12.12.12

12 12 12 is soo cute.. And at 12.12.12 -12.12pm I will eat a DONUT

Superstitions... In a way.... Play their roll in helping the creative mind lead a fabulous fantasy adventure - brought on by fear...

How do I respond when people ask me if I am superstitious?
"Well I wouldn't say that I am superstitious... Because it might be bad luck!"

It isn't so much that I believe something bad will happen if I don't follow "The rules" of a certain superstition... For me, (probably) it's more about upholding certain traditions that have been instilled within me, thanks to previous generations of zombies. Confused? Yes, so am I... But what I mean is... It is easy to break out, or become disenchanted with a certain religious or spiritual belief - but quite hard to shake lose the traditions and rituals that accompany it (no matter how absurd they may be).

For the spiritually challenged and non-believers - it is either OCD that associates bad events with a previous act they did or did not perform - or a liking to creative aspects that a certain superstition holds...

Let’s examine a few popular superstitions, shall we?

Personally I don’t believe that having a black cat cross your path is bad luck... Mostly because I love kitties...

Awwwwww ♥

For people who do believe that walking under a ladder is bad luck...
and I quote:

"Walking under a ladder has long been regarded a bad luck, but why? Some believe that in the medieval times, a leaning ladder was thought to resemble a gallows, so if you walked under a ladder you were guaranteeing your own death by hanging. Another, possibly more likely solution is that the shape formed by a leaning ladder is a triangle, and the triangle is the symbol of the Holy Trinity. Therefore, by walking through the triangle, you are violating and desecrating God."

Again... Not scared of ladders for any other reason than a clumsy workman/woman dropping heavy tools on my head! On second thoughts, that might not be that bad if I survive and sue them for millions!

Not scary at all...

Let's go into some of my local traditions... I am a Greek-Cypriot, and here in Cyprus we have traditions and rituals that date back thousands of years.

We also have ancient donkeys....

One of my favourites is the "Evil eye" this one dates back to ancient times and can be found over many cultures. The story goes if someone is envious of jealous of you or something you have that they don't; you will fall ill, or have something terrible happen to you, like this:

Only in traditional Cypriot clothing

You can protect yourself from the evil eye with one of these

Here's looking at you, kid

Think you/your propety/kids/pets/family have been afflicted by the evil eye? Click on this link for the cure!


Little dark entities...

Another hilariously funny superstition in Cyprus has to do with little troll beings called Kallikantzaroi

"During the Greek Orthodox epiphany celebrations when Lokmades (doughnuts) are prepared, it’s traditional to toss the first one from the frying pan onto the roof of the house. The reason for this is to appease any evil spirits who may be skulking around the home."

Or you can simply hit him over the head with the frying pan *I'm not an advocate for violence (excepct when used to defend humanity against trolls)

But let's not just focus on the negative! How about superstitions for good luck? (Also known as the boring ones)

Heres a list:

Good luck superstitions

- If your right hand itches, you will earn money.
- If you find a four-leaf clover, you will have good luck.
- If you see a horseshoe which was lost, you will have good luck.
- If you throw rice on a new bride and groom, they will have so many children.
- If you dream about a white cat, you will have good luck.
- If you see a black cat which walks towards you, it brings you good luck.
- If your right ear itches, someone is speaking well of you.
- You can hang up garlic in your house for good luck.
- If you put a mirror just across the door, you will have good luck.
- If you put the sugar into the cup first, before the tea, you will have good luck.
- If you step on your shadow, it brings you good luck.
- If you catch a falling leaf on the first day of autumn, you will have good luck all winter.
- If you blow out all the candles on your birthday cake in one blow, you will get whatever you want.
- If the first butterfly you see in the year is white, it brings you good luck all year.
- If a girl drinks salty water then goes to sleep, she will see her future husband in her dream.

So you see colourful word of superstitions still holds its iron grip over many of us 21st century space cadets...

So I leave you with this...

There is no one who can predict the end; there is no one who can save you from making stupid mistakes - such as locking yourself in a bunker and chanting hare krishna until the radioactive cows come home.

People talk, situations escalate and rumours get out of hand. There are trolls all over the world who like nothing better than to instil fear, panic and misery in the hearts of good people. Don't let them wrangle you into their webs of deceit and false prophecies.

Carry on with your lives and remember, you are a person just like every other over the millennia. You don’t have super power and neither did they.

What society does now, society did then... Only without lolcats and rage comics (how did they make it through their days?!).

Now get back to work/studying! Or the powers will get angry and punish you. (With bad grades/pink slips).

Skevi