Common Superstitions

* Friday the thirteenth is an unlucky day.

* A rabbit's foot brings good luck.

* An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

* To find a four-leaf clover is to find good luck.

* If you walk under a ladder, you will have bad luck.

* If a black cat crosses your path you will have bad luck.

* To break a mirror will bring you seven years bad luck.

* To open an umbrella in the house is to bring bad luck.

* To find a horseshoe brings good luck.

* Step on a crack, break your mother's back.

* You can break a bad luck spell by turning seven times in a clockwise circle.

* Garlic protects from evil spirits and vampires.

* Our fate is written in the stars.

* At the end of a rainbow is a pot of gold.

* Clothes worn inside out will bring good luck.

* Wearing your birthstone will bring you good luck.

* An itchy palm means money will come your way.

* A beginner will always have good luck: beginner's luck.

* A cat has nine lives.

* Eating fish makes you smart.

* Toads cause warts.

* A cricket in the house brings good luck.

* It is bad luck to sing at the table.

* It is bad luck to sleep on a table.

* Goldfish in the pond bring good luck.

* Goldfish in the house bring bad luck.

* For good luck, wear new clothes on Easter.

* If the bottom of your feet itch, you will make a trip.

* When a dog howls, death is near.

* It is bad luck to chase someone with a broom.

* A sailor wearing an earring cannot drown.

* To find a penny heads up, brings good luck.

* To cure a sty, rub it with a gold wedding band.

* Animals can talk at midnight on Christmas Eve.
* A bird that comes in your window brings bad luck.

* To refuse a kiss under mistletoe causes bad luck.

* A drowned woman floats face up, a drowned man floats face down.

* A person cannot drown before going under three times.

* To drop a fork means a woman will visit.

* To drop a knife means a man will visit.

* To drop a spoon means a child will visit.

* Washing a car will bring rain.

* To drop a dishcloth means bad luck is coming.

* If you shiver, someone is casting a shadow on your grave.


* After receiving a container of food, the container should never be returned empty.

* Crossing your fingers helps to avoid bad luck and helps a wish come true.

* A lock of hair from a baby's first haircut should be kept for good luck.
* An acorn at the window can keep lightning out of the house.

* The wedding veil protects the bride from the evil eye.

* You must get out of bed on the same side you got in on or you will have bad luck.

* Evil spirits cannot harm you when you are standing in a circle.

* A cat will try to take the breath from a baby.

* Warm hands, cold heart.

* Cold hands, warm heart.

* It is unlucky to rock an empty rocking chair.

* To kill an albatross is to cause bad luck to the ship and all upon it.

* Wearing an opal when it is not your birthstone is bad luck.

* Smell dandelions, wet the bed.

* To give someone a purse or wallet without money in it will bring that person bad luck.


* A forked branch, held with a fork in each hand, will dip and point when it passes over water.


* If you blow out all of the candles on your birthday cake with the first breath, you will get whatever you wish for.

* To have a wish come true using a wishbone, two people make a wish, then take hold of each end of the bone and pull it until it separates. The person with the longer end gets his or her wish.


* To make a happy marriage, the bride must wear: something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.