A delightful Halloween tradition is the carving of pumpkins. How my kids always enjoyed the gooey insides as we scraped them out onto newspapers. Of course, somehow there was always enough goo to spread well beyond the papers, no matter how many I spread out. We would draw a face and carve it. Place a candle inside and our creation took on a life!
There were years I bought several pumpkins, attempting to do my “Martha Stewart” impression. Unfortunately in my house, I usually ended up looking more like Jimmy Stewart. Oh well. The kids and I had fun.
Carving Jack-O-Lanterns is a Halloween custom that dates back to ancient Ireland. The first Jack-O-Lanterns, though were actually made of turnips, beets or even potatoes, not pumpkins. Pumpkins began to be used later, when Irishmen immigrated to the United States.
There are several version of an Irish legend that tells of a man named Stingy Jack, who convinced the Devil to pay for one last drink before he took his soul. The Devil turned himself into a sixpence and when it came time to pay, instead of paying for the drink Jack pocketed the sixpence and kept it stored beside a silver cross. This prevented the Devil from changing back. Jack made a deal with the Devil before letting him free. The Devil could not harass him for ten years. When the Devil returned, Jack again tricked the Devil and surrounded him with crosses.
When Jack died he was refused entry at the Gates of Heaven. He went to the Gates of Hell and the Devil told him to go away, as Jack had made him promise not to claim his soul. Because it was dark, Jack didn’t want to leave and he couldn’t find his way. The Devil tossed Jack a glowing coal and Jack put it inside a turnip. Ever since with this “Jack O’ Lantern”, Stingy Jack’s lonely soul has been roaming the earth. Other versions tell of Jack’s death while stealing turnips and when he was refused entrance into both heaven and hell, he used a candle to light the turnip he still had with him. Other versions exist as well, I am sure.
The tradition of leaving the pumpkins out is to keep evil spirits away. Personally, I put a lit pumpkin out to delight my adorable little trick or treaters.
Superstitions can be a good thing, if not taken to an extreme. If your lucky shirt helps you remember your lines for an audition, great! Seeing it will boost your confidence, therefore, it has a placeob effect. It is when a superstition leads to obsessive behavior or fears that you might want to examine their value.
As a little girl, I loved to dance and twirl around in the living room. My mother had a beautiful, big mirror hanging in there, just perfect to view my moves as I made them. The reflection in my childlike mind was a Prima Ballerina, a chanteuse or a glamor queen. I would sing and dance the hours away.
One particular personal appearance resulted in my shoe flying off my foot and straight into that mirror. Broken, shattered were my the mirror and my heart at that moment. After all, I had doomed myself to seven years of bad luck and the disappointment of my mother both. I wept. My mother found me and consoled me. We would find another mirror to hang, she understood that accidents happen. Perhaps there had been a lesson in tying my shoes as well as getting a bit to out of control inside the house. My mother reassured me that my luck was not doomed for the next seven years.
The superstition that a broken mirror results in seven years of bad luck dates back to the ancient Romans. They believed that life renewed itself every seven years. If the person looking into a mirror was ill, the image would break the mirror and the run of bad luck would continue for seven years. At the end of seven years life would be renewed, ending the curse.
I imagine that to the first person to ever see their own reflection in the water, it seemed magical, mystical to see another so much like themselves. Mirrors have been attributed with the ability to foretell the future, create bad luck, create good luck and even hold onto a person’s soul. (Think of the story of Dorian Gray.)
I have learned that mirrors are just that, mirrors. They are useful when I want to make sure my lipstick isn’t smudged across my face (it can happen!) and fabulous tools for affirming the positive in my life. I created a video not too long ago regarding the power of eye contact in the mirror. I did not have seven years of bad luck, I make my luck! I learned a valuable lesson that day as well.
It seems, that my mother is wise, loving and very forgiving.
With household repairs and Halloween decorations going up, there was a ladder or two out and around my house this weekend. No accidents occurred, I am happy to report. Just for fun, I must confess, I walked under the ladder while it was empty. I just had to tempt fate.
Walking beneath a ladder is a common Halloween superstition. People fear bad luck as a result. This stems back to the days before the gallows. Criminals were hung from the top rung of a ladder and their spirits were believed to linger underneath. Common folklore is that it is bad luck to walk beneath an open ladder and pass through the triangle of evil ghosts and spirits.
So far, my luck is holding out!
Of course, this ladder was more difficult to walk under, almost had bad luck trying to get through, than the one we used to reach up higher.
I checked with the OSHA website, while there are precautions set forth for buying ladders and using them, I couldn’t find any references to Spirits lingering.
Off to get my week started, I’ll let you know if things change. For now, I will keep my thoughts focused on the positive fun this week promises.
One quick sidestep here. My buddy Stan, over at Razzball, a fantasy baseball blog sent this to me. I think this means the feeling is mutual!
Once again, I take a break from superstitions and fears. Sorry, but the World Series is just too exciting around here. GO RAYS!
I have not always been such a fan of baseball. When I was a little girl, I won Miss Little League. Pretty much all that meant was I rode in a convertible in a parade and waved my little gloved hands at people lining the streets, waiting for their Little Leaguer to walk by. My next brilliant moment of baseball lore, was even less impressive.
I was at a party at my in-laws home. There was a gentleman attending the party who my brother in law just wanted me to meet. He was pleased to introduce me to this person and have me ooh and aah over his ring. I looked at the ring and thought it was the biggest, gaudiest thing I had ever seen. Not wanting to say that, I wowed him all right. I said the perfect thing. I looked up from the ring and asked him, “What’s a World Series?”
Needless to say, conversations stopped. I to this day, do not remember who he was. In the retelling of this story to the father of a friend of my son, he smiled. Seems he was a coach for the Toronto Blue Jays and had a similar gaudy ring. (Sigh)
I have shown my brilliance as well, with basketball. I used to take my sons to a local pottery paint shop for some “bonding” time. Well, this young man seemed to spend a lot of time there. He was very tall and athletic looking. He just seemed to have so much time on his hands. I was introduced by the shop owner to Matt Geiger, who seemed very polite and was busy painting dishes for his pets! Finally, one day, when he seemed particularly bored, I told him, “Matt, you really need to get a job.” He laughed and agreed that would be a good idea.
Apparently it was during the Basketball strike of 1998-1999 and Matt was an NBA player. Oops, to me he was just a nice kid.
So, in honor of my amazing sports trivia, I share this video with you. It does show how the language can be used to confuse!
Superstitions centering around the black cat are some of the most well-known and popular superstitions today. Depending upon where you live, the luck centered around the cat can be good luck or bad luck. Here in the States, a black cat crossing your path is considered by many to be bad luck.
Well, I am the not so proud owner of a black cat. Not so proud has nothing to do with any superstition or concern about my luck. She has crossed my path too many times to count. The only time it has been bad luck is when I have had the misfortune to not see her as I was stepping in that direction and end up tripping or falling. (I never promised to be graceful!) I am not so proud because this cat has it out for me!
She is the true pet of my oldest son. He named her Sassy and they have been devoted to one another since the day I reluctantly agreed to yet another pet in our household. My son named her Sassy, after a cat in a movie that was popular at the time, “Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey”. (Even as I went to type that name it became Homeward Pound, do you suppose that was Freudian?)
If my son is in the room and simply wags his finger, the cat runs to jump on his lap and purrs like a kitten. (Mind you she is 17 years old!) She sleeps on his bed when he is home, she sits in his window often when he is gone. Sassy is in love with my son. She will go to my youngest, when the oldest is missing for comfort. She even has a game with my husband, “Pet Daddy”. He sits on the couch, she at his side and when he says, “pet Daddy”, she reaches her little paw out to rub his tummy.
I clean her cat box. I feed her. I grow catnip for her. I buy her toys. I disgust this cat! She looks the opposite direction of wherever I may be. She sits on my papers, if I am working in the living room, then becomes annoyed with me if I reach out for one. She yowls at me in the morning when she wants to be fed.
I tried to convince my son to take her with him, so he wouldn’t be homesick when he left for college. He didn’t want her to get out if a roommate wasn’t aware in a new town. She mourned his moving, lost weight. I took her to the vets and bought a special weight improving food for her. Still, I disgust her.
I had a relative who was afraid of cats. A black cat crossing her path would send her into such strong fear, she would freeze and you could see her heart palpitate. She didn’t like pictures of cats, seeing any cat outside upset her. Now, that is more than a little superstition, that is fear! In a case like that, through hypnosis one can regress to the origin of such a fear and learn to overcome it. This relative also feared hypnosis, she didn’t understand it. What a shame, to live a life of fear.
For me, I just live a life of servitude to a Lucky Black Cat!
Superstitions are our attempts at making sense out the unexplained. Many of our superstitions once sought to placate “unseen forces” by simple rituals, and many of these rituals, such as knocking on wood after an optimistic statement or throwing spilled salt over the left shoulder, still persist today.
Watching the Tampa Bay Rays win last night lead me to do some thinking about the differences between behaviors that are rituals and those that are superstitions. Often a coach will encourage a ritual that will allow the player become focused. That is healthy. When it crosses over into the realm of “magical thinking” it becomes superstition. The fans hold many superstitions as well.
Do you have any behaviors that cross over into the realm of superstition? Do they affect you in a positive or negative way?
Imagine an opportunity presents itself to land the big client, to finally meet with the CEO of a fortune 500 company and get a signature on a career making contract and all you have to do is fly to the city where the corporate office is located. It is too far a drive to be there by deadline, just hop on a plane and your career hits the big time! Maybe your favorite niece is getting married at an exotic resort and you are invited to attend, you just have to fly there. A group of your golfing buddies are going to play one of the most exclusive courses and make a weekend out of it. There is even a corporate jet provided to get you there. Just climb on board and join the fun.
Or not. What if you are one of the many who suffer from a fear of flying?
It has been said that as many as 1 out of every 3 adults suffers from a fear of flying. It is said to be a learned fear. The reasons vary as much as the individuals who suffer from it. There are those who feel claustrophobic (fear of enclosed spaces), others suffer from acrophobia (fear of heights), while others may fear not being in control or may have developed a fear as a result of a horrific accident they saw in the news. Still, there are those who have had experiences that set them into a fearful state. Regardless of the reason, the fear can prevent the sufferer from enjoying one of the safest modes of transportation and the opportunities that are available as a result of the freedom flying brings.
Last night was the big annual event for WIN (Women In Networking) in Pinellas County, FL. The net proceeds were to go to Healthy Start Coalition of Pinellas County and The American Cancer Society. I am excitedly waiting to hear how much money was raised. It had to be a good amount as the place was packed! There were so many vendors I was unable to visit them all.
My talk was so much fun to give. I had a room full of energetic listeners and we laughed all the way through it. I did not do anything for luck, but practice and allow myself to feel calm and centered. Imagine that?!
I attended a workshop on blogging, Tina Williams was the presenter. She had some great information, now all I need is the time to digest it and apply what I learned. The one thing she did convince me of, I am now active with Twitter. I had been signed up, but never bothered to find out anything more. (I had really signed on to be polite to a friend.) Wow! I have even been tweeted!
Well, time to head back to the office. I just wanted to keep my promise and let you know how the talk went. Tomorrow, back on track with superstitions and fears. “Til then: tweet, tweet!
