Friggatriskaidekaphobia

Yeahhhhhhhh it's Friday!

Ohhhhhh it's the 13th....

I have never been one of those people that got particularly upset  or paranoid on a Friday the 13th. It's always just been another day on the calendar and I figured any Friday was a good day despite what number was attached to it.

Today had me curious though, just what is the deal about the fear of Friday the 13th? Just in this year of 2012 alone there are 3 days that the 13th will fall on a Friday. Oddly enough, those 3 dates are exactly 13 weeks apart. (Insert spooky music here). The only real fears I had this morning were about my tree and thinking up something to blog about. So I took what was staring right in front of me on the calendar and googled Friday the 13th.

Friggatriskaidekaphobia or Paraskevidekatriaphobia is the fear of Friday the 13th. I just had a small sample of that fear, when trying to spell both of those words without any typos. Don't look too closely in case I did. I typo on a regular basis so I am sure it's not just going to occur today.

Friday and the number 13 were considered in the past, (and still today) very unlucky.

Never change a bed on Friday, according to folklore. It will bring bad dreams.

If you cut your nails on Friday, you cut them for sorrow (Pay attention Souix, I think this applies to chewing toenails too).

Never start a trip or set sail in your ship on a Friday. You will have bad luck.

I can sorta understand that last one about traveling. There is NEVER a mechanic's shop that is open on a week-end if you should break down.

Thirteen people sit down to dine together, one will die within one year.

There are 13 witches in a coven.

If you have 13 letters in your name, you will have the devils luck (Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy, etc.)

I had never heard of any of those things until I googled about Friday the 13th. I still think of Friday as a good day, and if I were in China they consider 13 lucky. In the times of Egyptian Pharaohs they thought 13 was lucky too. Well, maybe not so lucky now as I don't think any of them are still living.

There are a whole slew of phobias that most likely a few of us or the majority of us might share.

Breaking a mirror. A reflection in a mirror is thought to represent a soul, so damaging a mirror corrupts the soul of the one that broke it. The good news is that life is suppose to renew it's self after every 7 years, so the soul will be restored after the 7th year has passed. I am not exactly sure how this works out in dog years, but I am assuming they only have to wait a year?

Walking under a ladder. The ladder is suppose to represent the trinity. It creates a triangle when placed against a wall and walking under it is seen as breaking the trinity. I don't' walk under ladders. Not because I have a fear of breaking anything, but it just doesn't seem normal to choose to walk thru a narrow space where people are most likely working. I myself have a fear of heights and it is that acrophobia that will have me clinging tightly to the top of the ladder when forced to go to the top of it. How in the world one is suppose to hold a paint can in one hand and a brush in the other hand and not fall off is beyond me.

Bad luck to open umbrellas indoors. I googled about umbrellas and there was a long story about umbrellas, something about trying to capture the essence of the goddess of the sky and opening up the umbrella indoors would bring disfavor from the god of the sun or something like that. I think it was a long winded way of saying, "idiot it never rains indoors, close the umbrella up before you poke your eye out".

Magpies. A single magpie is seen as bad luck. It is a sign of impending death. Except in China, it is regarded as good luck. I am wishing now I would have googled 13 magpies in China to see if that would still be considered lucky.

Spilled salt. Salt use to be expensive and spilling any of it was a big no-no. Spilled salt was thought to reduce your longevity, and that it could ward off evil spirits. Lucky for us that we can throw salt over the left shoulder in the face of the devil who lurks there if we do spill some of the seasoning. I couldn't resist looking over my left shoulder. No devil was there, but now my neck kind of hurts.

It's funny how fear can control our lives and how we attach significance to some things whether imagined or real. Phobias, fear of something bad, feeling unlucky in life and situations tend to hold us back. They polarize and prevent us from a lot of things in life. Real or imagined they create an anxiousness that colors our choices.

I didn't climb a ladder today. I didn't take a trip or travel. I didn't spill salt or go looking for magpies. I don't even think I own an umbrella. But I did find myself outside today walking under my cracked tree a couple of times while out watering the veggie garden. I came inside as the sprinkler was going and thought, I should go back out and take another pic of the tree. Take a pic from the South side so all of you can see how it hovers just a few feet from the power lines. Then I got to thinking of the cracked tree and how it could fall on me, and there I would be crushed to death. That part kinda bothered me, but not so much as the thought of someone finding the camera and me filming getting crushed by the tree and uploading it to Youtube.

Yes, that is my biggest fear and phobia. Doing stupid, moronic, idiotic stuff that I should know better not to do and it being on-line for all the world to see.

So I talked myself out of going to take another pic. I couldn't help but remind myself, that it would have been the third time I walked under that tree too, and we all know bad things come in threes.

Wishing you a SAFE Friday the 13th.