Steamers do not now fear this
day as much as formerly.
When a Chinese junk is ready to go to sea, priests are invited to go on
board to chant a prayer and offer a sacrifice to Tien How, the god of
the sea. Gongs and drums are beaten.
A shark following a ship is looked upon as a sure sign of death of one
of the passengers or crew.
When a storm arises and a vessel is in danger it is supposed that a
sinful person is on board and causes the trouble. This belief grew out
of the story of Jonah.
Most sailors make the sign of the cross before launching a boat in an
angry sea.
Christening new ships is a relic of an ancient rite when wine was
offered to Neptune as a propitiatory sacrifice to insure his favor.
The custom of blessing a ship is an old one and is supposed to keep a
ship from harm.
Carrying dead bodies on shipboard is regarded with superstitious dread
by sailors, and those that die during a voyage are usually buried at
sea.
FISHERMEN’S SUPERSTITIONS
During oyster dredging, fishermen often keep up a monotonous chant to
charm the oysters into their net. This has given rise to the following
verse, reprinted from an old book on fishermen’s lore:
“The herring loves the merry moonlight,
The mackerel loves the wind;
But the oyster loves the dredger’s song,
For he comes of gentle kind.”
Norwegian fishermen perform a sort of sacred rite before going on the
hunt for herring. They drink a “white lug,” a sort of toddy. They
believe it insures a big catch.
In many countries fishermen are afraid to assist a drowning man for
fear that the water sprite will be offended and drive the fish from the
nets.
Burmese fishermen offer fruit and rice to “Nat,” the spirit of the
water, otherwise he will scare away the fish.
Many fishermen believe that spitting on the bait before casting the
hook will make the catch certain.
Portuguese fishermen during a storm attach an image of St. Anthony to
the mast and pray to it. If that don’t help, they curse and beat the
image to make it behave and do their behests.
It is considered lucky to throw the first fish caught back into the
water to induce other fish to come to the hook.
TURFMEN’S SUPERSTITIONS
Men who follow the races and make their living on the turf are in the
same category as card players and gamblers. Their winnings depend
exclusively on chance, and it is easy to understand how they invest
every occurrence with some mysterious meaning and believe that certain
signs or omens will bring good or bad luck. Some of their superstitions
are childish, but their belief in them often brings the desired results.
On the way to the races, if a turfman sees a name like that of the
horse that is run that day, he takes it for an omen that the horse will
win.
The initials of names on signboards or the headlines in the paper he is
reading are all made to do service in spelling the name of the horse
that is to be victorious.
To meet a funeral on the way to the track is a bad omen, although an
empty hearse denotes good luck.
To dream of a horse that is entered for a race is lucky, but it will
not win the first time it is run. It is sure to win the second time,
however, and it is safe to bet on it then.
To meet a cross-eyed man on the way to the track is very bad, but to
meet a cross-eyed woman is lucky. A cross-eyed negro foretells the best
kind of luck.
To meet a black cat brings bad luck, while a white cat is excellent.
To be followed by a strange dog is a good sign. To see a piebald horse
means success.
To give alms to a blind beggar brings good luck and to touch the hump
of a hunchback man is a sure sign of success.
When the saddle girth of a horse gets loose and the jockey is obliged
to get off and tighten it, it is a sure bet that the horse will win.
Money that is won should be carried loose in the pocket, and not in a
purse or wallet. It will then pave the way for more.
To find money on the track is a bad thing. It should be given away in
charity.
BASEBALL SUPERSTITIONS
Baseball players have a curious code of beliefs, which differ with
nearly every team. They have their mascots, that are supposed to bring
them good luck, and stand in awe of the “jinx” that often defeats their
best plans.
When a team runs behind in its score a change of pitcher or catcher
often retrieves their chances.
It is unlucky to play with a bat that is split, even if the damage is
slight. A new bat must be procured.
If on the way to the game any name is encountered that suggests the
name of one of the teams, that team will be successful.
If any part of a player’s uniform is missing or torn, it means bad luck
for the team.
A cross-eyed umpire is tabooed as a hoodoo.
To have a “southpaw,” or left-handed pitcher, brings good luck to the
team.
It is a common belief that the team losing the first innings will win
the game at the end.
WAITERS’ SUPERSTITIONS
Waiters, depending as they must upon chance tips, are very prone to be
superstitious, and have developed a series of rites and ceremonies that
are supposed to bring them the coveted fee.
Drawing out a chair for the customer to seat himself is sure to bring a
good-sized fee. If the customer for any reason takes a different seat
from that indicated it is a bad omen.
A certain arrangement of knife and fork is sure to produce a good
result. The fork must lie near the plate and the knife on the outside
and parallel. Any other arrangement is bad.
Opening up the napkin for the customer is a good sign.
To bring a customer a second portion of butter before he asks for it is
good. If a customer sends out a dish for any reason, it means bad luck
for the rest of the day.
To receive a big tip early in the day is a bad sign. All the rest of
the tips are apt to be small.
To break a dish is a very bad omen. It means not only loss of wages,
but the loss of tips as well.
If a waiter finds that a certain salutation results in a tip, he must
use the same salutation on all clients during the day.
To wait on a hunchback customer is a sign of good luck and results in a
good inflow of tips. To wait on a one-armed man is bad.