Beliefs warning of misfortune and danger: popular folk omens
Many people avoid the corners of the table, do not pass things across the threshold, or avoid black cats. These are all folk beliefs that have been passed down from generation to generation. This was reported by SSPDaily.
Folk beliefs were intended to regulate people's relationships with each other and with the world around them. They were formed based on observations of many generations; our ancestors observed nature, everyday life, and developed certain rules and traditions to regulate daily life. Various situations were explained by the intervention of spirits and otherworldly forces.
With the advent of Christianity, beliefs were transformed into folk customs. Thus, ancient traditions intertwined with Christian postulates.
Today, many beliefs are followed unconsciously because their parents and grandparents did so.
The most popular signs and superstitions that warn of danger:- You can't borrow anything or take out the trash in the evening
It was believed that everything that happens in the evening, when it gets dark, is not a human time. A person is not protected at this time and can be influenced by evil spirits.
Therefore, one should not give anything away in the evening to avoid trouble. When a person takes something out of the house in the evening, it is as if they are giving it to otherworldly forces. Such actions can cause misfortune and attract otherworldly forces.
If you whistle in the house, there will be no money
It is believed that whistling is an unnatural sound associated with evil spirits. In legends, whistling often accompanies a devil or an imp. In folk traditions, whistling is endowed with a certain demonic power; it is believed that it can summon evil spirits.
You can't pass things over the threshold
Our ancestors believed that the threshold in the house was the boundary between the real and the otherworldly. According to an ancient tradition, people used to bury people under the threshold. The threshold was perceived as a boundary space, so it was forbidden to pass things across the threshold.
For the same reasons, one was not allowed to sit or stand on the threshold.
Do not look into a broken mirror
A mirror is a kind of portal between worlds that leads to a parallel world. That is why it is covered for all 9 days when a person dies in the house.
It was believed that a broken mirror continues to retain its properties as a portal, but a broken one. Therefore, looking into it was a sign of bad luck that would come to a person from another world.
There was even a belief that bad luck would haunt a person who looked into a broken mirror for 7 years.
Do not give knives as gifts
In ancient times, it was believed that a knife could both protect and harm if used improperly. It was believed that blacksmiths who worked with metal had knowledge inaccessible to other people and were familiar with evil spirits.
Therefore, if someone gave something sharp and metal as a gift, this object was from the evil one. To avoid bad luck, it was necessary to redeem this object. That's why people bought back knives so that nothing bad would be transmitted through them.
A woman crossing the road with an empty bucket - to bad luck
A full bucket symbolized fullness, grace, and an empty bucket symbolized poverty and bad luck.
Therefore, when people crossed the road with full buckets, it was a sign of success and happiness, and vice versa.
Spilled salt - to a quarrel
Salt was very expensive, and only rich people could afford to buy a lot of salt, so when someone spilled it in the house, a quarrel would arise. In traditional rituals, salt is used as protection. Therefore, spilling salt also means scattering your protection.
Unmarried people should not sit on the corner of the table
The corners were treated with special care because they were considered one of the boundaries between the real and the otherworld.
It was believed that they were like a push, people should sit on the sides of the table, and sitting on the corner was perceived as wrong. You could be punished for it.
If a bird crashes into a window, it's bad luck
This is an extremely ancient symbol associated with the fact that birds flying away are in the afterlife. They can symbolize either the souls of the dead or carry some information from them. Therefore, it is believed that a bird flying home is a message from the other world.