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Superstitions
Beliefs and practices resulting from the human need to find causation in the everyday happenings of life. This is where we will try to unravel some of the unusual and esoteric things people ask us about.
1,659 Questions
Example of superstitious beliefs and explain the basis for it?
An example of a superstitious belief is that spilling salt is bad luck. It originated because both spilling things and bad luck are fairly ordinary events and it is difficult to disprove the correlation.
Is there any scientific basis for superstitions?
While there are certainly historical, anthropological and cultural reasons behind most superstitions, they are called superstitions because of the very fact that they have no basis in Science.
Why do human believe in power of supernatural?
The answer is Simple, If there isn't a supernatural power, it is impossible to see a "Intelligent Design" of the creations around us! This universe is Designed by a supernatural power! e.g. We never can say a mobile device was found in the desert after millions of years of evolution because of the design and the structure, and we also cannot deny the perfect design of the living beings!for an example, we can take a Human's Hand, It is impossible to lift up a glass of water without the help of the Thumb finger, (if you doubt it you may try it and see) therefore, certainly someone has engineered Humans' internal and external body structures, without a doubt! And as an another argument, we can post a question, did everything came from nothing? physics gives an answer saying NO... it is impossible something to come from nothing, So there is certainly a creator! Quran 52:35-36 questions mankind " Were they created of nothing, or were they themselves the creators? Or did they create the heavens and the earth? No, they have no firm belief. " Allah is all wise all knowing! .
Well that is just plain silly! If you like collecting owl ornaments you shouldn't pay attention to petty superstitious beliefs and keeps on collecting!
Owls are not always unlucky - there are a number of people (and groups) who believe that owls are a symbol of wisdom. Others see them as messengers. I have an extensive collection of my own, and I see them as representatives of a wonderful, beautiful and majestic creature of nature.
What are some birth superstitions?
Carrying high, or the baby kicking on the means a boy, carrying low or kicks on the left means a girl.
Untying any knots, braids etc and placing a knife under the bed will ease childbirth. Iron nails will keep evil spirits away from the mother & baby during the birth. Chicken feathers burned under the bed (after delivery) will stop bleeding.
Babies born under a waning new moon are destined to a life of failure, while a waxing new moon means a life that will grow strongly.
Then there is the old nursery rhyme: Monday's child is fair of face. Tuesdays child is full of grace. Wednesday's child is full of woe. Thursday's child has far to go. Friday's child is loving and giving. Saturday's child works hard for a living. But a child that is born on the sabath day, is blythe and bonnie, good and gay.
The correct term is superstitious beliefs. Superstitious beliefs are the belief that any one event will lead to a specific outcome even though the two events do not have a connection. An example would be believing that breaking a mirror causes seven years of bad luck.
How does science oppose superstitions?
By proving that walking under a ladder will not make bad things happen to you, it may be stupidly risky if someone has a tool/bucket/tin of paint and you knock the ladder causing it to hit you but by the scientific process of prediction, testing and conclusion of results we get proof that some superstitions are wrong.
What is the possibility of getting possessed by a ghost if your house is at a crossroad?
Absolutely NO chance of being posessed by anything!
There is no such thing as ghosts.
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On TV to "provoke" a ghost, they make it mad. IE "So, you killed your wife, that makes you a horrible person..." etc. They just try and make it mad so it "shows" itself.
Are ravens the sign of bad luck or a bad omen?
There are those who would say yes, others say no. It depends on your personal perspective. Below you will find an old poem about the number of ravens you see:
One is for bad news,
Two is for mirth.
Three is a wedding,
Four is a birth.
Five is for riches,
Six is a thief.
Seven is a journey,
Eight is for grief.
Nine is a secret,
Ten is for sorrow.
Eleven is for love,
Twelve for joy tomorrow.
Can someone give you an example of superstitious beliefs related to personal hygiene?
It is believed by some to be bad luck to wash your hair or clothing on New Year's Day.
It is believed you will adversely impact your health if you cut your fingernails or hair during the waning moon.
Combing your hair out of doors is believed to bring storms.
Haircuts have a wonderful rhyme: Best never enjoyed if Sunday shron, and likewise on a Monday, Cut Thursday and you'll never get rich, Likewise on a Saturday. But live long if shorn on a Tuesday and best of all is Friday.
An old rhyme about bathing says: He who bathes in May will soon be laid in clay, He who bathes in June will sing a marry tune, but he who bathes in July will dance like a fly.
What is the superstition of a red robin following you around even a distance in a vehicle?
Thats too wierd.
Generally, no. They can usually be proven to be untrue. For instance, as a child I heard that if you step on a crack, you break your mother's back. But my mother never had a broken back and I have stepped on plenty of cracks!
What does it mean if you have a birth mark on your butt?
Rationally, it means nothing in particular - birthmarks can occur anywhere on the body, although some types (eg "Mongolian Blue Spots") are typically located on the lower back or buttocks. Such marks are common in people of Asian origin, but can occur in other racial groups. They're of no real significance, other than possibly indicating some Asian ancestry.
Some types of birthmark tend only to occur on certain areas of the body, and these may be medically significant as indicators of particular conditions. However, most birthmarks are harmless, although they may be disfiguring in some cases.
Common brown pigmented naevi may occur anywhere; it's not unusual for these to be located on the buttocks, and cosmetically there are worse places to have a birthmark, especially if it's large! I have a brown birthmark on my left buttock, and I'm glad it's there rather than somewhere more visible.
Some astrologers interpret birthmarks on the buttocks as indicators that the bearers lack ambition/ are lazy; others assert that people with these marks are courageous, imaginative, and creative! IMO, this is nonsense... but if you accept such beliefs it could, of course, become a self-fulfilling prophecy!
So, generally, a birthmark on your butt is of no significance whatsoever - it's just one of those things; unless you or someone else wants to read something into it.
Have superstition ever been proved right?
To me the very nature of a superstition is that they can not be proved one way or the other.
Superstition is "is a belief or notion, not based on reason or knowledge"
Some say it it bad luck to walk under a ladder, this is a superstition.
It might not be a good idea to walk under a ladder, as the person up the ladder might drop something that hits you on the head, but the actual act of walking under that ladder is not in and of itself "unlucky" or "bad" it just carries a very small risk of having something hit you on the head.
It has been my experience that superstitions are a lot like cliches, there has to be (or at least once was) some basis of fact in them or they wouldn't exist, but they are not always right.
Remember some superstition have been around for generations, and life has changed considerably in that time, things that were common practice back then have since been proven to be incorrect... after all people once believed the earth was flat...
What would cause a zombie apocalypse?
The supposed outbreak of "zombisim" in Cambodia is nothing but an outright myth. There is no chance of a zombie outbreak, therefore no chance of a supposed "zombie apocalypse".
Superstition means a belief or notion not based on reason or knowledge, or on an actual connection to a logical or scientific phenomenon.
Superstitions are commonly used to explain occurrences that may be random chance, or that have some undiscovered logical explanation. They would include such ancient folklore as breaking a mirror, or black cats, and such modern examples as sports fans wearing "lucky socks" to a game.
Why is breaking glass good luck?
Breaking glass is not good luck- it is bad luck.
If you have bad luck coming your way, breaking glass will, according to superstition, eliminate it. Breaking glass, without any (bad luck) precursor, will supposedly manifest itself in only bad luck.
Speaking in more detail, according to superstition, when one has bad luck coming his or her way, breaking a mirror works as a shield to bad luck. A mirror is a reflective device. When one breaks a mirror, it will reflect the bad luck of a broken mirror. But, when already in the presence of bad luck, it reflects the bad luck in the bad-luck dimension. Bad luck in the bad luck dimension is good luck, which we all obstinately have.
Why did Medieval people believe in superstitions?
It was a way to explain events that they didn't understand. If you don't know how or why something happens, then, people make up the answers. We have superstitions today that we take for fact that 1000 years from now people will wonder how we could think such things.
