Superstitions

Isn’t it funny how we all have our own little superstitions?  It may be an unwillingness to walk under a ladder (sensible if you ask me considering the things people drop from ladders) or a white elephant kept for luck.

As skeptical as I am I still have my own and I thought I’d share them with you.

• I have an African devil that I keep by the door.  My father brought it back from African after a tour there in the 60s (before I was even born).  He’d been told by a local that when a devil would visit the tents of people to steal their souls he would see that a devil was already there and leave.  This masterful piece of salesmanship convinced my father to buy this ugly wooden figure and I now keep it to safeguard my home.
• I follow the old adage that you should keep something for nine years and only throw it away if you haven’t found a use for it after this time.  Consequently my home is filled with junk that I carry from house to house whenever I move.  Most of the stuff I do keep does actually get thrown out in the end.
• When moving into a new home it is important to place a house leek on the roof.  Traditionally this is for a turf roof but a potted one or a grow bag on the roof of the entrance will do.  It is supposed to keep lightning away from the house.

 I don’t, for a moment, believe any of these superstitions but I still follow them.  Perhaps it is out of habit or simply for peace of mind in an old tradition repeated.  Do you have any superstitions that you follow?