The surprising link between political strategy and health policies
If a dog howls in a home, someone in the house will soon become sick or die.
If a magpie crows on the roof of a house, a visitor will soon arrive.
If someone finds a horseshoe or an iron key, they will be well that day.
If someone meets a priest or a monk on the road, they will find danger or misfortune on their journey.
If someone hears a cuckoo cry five times, that means they have five years to live.
Meeting a hare on the road signifies that a bad thing will happen.
On the other hand, encountering a toad on the road means that a good thing will happen!
If you hear thunder in January, there is still likely to be abundant crops, but with strong winds and war.
If you hear thunder in December, there will be abundant crops, peace, and agreement.
If Christmas falls on a Sunday, there will be a good winter, a windy Lent, and a dry summer.
If you receive a good luck token on New Year's Day, you will have good fortune all year.
Sources: (History is Now Magazine) (Britannica) (Look and Learn)
See also: Good luck charms, bad luck signs!
If a raven croaks a certain number of times, there will be a change in the weather.
If thunder sounds from the east, there will be great bloodshed in the coming year.
If you find a halfpenny or a needle, you will have good luck. Dispose of it, however, and your good fortune will turn against you.
The belief that the number 13 is cursed or a symbol of bad luck largely had a religious reasoning in the Middle Ages. It was noted that 13 people had attended the Last Supper. Therefore, it was believed that 13 individuals at a gathering was a sign of ill fortune.
Furthermore, many believed that if a party was held for 13 people, whoever was the first to get up would be dead within the year. This assumption was based on Judas being the first to vacate the table at the Last Supper, only to later betray Jesus.
The superstition surrounding breaking a mirror started with the Romans, but was greatly reflected throughout the Middle Ages. Seven years of bad luck would befall anyone unfortunate enough to shatter the glass.
As with the cuckoo, hearing a cockerel crow five times means you have just five years to live.
A red sky at night is a shepherd's delight—a harbinger of good weather.
A red sky in the morning is a shepherd's warning: a storm is approaching.
Spilling salt is akin to cursing the land, the mineral making soil barren for a lengthy period of time.
Medieval superstition suggested that if a child was born with a deformity, it could be taken and replaced with a changeling.
An eclipse of the Sun announces impending disaster and destruction.
Sneezing gives Satan an opportunity to enter the body. Only by saying "God bless you" will the devil be exorcised.
A black cat walking across the path of a person represents an omen of misfortune and death.
A "Jonah," based on the biblical prophet Jonah, brings bad luck to sailors at sea.
The Black Death of the 14th century, the most fatal pandemic in recorded history, was thought of by many as an expression of God's will, an omen of Judgment Day.
Medieval omens, both good and bad, are still recalled today. Here are some of the most endearing portents of doom, gloom, and occasional enlightenment.
The appearance of Halley's Comet over England in 1066 was seen as an bad omen. Later that year, Harold II died at the Battle of Hastings and William the Conqueror claimed the throne. A representation of the comet is embroidered onto the Bayeux Tapestry.
Omens, good and bad, were a staple of medieval superstition. Throughout the Middle Ages, many people interpreted signs such as plague as an expression of God's will. Moreover, they read certain images and episodes in the world as portents of impending calamity or disaster, or perhaps as signals of good fortune. From something as mundane as stumbling across a horseshoe, to witnessing a blazing comet racing across the sky, everything, it seemed, had an inner meaning. But what medieval omens might you still believe in today?
Click through and take a look into the past to foretell the future.
Do you still believe in these Medieval omens?
Signs of doom and gloom that have been recognized for centuries
LIFESTYLE Middle ages
Omens, good and bad, were a staple of medieval superstition. Throughout the Middle Ages, many people interpreted signs such as plague as an expression of God's will. Moreover, they read certain images and episodes in the world as portents of impending calamity or disaster, or perhaps as signals of good fortune. From something as mundane as stumbling across a horseshoe, to witnessing a blazing comet racing across the sky, everything, it seemed, had an inner meaning. But what medieval omens might you still believe in today?
Click through and take a look into the past to foretell the future.