The human menstrual period occurs in a typical woman every 28 days, and this in many ancient cultures suggested a connection between thirteen and women. The association of thirteen with bad luck may be a vilification of the "female" number.

The Apollo 13 spacecraft malfunctioned after being launched on April 11th at 13:13 CST, forcing it to return to Earth without a landing on the moon and imperiling its crew.

The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia or paraskevidekatriaphobia, a specialized form of triskaidekaphobia, a phobia (fear) of the number thirteen.

Thirteen may be considered a "bad" or "unlucky" number simply because when a group of 13 objects or people is divided into two, three, four or six equal groups, there is always one leftover, or "unlucky", object or person.

Friday the 13th superstitions originated in a Norse myth about twelve gods having a feast in Valhalla. The mischievous Loki crashed the party as an uninvited 13th guest and arranged for Hod, the blind god of darkness, to shoot Baldur, the god of joy and gladness, with a mistletoe-tipped arrow. Baldur was killed and the Earth was plunged into darkness and mourning as a result.

'Friday' was named after Frigg (or Frigga), the Norse goddess of marriage. Later she was confused with the goddess of love, Freya, who in turn became identified with Friday. When the Norsemen and Germanic tribes became Christians, Freya was supposed to have been banished to the mountains as a witch. Friday came to be called 'witches' Sabbath. It was believed that on this day, each week, twelve witches and the Devil met - thirteen evil spirits in all.

My only superstition is when i see a single magpie, i must salute it! I have done this for as long as i can remember but cannot recall where i got it from. So thinking i was a nutter, i went off to see if other people did it and this is what i found:

The best way to avoid bad luck when you pass a magpie is to doff your hat (England). It was the only bird not to enter the Ark, preferring to remain on its own outside. It is also held in awe because it is one of the very few wild creatures that is coloured black and white - a combination of the Devil's colour and the sacred or holy colour of white. A number of incantations are favoured when passing a solitary magpie. I prefer to say, 'Hello Mr Magpie, and how do you do?' In England, magpies are also counted, 'One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl and four for a boy; five for sorrow, six for gold, seven is a secret never to be told, eight is a wish, nine is a kiss and ten is the bird you must not miss.'

In Britain and Ireland, there are a number of superstitions regarding magpies:

A single magpie is associated with bad luck

One should make sure to greet magpies when they are encountered in order to either allay bad luck or encourage good luck as related to the number of birds and therefore their place in the Magpie poem. Common greetings include "Hello Mr Magpie" "How is your wife/where is your wife?", "Good Morning/Evening Sir" and other marks of respect.

Upon seeing a lone magpie one should repeat the words "I defy thee" seven times.

On seeing a lone magpie one should pinch the person they are walking with, if they are alone they are to pinch themselves.

If a lone Magpie is seen, one should salute it to show you respect it. This formality can be forgone if the Magpie looks directly in your eyes, which shows it respects you.

In the 19th century book, A Guide to the Scientific Knowledge of Things Familiar, a proverb concerning magpies is recited: "A single magpie in spring, foul weather will bring". The book further explains that this superstition arises from the habits of pairs of magpies to forage together only when the weather is fine.

In Norway, a magpie is considered cunning and thievish, sometimes wicked, but a playful and loud bird is also bringer of good weather

An old English folk tale states that when Jesus was crucified on the cross, all of the world's birds wept and sang to comfort him in his agony. The only exception was the magpie, and for this, it is forever cursed.

In Scotland, a Magpie near the window of the house foretells death.

In Scottish folklore, (in a story possibly related to the above) magpies were long reviled for allegedly carrying a drop of Satan's blood under their tongues.

In German folklore the magpie is also seen as a thief.

In the Middle Ages and during the witch-hunts in Europe, the bird was considered to be connected with witchcraft - just like crows, ravens and black cats.

In China, instead of being a sign of unfortunateness, European magpie is considered to be a lucky sign. The name is literally "happiness magpie."

Just to finish, here are a few more of the more popular superstitions:

Not all ancient cultures held the number in fear. The Chinese and the Egyptians thought of it as lucky.

Taking a pinch of the spilled salt and throwing it over your left shoulder was thought to drive away the evil spirits that lurked there, waiting to cause harm and misfortune.

The reason 'It's bad luck to walk under a ladder' is that hangmen used to use a ladder to hang someone from the gallows, and it was believed that if you walked under a ladder, the hangmen would turn his gaze your way, or 'Death would notice you'.

The true reason that breaking a mirror was 7 years bad luck is because when mirrors were first made they were so expensive that if you broke on you would serve 7 years as an indentured servant to the owner of the mirror because not too many people could afford to buy another one to replace it.

The American version is "knock on wood", while the British version is merely "touch wood". The tradition traces back to an ancient pagan belief that spirits resided in trees, particularly Oaks, and that by knocking on or touching the wood, you were paying a small tribute to them by remembering or acknowledging them, and could call on them for protection against ill-fortune. Also, you were thanking them for their continued blessings and good luck.

Although the practice is also prevalent in England, it was originally considered a Southern (United States) tradition to carry a rabbit's foot; particularly among African Americans. The tradition made its way to the States with African slaves, and it is thought to be among the oldest traditions in the world, dating from around 600 BC.

Crossing your fingers is probably the superstition that is most widely used today. By making the sign of the Christian faith with our fingers, evil spirits would be prevented from destroying our chances of good fortune.

Although this superstition likely evolved from coincidental attribution of bad luck to somebody blaming the umbrella being opened, it is claimed by some that the origin can be traced back to when umbrellas were used as sun protection. Opening one indoors supposedly was offensive to the sun (or sun god) and would bring his wrath down upon the offender. If this were so, then why would not opening an umbrella anywhere, especially outdoors, offend the sun god?

The blessing of those who sneeze started when the great plague took hold of Europe. Sufferers began sneezing violently, and as such, were bound to die. The Pope therefore passed a law requiring people to bless the sneezer. At the same time, it was expected that anybody sneezing would cover their mouth with a cloth or their hand. This was obviously to stop the spreading of the disease, but many believed that it was to keep the soul intact. Sneezing 'into the air' would allow the soul to escape and death would be imminent. Up until this time, the opposite was true. Those who sneezed were congratulated [Sanguinarius notes that this practice dates from the 6th century], as it was believed that a violent sneeze would expel evil from their bodies."

Hope this has been of interest

x

Was supposed to be such a chilled day but i ended up totally frazzled prior to the party because i had so much to do! Got up late of course which did not help but here was how it went: met Jen,Joe & Kylie because me and Joe had since kissed and made up and he had to work that day but wanted to be there when i opened my pressie (which was a giant scary fairy figurine), then went to check on cake and collect stereo, had to get some shopping, shower, get ready, make sure Jen & Kylie were ready (poor Cliff spent his time dodging half dressed girls, sure was hard for him!), get to hall to set up stereo and wait for the band. Even had a girlie moment, kinda, where i let Jen paint my nails black!! Me, Jen and Kylie went on ahead to the hall and when we walked in the caterers and bar staff were there and despite saying i was Cliff's wife (it was being held at his masonic hall), we were met with stoney faces and silence. So obviously i was a bit annoyed and waited until Cliff arrived because friends were bringing him, Tish and Michele. I dragged him into a corner and explained the rudeness and he went off to talk to them. He came back with a grin and apparently we scared them a little!!! He explained that they were used to cocktail parties and the W.I. so when we came in looking like the 'Bitches of Eastwick' (The Craft for the uninitiated) we could not have given them a bigger fright if we walked in slo mo with The Craft soundtrack playing   I think this was what they saw when we came in! LOL

So anyway, the band arrived and set up and then Mishi turned up with the finished cake. It just blew me away because we had discussed spiders but i never expected it to be that amazing (See photo album). It was death by chocolate!!! Then it was just a point of waiting for people to arrive. We ended up with 58 people there and i had been bought so many pints that they were strategically placed around the hall so i could mingle and drink at the same time. Cliff kept nagging me to eat because i had not had much prior to the party but i was to excited and kept dodging him. I was like an excited child all evening. Cliff said i was like a butterfly, flitting around all evening. I had so many presents and it hadn't dawned on me that people would bring them and they were all soooo me: Nightmare before christmas glasses, a skull and crossbones ashtray, soft toys, books, gothic nick nacks, a dwarf Gimli biscuit barrel (i was dared to fill this with alcohol and drink from it!!) etc etc. The two most impressive ones were a Pink Floyd album cover painting which EV had painted for me and an 8ft Pierce Brosnan Goldeneye cardboard standee! (Milly Moo can be seen pawing it in the pics!). Plus there was the group pressie people had bought me; a replica sword of Arwen from Lord of the rings. The band were exceptional playing selections from Pink Floyd, The Cure, Siouxie and the Banshees, Blur, Hendrix, QOTSA and ending with Purple Rain by Prince, everybody were very impressed by them.

Then i was dragged off to the reflex 80's club by my mad uni friends, Jen and Kylie also tagged along. I only drank coke there though as i had downed so many pints at the party that i didn't want a massive hangover the next day. It was crazy here as it always is where Mad Netty is concerned LOL. I even danced the Macarena!!!!! Yeah i know but i was drunk! But i did refuse to dance to 5ive! After much silliness and dancing we all then headed home but i was too excited to sleep so it was only 4 hours worth of sleep that night!

I had an amazing time and it's very humbling to be in a room of 57 people who you care about and know that they care about you, whether they be family, old friends or new friends. What put it into perspective was Charlie (who i met through Samu) was amazed that i knew that many friends because he didn't think he had ever met that many people in his life! Remember guys to cherish your friends as they make life all the more interesting, fun and bearable.

Nighty night all you lovely people xx