Thought to be unlucky!

goosey · #1 (**permalink**) 05-11-2007, 10:09 AM

I never think of myself as a superstitious person, but after a near miss on my bike this morning –I will have to revise this!
Whenever I see magpies, I think of the rhyme and do a quick count to see what the day holds!
1 for sorrow,
2 for joy,
3 for a girl and
4 for a boy
5 for silver
6 for gold
7 for a secret never to be told. (there may be more lines, but that is all I can remember

)
Is this magpie lore just a British thing?

Today I saw a single magpie and was that desperate to see a second so I wouldn’t have bad luck, I almost rode into a parked car while I was looking for another! If I had damaged the car, my bike or myself, would I have blamed my bad luck on just seeing one magpie rather than not concentrating on cycling?

Aye-ayes
Aye-ayes come to mind as being bad luck, alas with much worse consequences for the little mamal. They are a species of lemur from Madagascar. They are sadly misunderstood by some superstitious people of Madagascar, and are thought to bring bad luck, some fear this creature so much that they kill them on sight.
Aye –ayes have huge eyes, a pointy nose, bat-like ears and long, black bony fingers, giving them a distinctly spooky appearance. Aye-ayes sleep during the day in nests made of branches and leaves. They spend the night foraging for coconuts, fruit, insects and larvae. They have an unusual way of hunting insects, they creep along a tree branch, and tap the branches for hollow spots and listen movement – a sign insects are present. Then they chew down into the wood and scoop out the insect with their long, thin middle finger. The finger looks strange, a bit creepy, making the aye-aye more vulnerable to superstition.
Aye-ayes are among the most endangered animals in Madagascar. Habitat loss due to farming,logging and human persecution put these creatures at a high risk of becoming extinct.

So , what other animals are thought to ne unlucky the world over?

paul m · #2 (**permalink**) 05-11-2007, 10:55 AM

There is an ancient Welsh thing to similar but different effect so it's probably widespread in Celtic areas and I vaguely recall a French adage although that might have been about crows in general ... it may return to me one day.

I once had a girlfriend who had a shortened form:
Once for a wish
Twice for a kiss
Three for a letter
Four for something better ....

Quote:

Originally Posted by goosey

I never think of myself as a superstitious person, but after a near miss on my bike this morning –I will have to revise this!
Whenever I see magpies, I think of the rhyme and do a quick count to see what the day holds!
1 for sorrow,
2 for joy,
3 for a girl and
4 for a boy
5 for silver
6 for gold
7 for a secret never to be told. (there may be more lines, but that is all I can remember

)
Is this magpie lore just a British thing?

Tiggrx · #3 (**permalink**) 06-11-2007, 05:24 AM

A friend of mine always greets a lone magpie with the phrase "good morning Mr Magpie and how is your wife" - thus implying there are really two magpies

Quote:

Originally Posted by goosey

I never think of myself as a superstitious person, but after a near miss on my bike this morning –I will have to revise this!
Whenever I see magpies, I think of the rhyme and do a quick count to see what the day holds!
1 for sorrow,
2 for joy,
3 for a girl and
4 for a boy
5 for silver
6 for gold
7 for a secret never to be told. (there may be more lines, but that is all I can remember

)
Is this magpie lore just a British thing?

Today I saw a single magpie and was that desperate to see a second so I wouldn’t have bad luck, I almost rode into a parked car while I was looking for another! If I had damaged the car, my bike or myself, would I have blamed my bad luck on just seeing one magpie rather than not concentrating on cycling?

frostfire · #4 (**permalink**) 09-01-2008, 03:03 PM

In Holland we've also got a rhyme about magpies, which is very much like the one you mentioned, but not totally the same:

Eén is verdriet,
(one is for sorrow)
twee vrolijk gezind,
(two is for jolliness)
drie een bruiloft,
(three for a wedding)
vier een kind,
(four for a child)
vijf de hemel,
(five for heaven)
zes de hel,
(six for hell)
zeven dat is kinderspel
(seven, that childsplay)

WildLife Warrior · #5 (**permalink**) 18-01-2008, 11:08 PM

Crows are meant to hold a heck of alot of superstitions the world over...some good and some bad.

One i remember from chlildhood was that crows were an omen of death...i recall that if one crow was seen on a rooftop then it was a very bad omen and came with a tagline of "A crow on the thatch, soon death lifts the latch."

When crows were quiet and subdued during their midsummer's molt, some European peasants believed that it was because they were preparing to go to the Devil to pay tribute with their black feathers

Finding a dead crow on the road is good luck....typical that only if they are dead are they bearers of good luck.

goosey · #6 (**permalink**) 19-01-2008, 09:22 AM

It's amazing how century old superstitions are still in the back of peoples minds, not so good for the poor old Aye-aye or crows

.
I love corvids btw

.

goosey · #7 (**permalink**) 29-01-2010, 08:32 AM

While I was listening to the interview about Barn owls (see post) Barn Owls and Voles Andy Chaff also mentioned a few superstitions about Owls from over the world.

In Ancient Greece, the Goddess Athena (Goddess of wisdom is this where we get the opinion that owls are wise?) thought owls were very lucky and used it as a symbol and is often depicted with, or as an owl! She also had coins minted with owls on one side and her image on the other.
Today the Greek Euro has a owl on, so to this day owls are probably seen to be lucky.

Native American Indians viewed owls in two ways. Some tribes thought them to be extremley lucky, where as other tribes thought them to be bad luck.
(perhaps, this is my thought, pure conjecture - that on a day of a battle an owl was circling and the winners of the battle saw this as a good omen and the losers saw it as a bad omen and this was seen to be so through out history?)

paul m · #8 (**permalink**) 29-01-2010, 10:43 AM

The little owl was sacred to the ancient Greeks and particularly citizens of Athens - its proper name is Athene noctua - I'm not sure which name came first!
There are some Cypriot myths here:
http://www.kypros.org/Cyprus/owl.html

Quote:

Originally Posted by goosey

..............
In Ancient Greece, the Goddess Athena (Goddess of wisdom is this where we get the opinion that owls are wise?) thought owls were very lucky and used it as a symbol and is often depicted with, or as an owl! She also had coins minted with owls on one side and her image on the other.
Today the Greek Euro has a owl on, so to this day owls are probably seen to be lucky.
..............

The Woodman · #9 (**permalink**) 29-01-2010, 08:57 PM

8's a wish and
9 a kiss
10 is a bird you must not miss
Magpie

That finishes the rhyme and was the opening song to the childrens programme of the same name in the 70's.

An old boy I once knew in Devon used to touch his forelock and say, "Morning my Lord" when he saw a Magpie.