Here are nine rules to follow for those with poor
luck:
- Do not take any risks or attempt any new enterprise on Friday the 13th. Historically, Friday is a day of calamity. Jesus died on Friday. Eve tempted Adam with the apple on Friday, and the biblical Flood began on that fatal day. The number 13 is catastrophic. It represents the number of men present at the Last Supper. The Greek philosophers and mathematicians scorned it as an "imperfect" number. In Norse mythology, there were 12 gods present when Loki, spirit of evil and dissension, stormed a banquet hall (making him the 13th guest) and killed Balder, hero and most revered of the gods.
- Do hang a horseshoe with its prongs pointed upward--so the good luck does not "run out."
- Do not light 3 cigarettes with one match. Although 3 is usually a lucky number, it represents the Holy Trinity, and one should be carful of its use. The Orthodox Church, at one time, forbade any layman to light the 3 altar candles with one taper, although a priest was permitted to do so. In the Boer War, British soldiers conserved matches by using one to light 3 cigarettes. The long illumination from the match gave the enemy time to zero in on the soldiers, and the 3rd man was often a perfect target.
- Do wear clothing inside out. It is an excellent disguise to keep Death from recognising you and singling you out as its victim.
- Do not get married in May. The Romans honored their dead in that month, and it is a very unlucky time for lovers.
- Do knock on wood (3 times) after mentioning good luck. The religious significance of wood comes from the Crucifixion of Jesus on the Cross. Also, man was once in awe of lightning bolts which struck the forests, and he believed that the god of lightning resided in an oak tree. To knock on wood insures that your good luck will continue.
- Do not cross knives on the dinner table. It symbolises the crossing of daggers and swords in dueling matches. Also, their magical iron composition has the power to bring on an argument.
- Do enter and exit from the same door when visiting a friend's house. If you leave for a while then return--sit down outside the door and count to 10 before your second entrance.
- Do not trip before you start out a new day or before you begin a new adventure. It is a bad omen for you and your associates. To counteract the stumbling, turn around three times and say, "I turn myself three times about and thus I put bad luck to rout."