What superstitions do you believe in / follow?

None. I do not believe in ANY superstitions.

None, but I wanted to mention the spider thing. I remember that from when I was a kid, people said if you kill a spider it will rain. I was in France at the time, so I don’t know where it comes from if the same superstition can be found halfway across the globe.

None, i’m not superstitious.

I love how everyone says “none” which is not an answer to the question at all.

I grew up knocking on wood. We just did it out of habit, I was in school before I understood the origins of it.

I don’t believe in, or follow, any superstitions. I may do something that might appear superstitious, like knocking on wood, but I don’t actually believe it’s going to make a difference.

There is an old wives’ tale about a ring around the moon being a sign of bad weather about to hit. While there is a scientific reason why the ring occurs and why it often is true. Despite that, just like any weather prediction, the outcome isn’t always true.

I don’t believe in or follow any superstitions, but here are some that were often repeated when I was a kid – we would recite them and follow them for fun or the sake of tradition, but none of us really believed.

Don’t hand anyone a pair of scissors – you must put them down, and the other person must pick them up.
If you drop a knife, a man is coming to the door.
Don’t open an umbrella in the house.

We also had the one about killing a spider means it will rain, so I don’t think that’s just Japanese!

@canidmajor You are usually such a stickler for accurate answers to the actual question. If the person doesn’t actually believe in or follow any superstitions, how is “None” not an answer to the question?

Reread the question, @dappled_leaves. It is “What superstitions do you believe in/follow?” Not “Do you believe in any…etc?”

The first poster is known for his smug refutation of anything that does not fit within some very narrow parameters. I get annoyed by that. I respond, he wins. Huzzah.

I forgot to mention whenever I spill salt I throw a pinch of it over my left shoulder (into the face of a demo or the devil).

And, I also do the knocking on wood thing – but only when I’ve said something that’s speculation..

Hahaha, @geeky_mama, I have thrown salt into the face of someone I kind of consider to be the devil…;-)

Man, considering it is such a widespread superstition, you’d think fewer people would kill all those poor spiders.

“What superstitions do you believe in/follow?”
“None.”
Seems like a perfectly good answer to me.

@dappled_leaves Ha! Good point. In truth, I do always kill them – because we have one in our area that looks rather benign (it’s brown and not that large) but deadly. Better to risk rain than my life!

I avoid walking under ladders or over drain covers.
Nowt to do with superstition, just plain health & safety measures.

All of them! ;-D

None really, but sometimes I’ll knock on wood just for the heck of it. However, whether it’s just pure coincidence or there is some other power involved, in the 3rd grade I jinxed my school bus to crash. It did, with me in it.

No. I’m just stitious. No super. ~ Actually I believe in immortality, and Astral traveling thru time. I believe that the soul is attached to the body by a fragile silver cord.

Superstition is like religion. It’s all made up stuff to help people cope with the way the world is. I don’t believe in religion or superstition. It’s a waste of time.

One supertition seems to be true to me: if your right eye jerks, you get bad luck and vice versa.

It sounds really silly but sometimes things really happen to me that way.

None whatsoever.

I don’t:
– walk under a ladder (safety issue anyway)
– break mirrors (safety issue)

However:
– 13 has been a lucky number for my family
– I don’t mind stepping on a crack anymore (was an OCR thing)

I also forgot that in Japan 4, 9 and 13 are considered unlucky. (Especially 4 and 9).
The kanji for 4 has more than one pronunciation – and one of the pronunciations matches the beginning of the word “to die” or “death”. The pronunciation of 9 corresponds to “kurishimu” (suffering) – so that’s unlucky, too. 13…I think that was a Western import. ;)

Still, if you visit Japan you’ll find most hotels do not have a 4th or a 9th floor. Really.

@Kardamom – actually, I find superstitions interesting from a cultural / sociological perspective. I don’t necessarily follow them (the same way I don’t read my horoscope and think it’s true)...but I find it very different from religion/faith.

I think faith or a belief in a higher being is something some people can choose to make themselves feel…connected or as if someone or some all-powerful being is watching over them. It can be a crutch..or maybe an explanation for the still small voice they hear (I call this a conscience or a “gut feeling”). Plus “faith” or “belief” has been part of the experience from as far back as scientists can find..maybe it’s ingrained behavior. (Thank goodness we’ve moved on from human sacrifice, eh?)