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- A bird call from the north means tragedy; from the south is good for crops; from the west is good luck; from the east, good love.
- A bat means long life and happiness, a good omen
- A big black moth in the house means a deceased one is just visiting reincarnated through that moth.
- A bird that flies into a house, foretells an important message.
- A cat onboard a ship is considered to bring luck.
- A cricket is a lucky house spirit that takes its luck away when it leaves.
- a fire that roars up the chimney = an omen of an argument or a storm
- A goat's foot or some hairs from his beard are believed to be talismans for driving off evil spirits.
- A horseshoe hung in the bedroom will keep nightmares away.
- A horseshoe, hung above the doorway, will bring good luck to a home. In most of Europe protective horseshoes are placed in a downward facing position, but in some parts of Ireland and Britain people believe that the shoes must be turned upward or "the luck will run out."
- an albatross flying round a ship in mid-ocean is an omen of wind and bad weather to come; it is horrific luck to kill one
- Ants building a nest near the door to your house is a clear sign of financial security in the future.
- Ants signify bad weather when they are very agitated.
- Bats have always had a connection with witches, and can have good or bad connotation, depending on the tradition. According to one, if a bat flies three times around a house, it is a death omen. Conversely, when bats come out early and fly about playfully, it is a sign of good weather to come.
- Bee-stings were once thought to prevent rheumatism, and in some places a bee-sting was also thought to cure it.
- biting your tongue while eating means you have recently told a lie
- black cat crossing your path is a herald of bad luck as they are thought to be witches' familiars.
- blackbirds nesting anywhere in your house signals a year of good fortune; if two males are seen sitting together this is a very good omen
- breaking a mirror brings seven years bad luck (which is how long it takes to rejuvenate the entire body); to break the spell of misfortune, you must wait seven hours (one for each year of bad luck) before picking up the broken pieces, and bury them outside in the moonlight
- Cats are looked upon as an infallible weather forecaster: if one sneezes then rain is on the way; a cat sitting with its back to the fire indicates a storm; while one sharpening its claws on a table leg is a sign of a change in the weather, usually for the better.
- Coal (a symbol of fire) is lucky and small pieces were often carried in the pocket
- counting crows: one's bad, two's luck, three's health, four's wealth, five's sickness, six is death
- Dogs have always been credited with the power of sensing supernatural influences, and seeing ghosts, spirits, faeries or deities which are invisible to human eyes.
- foxes that pass your home are forerunners of misfortune
- Friday the 13th is just generally bad luck
- Frogs are said to be the souls of children who have died and thus it is very unlucky to kill one.
- Howling dogs mean the wind god has summoned death, and the spirits of the dead will be taken.
- If a bee enters your home, it's a sign that you will soon have a visitor.
- If a black cat walks towards you, it brings good fortune, but if it walks away, it takes the good luck with it.
- If the first butterfly you see in the year is white, you will have good luck all year.
- If the first calf born during the winter is white, the winter will be a bad one
- If you count the number of fish you caught, you will catch no more that day.
- if you have bird droppings land on your head it is good luck
- It is said to be unlucky for a hen to lay an even number of eggs and you would be well advised to remove one from a sitting bird.
- it is unlucky to pass anyone on the stairs (cross your fingers if you do so).
- itchy palms mean money is soon to come
- journeys commenced on a Friday will meet misfortune
- killing a sparrow will bring bad luck as sparrows are thought to carry the souls of the dead
- knives should only be closed by the person who opened them, and you should never accept a knife from someone dear or you both will soon part ways; knife falls, gentleman calls; fork falls, lady calls; spoon falls, baby calls
- knocking on wood reverses bad luck and to keep evil spirits from spoiling good luck
- opening an umbrella inside a building is bad luck
- peacock feather has an evil eye at the end. Argus, the Greek legend, says a hundred eyed monster was turned into a peacock with all its eyes in its tail. Never bring a peacock feather indoors for decoration as they are unlucky.
- ravens are birds of ill-omen, able to predict the future, particularly death
- saying "bless you" restarts another's heart after they sneeze
- Spotted horses are magical
- stepping on ants brings rain
- The cock is greatly prized because from the earliest times it was believed that when he crowed to welcome the dawn all ghosts and evil spirits had to return to the underworld.
- The cuckoo's first call in Spring provides annual reports in the correspondence columns of the London 'Times'. Apparently from early times the number of calls a cuckoo made indicated different things whether you were a young person (the time when you would marry), a married couple (the arrival of your next child) or old folk (how much longer you had to live), and it is said that because the poor bird was kept so busy answering such enquiries, it had no time to build a nest and therefore had to offload its young on to foster-parents. Nonetheless, it is a lucky bird and it is widely believed that whatever state of health you are in at the time you hear the first call, so you will remain for the rest of the year. And a wish made at this time is supposed to come true.
- The deeper the ladybird's color, the better luck it brings. The number of spots on its back are also important. The more spots...the better the luck!
- The sight of a dog eating grass, rolling on the floor or scratching itself excessively are all said to be omens that rain is imminent.
- Throw back the first fish you catch then you'll be lucky the whole day fishing.
- To hear a mouse squeaking anywhere near someone who is ill is a sign that the person will die, and much of the abhorrence towards mice (who are actually far cleaner creatures than generally imagined) probably stems from the old superstition that they are the souls of people who have been murdered. If they nibble anyone's clothing during the night, that person will suffer some misfortune, while no journey undertaken after seeing one is likely to be successful.
- to stir the teapot anti-clockwise will stir up a quarrel.
- tossing spilled salt over your left shoulder protects your wealth from demons trying to steal it
- viewing an owl either through your window or viewing one in the daylight is bad luck and will bestow death upon you
- walking under a ladder is bad luck, because it disturbs the spirits of the dead which reside there
- 'Wash and wipe together, Live in peace together'
- When cows lie on high ground it is said to be a sign of good weather to come, while if they feed too close together or low excessively then rain is imminent. If a cow breaks into your garden then there will be a death in the family.
- while legends tell us that geese are particularly silly birds, if one flies around the house it is said to know that death is on the way.
- windows should be opened at the moment of death so that the soul can leave
- You will always get the best night's sleep if your bed is positioned in a north-south direction with your head to the south - this will ensure a long life. To be rich, point your head to the east; to travel widely, the west.
feb 16 2012 ∞
feb 16 2012 +
feb 16 2012 +