Superstitions

Superstitions are believed to be signs which people observe to gain good luck or to stay clear of bad luck. Superstitions have evolved over a very long time. People just seem to need something, or someone, to blame if their life goes drastically wrong. For example, if someone has some unexpected bad news it can be more acceptable for them to put the blame on the ladder they walked under earlier that morning, rather than face a difficulty as their own responsibility. There appear to be more superstitions about avoiding bad luck than there are about creating good luck. Perhaps this is because people like to think that if something good happens it is due to their own hard work or because they deserve it, whereas when something bad happens people don't like to blame themselves.

Superstitions vary from country, region and religion. In some places a person with a particular star sign will be first person to visit the home on a new year. This is supposed to bring good luck. If something wrong happens, then ' I told you not to call the person’. Someone else will get a chance next time.

In Western folklore, traditional superstitions associated with bad luck include Friday the 13th, walking under a ladder, and black cats. This article will discuss superstitions involving cats across the world.

• A cat onboard a ship is considered to bring luck
• It is considered bad luck to pass a black cat after 9pm
• In North America, its bad luck if a black cat crosses your path and good luck if a white cat crosses your path.
• In Britain and Ireland, it's the opposite.
• Black Cats - In ancient Egypt, the Goddess Bast was a black, female cat. Christians, wanting to rid society of all traces of other religions, convinced the ignorant that black cats were demons in disguise and should thus be destroyed. In the process, they also destroyed the kindly ladies who cared for the cats, believing them to be witches. Being demons, a black cat crossing your path would create a barrier of evil, cutting you off from God and blocking the entrance to heaven
• A kitten born in May - a witches cat
• A black cat crossing your path - good luck (A white cat in USA, Spain and Belgium)
• A black cat seen from behind - a bad omen
• Stray tortoise shell cat - bad omen
• Cat sneezing three times - the family will catch a cold
• USA belief - A cat washing on the doorstep - the clergy will visit
• Killing a cat - sacrificing your soul to the Devil
• Kicking a cat - Rheumatism
• A cat sneezing is a good omen for everyone who hears it. - Italian superstition
• It is bad luck to see a white cat at night
• Dreaming of white cat means good luck
• If a cat washes behind its ears, it will rain. - English superstition
• A cat sleeping with all four paws tucked under means cold weather ahead. - English superstition
• English schoolchildren believe seeing a white cat on the way to school is sure to bring trouble. To avert bad luck, they must either spit, or turn around completely and make the sign of the cross.
• A black cat crossing one's path by moonlight means death in an epidemic. - Irish superstition
• A strange black cat on your porch brings prosperity. - Scottish superstition
• A cat on top of a tombstone meant certainly that the soul of the departed buried was possessed by the devil.
• Two cats seen fighting near a dying person, or on the grave shortly after a funeral, are really the Devil and an Angel fighting for possession
• To see a white cat on the road is lucky.
• To kill a cat brings seventeen years of bad luck. - Irish superstition
• When moving to a new home, always put the cat through the window instead of the door, so that it will not leave.
• In 16th century Italy, it was believed that if a black cat lay on the bed of a sick man, he would die. But there's also a belief that a cat will not remain in the house where someone is about to die. Therefore, if the family cat refuses to stay indoors, it is believed that someone in the house is doomed.
• In India if any cat crosses the road then it is bad luck if you cross the spot first where the cat crossed the road.
• Kerala Supersition : Two political parties seen fighting on the road, means harthal for Next two days