A Dreamer Tells... v.19

Feeling--

sluggish, tired and eh
Reading-- Exposure by Dee Davis
Listening to-- nothing

Did you realize we missed having a Friday the 13^th this week by one day? Thursday was the the 13^th. I have to admit--if I already haven't, which I'm sure I have--to being slightly superstitious when it comes to luck. I like to knock on wood and have had one or two other personal superstitions that I more or less followed when I've wanted good luck. (I'm not going reveal them, of course, *laughs* that's why they're p-e-r-s-o-n-a-l, personal.) Even though I've followed these superstitions off and on--the knock on wood more frequently--I have to laugh, even at myself, for these practices. They're silly, they're old, they're amusing. At least, in my opinion. But, if you look at their origins and history, they're also interesting. At least, to me they are.

With Friday the 13^th, I have to laugh because--*looks up to where the superstition gods might be listening in and sidles away from current spot in case a lightning bolt is thrown*--I've always found the day, in fact, the number 13 to be lucky for me. There have been the occasional to rare times when it's been a bad to extremely unlucky day. I rarely saw why people dreaded the day; I've normally relished it.

Since Halloween is coming up I thought a look at this particular superstition might be an interesting, if somewhat off-the-mark, addition to my haphazard "Halloween countdown." If you want a tie-in, however, here 'tis...black cats, bad luck, hexes, witches, superstitions, Halloween. You'll be able to see the tie-in as I briefly share the wherefores or whys and hows of Friday the 13^th.

Why is Friday and the number 13 considered so unlucky?

There is a Norse myth where 12 gods have a banquet at Valhalla. In walked the mischievous Loki, crashing the party and bringing the number of guests to 13. Once there, Loki arranged for Hoder, the blind god of Darkness, to shoot Balder the Beautiful, the god of Joy and Gladness, with a mistletoe-tipped arrow. Baldur died and the Earth got dark. The whole Earth mourned. (Hence, why we have winter...intterrreessstttiiinnng.)

There is a Biblical reference to the unlucky number 13. Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, was the 13^th guest at the Last Supper.

A particularly unlucky Friday the 13^th occurred during the Middle Ages. On October 13, 1307, King Philip of France arrested the Grand Master and 60 members of the revered Knights Templar and began torturing them, marking the occasion as a day of evil.

In ancient Rome, witches reportedly gathered in groups of 12. The 13^th was believed to be the devil.

Both Friday and the number 13 were once closely associated with capital punishment. In British tradition, Friday was the conventional day for public hangings, and there were supposedly 13 steps leading up to the noose.

It is traditionally believed (by Catholics?) that Eve tempted Adam with the apple on a Friday. Same tradition also has it that the Great Flood, the confusion at the Tower of Babel and the death of Jesus Christ all took place on a Friday.

Numerologists consider 12 as a "complete" number. There are 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 Labors of Hercules, 12 Tribes of Israel and 12 apostles of Jesus Christ. In exceeding 12 by 1, 13's association with bad luck has to do with just being a little beyond completeness.

How is fear of the number 13 manifested?

More than 80% of high-rises lack a 13^th floor.

Many airports skip the 13^th gate.

Airplanes have no 13^th aisle.

Hospitals and hotels regularly have no room number of 13.

Italians omit the number 13 from their national lottery.

On streets in Florence, Italy, the house between number 12 and 14 is addressed as 12�.

Many cities do not have a 13^th Street or a 13^th Avenue.

In France, socialites known as the quatorziens (fourteeners) once made themselves available as 14^th guests to keep a dinner party from an unlucky fate.

If you have 13 letters in your name, you will have the devil's luck . Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy and Albert De Salvo all have 13 letters in their names.

Did you know...?
The fear of Friday the 13^th is called triskaidekaphobia...

..:: Remembered��E��Occuring ::..

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