List of bad luck signs explained

Bad luck is an unpredictable outcome that is unfortunate. This is a list of signs believed to bring bad luck according to superstitions.

List

• Breaking a mirror is said to bring seven years of bad luck^[1]
• A bird or flock of birds going from left to right (Auspicia) (Paganism)
• Certain numbers:
  • The number 4. Fear of the number 4 is known as tetraphobia; in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean languages, the number sounds like the word for "death".^{[2] [3] [4] [5]}
  • The number 9. Fear of the number 9 is known as enneaphobia, in Japanese culture; this is because it sounds like the Japanese word for "suffering".^{[4] [5]}
  • The number 13. Fear of the number 13 is known as triskaidekaphobia.
  • The number 17. Fear of the number 17 is known as heptadecaphobia and is prominent in Italian culture.^[6]
  • The number 39. Fear of the number 39 is known as the curse of 39, especially in Afghan culture.^[7]
  • The number 43. ^[8]
  • The number 666. Fear of the number 666 is known as hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia. Per Biblical prophesy, the "Number of The Beast", signifies the return of the Devil and Antichrist. Also called the "Mark of the Beast", wherein all humans will have it on their forehead or hand.
• Friday the 13th (in Spain, Greece, and Georgia: Tuesday the 13th)
• Failing to respond to a chain letter^[9]
• Giving a clock as a gift in Chinese culture, as in Chinese, to give a clock has the same pronunciation as "sending off for one's end" .^[10]
• Hanging a horseshoe with the ends pointing down, as it is believed that the luck will 'fall out'^[11]
• Opening an umbrella while indoors
• On the Isle of Man, rats are referred to as "longtails" as saying "rat" is considered bad luck.^{[12] [13]}
• Navajo culture:
  • pointing at a rainbow^{[14] [15]}
  • throwing rocks into the wind
  • a coyote crossing one's path heading north
  • an owl^[16] flying over a house.
• Placing chopsticks straight up in a bowl of rice in Chinese and Japanese culture is reminiscent of food offerings left for the dead.^[17]
• Ravens, crows and magpies
• Saying the word "Macbeth" or wishing someone "Good Luck" while inside a theatre^[18]
  • The substitutions "The Scottish Play" and "Break a leg" are used instead.
• Shoes on a table
• Placing a hat on a bed^[19]
• Three on a match
• Tipping a salt shaker over
• Viewing one's doppelgänger may be considered a harbinger of bad luck
• Killing a ladybug^{[20] [21]}
• Walking under a ladder^{[22] [23]}
• Black cat crossing one's path^[24]
• Picking up a penny with the tails side up^{[25] [26]}

See also

• List of lucky symbols
• Bad luck (disambiguation)
• Theatrical superstitions
• Faux pas derived from Chinese pronunciation
• Sailors' superstitions#Bad luck

Notes and References

1. Web site: Breaking a mirror - meaning of broken mirror. Mirror History. 12 April 2017. 13 April 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170413072419/http://www.mirrorhistory.com/mirror-facts/broken-mirror/. live.
2. Book: Don Chang Lee. Acculturation of Korean Residents in Georgia. 1975. R and E Research Associates. 978-0-88247-360-4. 2021-03-18. 2021-07-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20210704224859/https://books.google.com/books?id=avYRAQAAIAAJ. live.
3. Book: Soo Kim. How to Live Korean. 17 November 2020. Quarto Publishing Group UK. 978-0-7112-5709-2. 146. 18 March 2021. 4 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210704224824/https://books.google.com/books?id=grITEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA146. live.
4. Book: Haru Yamada. Orlando R. Kelm. David A. Victor. The 7 Keys to Communicating in Japan: An Intercultural Approach. 2017. Georgetown University Press. 978-1-62616-477-2. 178–180. 2021-03-18. 2021-07-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20210704224852/https://books.google.com/books?id=KmkwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA180. live.
5. Book: Outlook on Japan. 1991. Japan Travel Bureau. 978-4-533-01461-1. 80. 2021-03-18. 2021-07-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20210704224825/https://books.google.com/books?id=rqUaaYDNt3oC. live.
6. Book: Lachenmeyer . Nathaniel . 13 : the story of the world's most notorious superstition . August 2005 . Plume . New York, NY . 9780452284968 . 189 . 2021-03-15 . 2021-07-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210704224825/https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/13/sDXJ1s0YNAgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=17+unlucky+italian&dq=17+unlucky+italian&printsec=frontcover . live .
7. Web site: A Symbol of Paid Companionship, No. 39 Is Afghans' Loneliest Number. Nissenbaum. Dion. The Wall Street Journal. June 15, 2011. subscription. News Corp. March 15, 2021. August 5, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160805042832/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303654804576347201745546630. live.
8. Web site: Cats, Numbers and Other Japanese Superstitions. 2024-02-09. injapan.gaijinpot.com. 11 June 2012 . 2012-08-23. https://web.archive.org/web/20120823230936/https://injapan.gaijinpot.com/play/culture/2012/06/12/cats-numbers-and-other-japanese-superstitions/. live.
9. Book: Lys . Claudia de . What's so lucky about a four-leaf clover? and 8414 other strange and fascinating superstitions from all over the world . 1989 . Bell Publishing Company . New York . 9780517694244 . 458–460 . 2021-03-15 . 2021-07-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210704224928/https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/What_s_So_Lucky_about_Four_Leaved_Clover/M7Am57E3ZT4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=chain+letter+luck . live .
10. Web site: Cultural China - Festivals and Customs - Taboo 2 - Giving a clock. 30 April 2016. 5 October 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161005031242/http://traditions.cultural-china.com/en/14T8158T12916.html. live.
11. Web site: Luck and Horseshoes Webpage accessed 22 Aug. 2010 . Indepthinfo.com . 2011-12-19 . 2019-10-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191029135942/http://www.indepthinfo.com/horseshoes/luck.htm . live .
12. Web site: Did you Know? A Tail About Long-Tails, Traditions and Superstition - IoM Post. 2021-07-04. www.iompost.com. 2021-07-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20210704224903/https://www.iompost.com/our-news/isle-of-man-stamps/did-you-know-a-tail-about-long-tails-traditions-and-superstition/. live.
13. News: 2017-04-01. Breaking superstitions with a 'longtail' infestation. en-GB. BBC News. 2021-07-04. 2017-04-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20170420223402/http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-39293529. live.
14. Web site: Navajo Taboos for Nature, Domestic and Wild Animals . Ernest Bulows . NavajoCentral.org . March 26, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181226112030/http://www.navajocentral.org/navajotaboos/taboos_nature.html . December 26, 2018 . dead .
15. Web site: 10 Things You Need to Know About Navajos. Alysa Landry. July 24, 2014. Indian Country Today Media Network. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160407024207/http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/07/24/10-things-you-need-know-about-navajos-155993. April 7, 2016. March 26, 2016.
16. Web site: Owl and Woodpecker – A Navajo Tale. 2021-07-04. navajopeople.org. 2021-01-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20210128092237/http://navajopeople.org/blog/owl-and-woodpecker-a-navajo-tale/. live.
17. Book: Wang, Q Edward. Chopsticks : a cultural and culinary history. 2015-01-26. 9781107023963. Cambridge. 881469397.
18. Web site: Schumm . Laura . Why do actors avoid the word "Macbeth"? . 2022-10-26 . HISTORY . 3 September 2018 . en.
19. Web site: Vargas . Alani . 2023-08-06 . Here's Why Putting a Hat on a Bed Is Considered Bad Luck . 2023-09-06 . Parade: Entertainment, Recipes, Health, Life, Holidays . en.
20. Book: Cora Linn Daniels . Cora Linn Daniels . Stevans . C. M. . Encyclopædia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World Volume II . 2003 . University Press of the Pacific . Honolulu . 9781410209153 . 656 .
21. Book: Newman Ivey White . Newman Ivey White . M. Belden . Henry . G. Brewster . Paul . D. Hand . Wayland . Palmer Hudson . Arthur . Philip Schinhan . Jan . Taylor . Archer . Thompson . Stith . Jere Whiting . Bartlett . P. Wilson . George . F. Baum . Paull . The Frank C. Brown Collection of North Carolina Folklore - Vol. VII: Popular Beliefs and Superstitions from North Carolina, Pt. 2 . 1964 . Duke University Press . Durham, N.C. . 9780822382867 . 415 .
22. Web site: 2015-08-06. Why is walking under a ladder supposed to be unlucky?. 2020-11-25. HowStuffWorks. en. 2020-11-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20201108193156/https://people.howstuffworks.com/why-is-walking-under-ladder-unlucky.htm. live.
23. Web site: The Surprising Origins of 9 Common Superstitions Live Science. 2021-03-14. www.livescience.com. 19 September 2011. 2021-05-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20210508202617/https://www.livescience.com/amp/33507-origins-of-superstitions.html. live.
24. Book: Steffensen Cannon . Anthon . Talley . Jeannine . Debs Hand . Wayland . Popular beliefs and superstitions from Utah . 1984 . . Salt Lake City . 9780874802368 . 2021-03-15 . 2021-07-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210704224903/https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Popular_Beliefs_and_Superstitions_from_U/NRjXAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=black+cat+path&dq=black+cat+path&printsec=frontcover . live .
25. The Lucky Penny Superstition — Explained! https://www.southernliving.com/news/good-lucky-penny-superstitions-explained
26. Web site: 9 bizarre money superstitions people believe but shouldn't . .