Otherways- Fiction Fanatics

My current writing project has me rather fascinated with the superstions that used to form the cloth of everyday life. It is actually hard to imagine a world in which we had no understanding of germs, for instance, and diseases could sweep through entire regions. Yes, they still can, and the idea still terrifies us, just look at the number of end of the world scenarios involving the spread of some contagion. How much worse would it be if we had no grasp of how disease spread, or why? 

Let's face it, life is short, often painful, and even now we don't really understand half of what is going on. Generations ago, they combatted this fear and ignorance through superstition. While my project focusses more on the Oriental side of the globe, these old "closer to home" superstitions may seem just as foreign.

An entire set of these revolves around bees. Hardly surprising, as bees pollinate so much of our food, and produce honey, which in many regions was the only sweetener available. Not only that, but honey does not spoil, which to generations living without refrigeration, canning, and fast food outlets was probably a minor miracle. So bees, cool creatures that they are, became known as the messengers of heaven in several religions. Seeing a bee was good luck, and obviously killing one would be bad. If a swarm of bees landed on your roof, it was a sign the house would burn down. (Given that the roof would probably have been made of thatch, and houses were heated with wood, there might actually have been some truth in that.) 

Now let's get a bit further afield. We all know that brides should wear something borrowed and something blue. The blue was thought to be magical for a couple of reasons. First, blue is the color of the sky, so touching a blue stone puts you into direct contact with heaven, by the magical principle of like attracts like. For similar reasons, blue was thought to protect against witchcraft as well. This isn't strictly a western belief, I have a set of blue "camel beads". meant to protect the owner while traveling ,and against the evil eye, that were made in Egypt.

Circles show up repeatedly in superstitions, primarily for symbolic reasons. Circles have no beginning and no end, so are used to symbolize the divine. Thus circles will protect the user against evil, though the superstitious often give the circle a boost by combining it with another material, such as salt. Bracelets of silver or copper are circular talismans against disease or the evil eye, and crosses are sometimes shown with the circle behind them to strengthen their power. It isn't just Christian mythos that this symbology applies to, pagans have long used the circle to symbolize fertility, Spring, and potential, as it most resembles the egg.

Disposing of hair and fingernail clippings isn't something we think about anymore. We go to the salon or the barber, pay them, and leave them to sweep up the detritus. Not long ago, this would have been unthinkable, leaving you wide open to attack by witches, or other nefarious forces. Of course, voodoo dolls are famous for needing a bit of the person they are meant to be to form the connection, and a lock of hair was the most readily available piece. Witches, both good and bad, were reputed to use these things to strengthen their charms. For example, a charm of protection for you might contain some of your own hair, mixed with other substances, but a charm against you might contain the same, so really it appears that it was more the intent than the content that mattered.

The one superstition that I can't explain has to do with elephants. The old one about white elephants is far easier to understand, but did you know that pictures of elephants are generally considered to be bad luck? I have to admit I'm stumped as to why, but the only way a picture of an elephant isn't unlucky is if it is facing a door. Go figure.

Cheers,

Michelle