Why Do Superstitions Persist?
In an age of science and information, it might seem strange that so many people still knock on wood, avoid the number 13, or toss spilled salt over their shoulder. Yet superstitions are remarkably resilient. They survive because they tap into something deeply human: the desire to feel some control over uncertain outcomes and the powerful role that ritual plays in managing anxiety.
Let's explore 13 of the most widespread luck-related superstitions, where they actually come from, and what keeps them alive today.
The Bad Luck Superstitions
1. Walking Under a Ladder
A leaning ladder forms a triangle with the wall and ground — a shape long associated with the Holy Trinity in Christian tradition. Disturbing this sacred shape was considered blasphemous and thus unlucky. Practically speaking, walking under a working ladder is also genuinely dangerous, which likely helped reinforce the belief.
2. Breaking a Mirror (7 Years of Bad Luck)
Ancient Romans believed the soul renewed itself every seven years — a broken mirror meant a broken soul, requiring seven years to heal. Before mirrors, the superstition applied to still water, since reflections were considered windows to one's spirit.
3. The Number 13
Known as triskaidekaphobia when it becomes a genuine fear, the unluckiness of 13 has several proposed origins: 13 guests at the Last Supper, Norse mythology's tale of Loki as the 13th uninvited guest, and the fact that 13 disrupts the "complete" number 12. Many buildings still skip the 13th floor entirely.
4. A Black Cat Crossing Your Path
This superstition is notably culturally divided — in the UK and Japan, a black cat crossing your path is considered good luck, while in much of the United States and continental Europe it's considered bad. The negative association in the West stems largely from medieval European beliefs linking black cats to witchcraft.
5. Opening an Umbrella Indoors
Before the age of modern compact umbrellas, the large spring-loaded mechanisms could genuinely cause injury when opened indoors. The bad luck association likely developed as a practical deterrent that took on superstitious weight over time.
6. Spilling Salt
Salt was historically an extremely valuable commodity — worth its weight in gold in some eras (the word "salary" derives from the Latin for salt). Spilling it was therefore genuinely costly. The remedy — tossing a pinch over the left shoulder — was meant to blind the devil said to lurk there.
The Good Luck Superstitions
7. Knocking on Wood
One of the most universal good luck gestures. Its roots are debated: some trace it to pagan beliefs that spirits inhabited trees and could be called upon for protection; others link it to the Christian practice of touching a crucifix. Today it's almost reflexively performed after any boastful statement.
8. Finding a Penny (Heads Up)
The phrase "find a penny, pick it up, all day long you'll have good luck" specifically applies to a penny found heads up. A tails-up penny is often considered bad luck and best left alone or flipped over for the next person.
9. Wishing on a Shooting Star
Ancient Greeks believed shooting stars were souls entering or leaving the heavens. Making a wish was a way to communicate with those briefly open celestial gates. The tradition has persisted beautifully across cultures for millennia.
10. The Number 7
Considered lucky across many cultures, 7 appears in the world's major religious texts, in the days of the week, and in natural cycles. Its perceived "completeness" (7 days, 7 notes in a musical scale, 7 colors in a rainbow) has made it a near-universal symbol of perfection and fortune.
11. Seeing a Rainbow
Across cultures — from Norse mythology's Bifröst bridge to the Biblical covenant — rainbows signal good fortune and divine blessing. The "pot of gold at the end of the rainbow" is an Irish addition to a globally lucky symbol.
12. Blowing Out Birthday Candles
The tradition of making a silent wish while blowing out birthday candles traces back to ancient Greece, where round honey cakes lit with candles were offered to Artemis. Extinguishing all candles in one breath was believed to send the wish to the gods via the smoke.
13. Crossing Your Fingers
This gesture for luck predates Christianity. Early Christians used it as a secret symbol of faith during persecution. The intersection of two lines (or fingers) was believed to concentrate good spirits at the crossing point — a practice that evolved into the casual habit we use today.
The Takeaway
Superstitions are, at their core, inherited rituals of hope and protection. Even when we rationally dismiss them, many of us perform them anyway. And there's growing psychological evidence that these small rituals genuinely help — not through supernatural intervention, but by reducing anxiety, building confidence, and focusing our attention on positive outcomes.