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. lighting seven white candies on the first night after breaking the mirror and blowing them out at midnight in one breath
. while another is touching a tombstone with a broken piece of the mirror to avoid the bad luck.

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Bad Superstitions

If a black cat is to cross your path by moonlight then it means death in an epidemic – Irish superstition

If a cat is washing behind its ears it means rain is coming. – English superstition

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If a black cat is seen in the audience of a theatre performance it will be a successful play, they were therefore often kept as a lucky mascot in theatres and disaster would strike any actor that would dare to kick it.

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If you or a family member is a fisherman and a black cat is kept in the house then the menfolk will return safely –Yorkshirecoast

English sailors believed treating their black cats like royalty, as they believed keeping them happy would ensure good weather when they went to sea. They became so highly priced due to the demand that sailors could no longer afford them.

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Occult powers are often attributed to cats. It is said that they also have the power of hypnotism. A cat with three different hues in its coat protect one against fire and fever.

If the household cat sneezes near the bride on her wedding morning, the marriage will be a happy one

The Scot’s believe that a strange black cat’s arrival to the home signifies prosperity.

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“Whenever the cat of the house is black, The lasses of lovers will have no lack” – English Proverb

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People often think that breaking a mirror may bring you bad luck for 7 years. Mirror superstitions probably evolved from the time when the first humans saw their reflections in a pool of water, believed that the image in a water was their actual soul and to endanger it would mean risking injury to the other self. An ancient myth was that mirrors have magical powers, including the power to foreseen the future and are thought to be devices of the Gods. Thus breaking a mirror would terminate its powers, the soul would be astray form the body and misfortunes would be brought upon the one whose reflection it last held.

It was the Romans who tagged to the broken mirror a sign of seven years bad luck. The length of the prescribed misfortune came from the ancient Roman belief that it took seven years for life to renew itself. If the persons looking into the mirror were not of good health, their image would break the mirror and the run of bad luck would continue for the period of seven years, at the end of which their life would be renewed, their body would be physically rejuvenated, and the curse would be ended.

In old times, mirrors were not cheap and they were low quality and easily defected. In order to avoid negligence it was told that breaking a mirror bring seven years of bad luck. That was simple scare tactic.

A variety of remedies are available to break the spell of misfortune. The Romans are also responsible for little known measure for avoiding the curse useful for anyone who breaks a mirror. The luckless who accidentally break a mirror, and does not wish seven years of ill-lack, must take all the pieces of the mirror and bury them in the moonlight, or take all pieces and throw them into running water, or pound the broken mirror into tiny pieces so that none of them can reflect anything ever again.

If a person who breaks a mirror is too lazy or too busy, to avoid the curse, it just leave the broken pieces the way it was for seven hours (one for each year of bad luck) and then pick it up immediately after the hours are up.

Some other remedies include lighting seven white candies on the first night after breaking the mirror and blowing them out at midnight in one breath, while another is touching a tombstone with a broken piece of the mirror to avoid the bad luck. Perhaps the easiest counter-remedy is to make the sign of the cross by a five-dollar bill, but what is to be done with the five-dollar bill after that it is not known.

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Breaking a mirror - Meaning of broken mirror

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People often think that breaking a mirror may bring you bad luck for 7 years. Mirror superstitions probably evolved from the time when the first humans saw their reflections in a pool of water, believed that the image in a water was their actual soul and to endanger it would mean risking injury to the other self.

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the four-leaf clover offers magical protection from evil spirits and wards off bad luck.

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Cat Superstitions
Black Cat Superstitions
As superstitions go, fear of a black cat crossing one's path is of relatively recent origin. It is also entirely antithetical to the revered place held by the cat when it was first domesticated in Egypt around 3000 BC.

A black cat crossing one's path by moonlight means death in an epidemic. ~Irish superstition

All cats, including black ones, were held in high esteem among the ancient Egyptians and protected by law from injury and death. So strong was cat idolatry that a pet's death was mourned by the entire family; and both rich and poor embalmed the bodies of their cats in exquisite fashion, wrapping them in fine linen and placing them in mummy cases made of precious materials such as bronze and even wood - a scarcity in timber-poor Egypt. Entire cat cemeteries have been unearthed by archaeologists, with mummified black cats commonplace.

Dread of cats, especially black cats, first arose in Europe in the Middle Ages, particularly in England. The cat's characteristic independence, willfulness, and stealth, coupled with its sudden overpopulation in major cities, contributed to its fall from grace. Alley cats were often fed by poor, lonely old ladies, and when witch hysteria struck Europe, and many of these homeless women were accused of practicing black magic, their cat companions (especially black ones) were deemed guilty of witchery by association.

One popular tale from British feline lore illustrates the thinking of the day. In Lincolnshire in the 1560s, a father and his son were frightened one moonless night when a small creature darted across their path into a crawl space. Hurling stones into the opening, they saw an injured black cat scurry out and limp into the adjacent home of a woman suspected by the town of being a witch. Next day, the father and son encountered the woman on the street. Her face was bruised, her arm bandaged. And she now walked with a limp. From that day on in Lincolnshire, all black cats were suspected of being witches in night disguise. The lore persisted. The notion of witches transforming themselves into black cats in order to prowl streets unobserved became a central belief in America during the Salem witch hunts. Thus, an animal once looked on with approbation became a creature dreaded and despised.

Many societies in the late Middle Ages attempted to drive cats into extinction. As the witch scare mounted to paranoia, many innocent women and their harmless pets were burned at the stake. A baby born with eyes too bright, a face too canny, a personality too precocious, was sacrificed for fear that it was host to a spirit that would in time become a witch by day, a black cat by night. In France, thousands of cats were burned monthly until King Louis XIII, in the 1630s, halted the shameful practice. Given the number of centuries in which black cats were slaughtered throughout Europe, it is surprising that the gene for the colour black was not deleted from the species . . . unless the cat does possess nine lives.

Many people believe that a black cat brings good fortune and also, that anyone who finds the one perfect, pure white hair in an all-black cat and plucks it out without being scratched, will find great wealth and good luck in love.

In Britain, on the Yorkshire coast, wives of fishermen believe that their menfolk will return safely if a black cat is kept in the house.

A black cat in the audience on opening night portends a successful play.

In the south of France, black cats are referred to as "matagots" or "magician cats." According to local superstition, they bring good luck to owners who feed them well and treat them with the respect they deserve.

Black cats were once treated like royalty in the homes of English sailors, who believed that keeping them happy would ensure fair weather when they went to sea. They became so high-priced that few sailors could afford them!

"Whenever the cat of the house is black,
The lasses of lovers will have no lack." ~ English Proverb

Black cats aren't bad luck everywhere. In the English Midlands, a black cat as a wedding present is thought to bring good luck to the bride.

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General Cat Superstitions

A cat is very often kept as a lucky mascot in the theatre and disaster strikes any actor who dares to kick it!

In Normandy, seeing a tortoiseshell cat foretells death by accident.

English schoolchildren believe seeing a white cat on the way to school is sure to bring trouble. To avert bad luck, they must either spit, or turn around completely and make the sign of the cross.

A cat sneezing is a good omen for everyone who hears it. ~Italian superstition

If a cat washes behind its ears, rain is coming. ~English superstition

A cat sleeping with all four paws tucked under means old weather ahead. ~English superstition

It is bad luck to cross a stream carrying a cat. ~French superstition

Never kick a cat or you will get rheumatism; never drown one or the devil will get you. Throughout the world it is considered to be bad luck to mistreat a cat. This worldwide respect for the cat is probably rooted in those ancient religions in which the cat was a sacred animal and where retribution would befall those who harmed it.

In Scotland in 1590, the witch John Fian and other members of his coven, were charged with having raised or attempted to raise a storm, so as to drown King James VI of Scotland (and the First of England) then returning from Denmark. Fian and his accomplices used cats, by flinging them into the sea, to effect their devilish purpose.

In what was known as Bohemia, in western Czechoslovakia, the cat is regarded as a symbol of fertility and one buried in a field of grain will guarantee a good harvest.

The Japanese prefer their own native short-tailed cat - the Japanese Bobtail - because they are less likely to bewitch humans. Japanese sailors have long taken tricoloured or me'kay cats on their ships to bring them good luck. The figure of a cat with its left paw raised is commonly seen in gift shops in that country, where they are sold as souvenirs. It is believed that the beckoning cat brings good fortune to its owner.

Sailors believe that if a ship's cat mews and appears to be cross, they will face a hard voyage - but if it is bright and lively, there will be a brisk "following" wind. It used to be said that a contrary wind at sea could be raised by shutting a cat in a canister. Throwing a cat overboard resulted in an immediate storm. No sailor would dream of doing this, however, since it was considered good luck to have a cat on board.

It is said that in the southern regions of France, if a young unmarried girl accidentally steps on a cat's tail, she will have to wait twelve months before she finds a husband.

A celtic belief was that kittens born in May were badly behaved and troublesome. In Celtic mythology, the month of May was a time of ill-omen.

Occult powers are often attributed to cats. It is said that they also have the power of hypnotism. A cat with three different hues in its coat protect one against fire and fever.

An American hill country superstition says that a cat can decide whether or not a girl should get married. The debating bride-to-be takes three hairs from the cat's tail and wraps them in paper, which she then places under her door step. If in the morning, the cat hairs are arranged in a Y pattern, the answer is Yes,but if the hairs form the letter N, the answer is no.

It is said that to dream of cats is unfavourable as this denotes treachery. In Tasseography - fortune-telling by tea leaves - a cat signifies false friends and deceit; someone lies in treacherous ambush, probably a false friend.

If the household cat sneezes near the bride on her wedding morning, the marriage will be a happy one.

When a cat washes its face in the parlour, company can be expected.

It is said that a cat looking out of the window is looking for rain.

In America, black and white and also grey cats are considered to be lucky.

It is unlikely to hear a cat crying before setting off on a journey. If this happens, return and find out what it wants.

No cat which has been bought will ever be any good at catching mice.

Indonesians and Malays believe that if you wash your cat it will bring rain.

In Western Europe it is widely believed that if a cat washes over its ears, it is a sign of rain.

When cats rush about wildly, clawing at curtains and cushions, it means that wind is coming.

When cats sit with their back to the fire, look out for frost or a storm.

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valafold's rowdy roddy pip'ear of kinross

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See why Scottish Folds are so special. Features of the site include a description of the breed, kittens and retired breeders for sale, and pictures of Kinross cats. Also includes fun sites like catrivia, cat quotes, cat lingo and cat laughs.

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The luck of the four-leaf clover is the most identifiable clover superstition but is only a small piece of clover lore. Clovers are versatile plants capable of bringing you a spouse, healing your ailments, or driving away evil spirits. Depending on the variety and number of leaves, the superstitions surrounding clover can vary widely.

Clover is the common name for a genus containing over 300 species of plants. The two most common, both in lore and use, are white clover and red clover. White clover is characterized by its pink-tinged white, spiky ball-shaped flowers, and red clover has dark pink flowers fading to white at its base. Both of these three-leafed varieties are widely cultivated as feed for livestock.

Clover was believed to have a number of medicinal properties. It was used as a painkiller by Scottish wives, but the plant had to be gathered in silence with the left hand to preserve its analgesic properties. Red clover was used as a tonic, making those who drank it stronger and more nimble. It was considered a blood purifier and was believed to be particularly effective against cancer.2 White clover was used in Wales to ward off evil spirits. It could also temper lunacy when gathered with a gloved hand. Pliny described using white clover as a curative for poisonous bites.

Washing with clover, particularly red clover, also had numerous benefits. Red clover could be mixed with morning dew and applied to prevent the appearance of freckles. Taking a bath surrounded in the sweet scent of clover could also attract money and prosperity. If an evil or unwanted ghost was lingering around the home, washing the floors in a clover solution would chase them out.

Even dreaming of clover was considered fortuitous. The Romani associated dreams with clover as bright and happy. Walking through healthy clover fields in dreams brought all the things the dreamer desired closer. Only dreams where the clover is dead or a snake lies hidden within foretold ill omens. Eventually the saying "to be (or to live) in clover" was coined. The saying meant to live a carefree life of ease, comfort, or prosperity.3

The shamrock is a young sprig of clover having three leaves. Its name is derived from the Irish seamróg the diminutive version of the Irish word for clover. Meaning "little clover" or "young clover," the English word shamrock was first found in A Historie of Irelande by Edmund Campion in 1571.

Three is a significant number in a lot of faiths, and the shamrock was often used as a symbolic representation of three. The Druids utilized the shamrock as a symbol of the Vernal Equinox. It was considered a powerful charm allowing them to see evil spirits. In the fifth century St. Patrick plucked a shamrock to explain the doctrine of the Holy Trinity to an assembly of chieftains. The three leaves upon one stalk were used to illustrate the mystery of God being one entity but divided into three-the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

After the establishment of St. Patrick's Day, shamrocks were worn in honor of the man who converted Ireland to Christianity. At the end of the day, the Irish would go celebrate the saint by "drowning a shamrock." They placed the shamrock from their lapel in a glass of grog or punch, drank the beverage, and took the soaked sprig out to throw it over their left shoulder.

The use of the shamrock as a charm persisted through the Christian conversion. Between the fifteenth and the seventeenth century, shamrocks were worn by peasants and knights on the right arm as protection against the influence of witches. After being worn by the Irish Volunteers, warbands arising to defend Ireland from French and Spanish attack, the symbol became a national emblem of Ireland in the eighteenth century. It never lost its association with good luck. Irish couples to this day often incorporate a shamrock in the bride's bouquet and the groom's boutonniere.

Four-leaf Clover

"If a man walking in the fields finds any four-leaved grass, he shall, in a small while after, find some good thing."- John Melton

The four-leaf clover is a universal symbol of good luck. The first literary reference as a lucky charm was written by Sir John Melton in 1620. With clover's already propitious reputation, it is easy to see how an uncommon version could be considered luckier.7

The shamrock's sight granting abilities are increased in the four-leaf variety. When held on Christmas Eve the four-leaf clover reveals witches. Also children of the Middle Ages believed that they could see fairies while carrying one. It could break the power of illusions and was an ingredient of the fairy ointment that granted sight of the supernatural. The bearer of a four-leaf clover could not be tricked or swindled because the clover grants the ability to see and know the truth.

In addition to sight, the four-leaf clover offers magical protection from evil spirits and wards off bad luck. Its presence could even drive the devil away. When encountering a werewolf, a four-leaf clover made any bullet shot from its owner's gun fatal for the lupine beast. Four-leaf clovers, instead of flower petals, are scattered down the aisle in front of the bride for added protection on her wedding day.

The bride may already have had one in her possession that facilitated meeting her spouse. If a single woman finds a four-leaf clover and places it in her shoe, she will either marry the first eligible man she crosses a bridge with or will marry someone with the same given name as the first man she meets. She may also place it above the door, and the first man who walks through will be her future husband.

The leaves of the four-leaf clover have been assigned various meanings, mainly through poetic verse. One defined the leaves as faith, hope, love, and luck. Another designated them as fame, wealth, a faithful lover, and glorious health.

Chanting one of these verses then twirling the clover in your right hand may even grant a wish. Just remember a four-leaf clover that is stumbled upon is luckier than one searched for. If you happen to see one and leave it unpicked all the good fortune it would have brought you will turn bad. Don't show anyone your lucky find or it will lose its powers, and never take it into a church or the luck will be reversed.

Other Leaves

Finding clovers with leaflet counts other than three or four have different meanings.

A two-leaf clover indicates the finder will be meeting her future spouse, as long as she put it in her right shoe. If it was found by accident she could place it under her pillow and dream of her future love.

A five-leaf clover may spell disaster. Many people consider the five-leaf an unlucky find. Others say it is even luckier than the four-leaf. This lucky interpretation grants fortune.
A clover with more than five leaves has similar contradictory superstitions.

Finding a four-leaf clover

For about a year, I actively sought four-leaf clovers. Although I was nowhere near as successful as Edward Martin Sr., who found 111,060 four-leaf clovers within eight years, I did have some success. I thought I would share some tips to find your very own.

1. Find a big patch of clover. Patches along roadways and at car rest spots are four-leaf gold.

2. Scan for leaves that are in a T-shaped layout. The fourth leaf can often push the closest leaves in line with each other.

3. Don't focus on the leaves. Focus on the center. Leaves will overlap, but if it has four leaves it will have a different shape where the leaves join the stalk.

4. Look for the odd-leaf out. Often one leaf is smaller than the rest. Try to find a clover where three leaves are about the same size and one is different.

5. Look for smaller clovers. Often the four-leaf clover is smaller than the ones immediately surrounding it.

6. Shifting the leaves often helps.

7. Don't give up. Keep trying in different clover patches if you don't find something.

8. Be patient and enjoy the hunt.

Footnotes
1. Clover is an impressive crop. Highly renewable and hardy, it grows in a wide variety of soils and climates. The palatable and nutritious feed fixes nitrogen in the soil reducing the need for synthetic fertilizer and is ideal for green composting.↩ 2. The medicinal benefits of red clover are not completely unfounded. Red clover contains an anticoagulant that has been used in the treatment of asthma and lymphedema. It also contains isoflavone and a phytoestrogen that can mimic estrogen. Some studies indicate that the phytoestrogen in red clover may be protective against several health disorders including cardiovascular disease, and consumption of foods rich in isoflavone may have an association with lower rates of postmenopausal cancer.↩ 3. The easy lifestyle may have even been achieved with the use of clover.↩ 4. Campion wrote that "shamrotes" were eaten by the Irish population. Less than thirty years after its publication the debate regarding what variety of plant he was referencing began. John Gerard defined the shamrock as red or white clover in 1597. Although white clover is the most frequently identified as shamrock, wood sorrel and lesser clover have large support. In 1893 Nathaniel Colgan surveyed the population regarding the matter, and there was no consensus. This survey was repeated in 1988 with similar inconclusive results.↩ 5. Dreaming of a shamrock meant good health and longevity to the Romani. Another interpretation of a shamrock in a dream was that it foretold a journey by water.↩ 6. In 1952, John Hearne, Ireland's ambassador to the United States, started the annual shamrock ceremony. In an attempt to solidify relations with the United States Hearne sent President Harry Truman a bowl of shamrocks. The tradition has continued for sixty-four years.↩ 7. The probability of encountering a four leaf clover is about 1 in 10,000. The saying "luck o' the Irish," is sometimes claimed to originate because there is a higher probability of finding a four-leaf clover on the Emerald Isle.↩ 8. There is a story that Eve took a four-leaf clover from the Garden of Eden as a reminder of happiness when she and Adam were being expelled.↩ 9. The devil may be driven away by its cross-like form of the four leaves.↩ 10. When I came across this custom I wondered if the incorporation of four-leaf clovers may be a guard against fairy interference. A common motif in fairy folklore is the kidnapping of new brides. The use of four-leaf clovers would not only acts as a protection against evil but also break the illusion of any fairy who may want to whisk the bride away.↩ 11. The record for most leaflets on a clover (Trifolium repens L.) is fifty-six. It was found on May 10, 2009 by Shigeo Obara of Hanamaki City, Japan. Mr. Obara studied clovers and was the previous record holder as well. When asked by press about his find he said, "I never dreamed of seeing this many leaves on a clover."↩ 12. Edward Martin Sr. from Cooper Landing, Alaska, USA, is the current Guiness Book of Records holder for largest four-leaf clover collection. He beat out George Kaminski, a Pennsylvania prisoner who had managed to find 72,927 four-leaf clovers from prison yards. Kaminski died still incarcerated in February 2008 after a transfer to a clover-free prison. Martin was saddened by his death. He considered Kaminski a worthy rival and kindred spirit in clover collecting.↩ 13. Never iron a four-leaf clover. You wouldn't want to press your luck.↩
Sources

Archer, Ben. "What Causes Four-leaf Clovers." Popular Science. Vol. 259, No. 2. Aug 2001. pg 76.

Bonwick, James. Irish Druids and Old Irish Religions. Griffith, Farran & Co. London. 1894.

Moran, Patrick Francis Cardinal. " St. Patrick." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. Robert Appleton Company.New York. 1911. Date accessed Sept. 13, 2016.

Pegg, David. "25 Strangest Superstitions From Around The World." List25.com. June 12,2013. Date accessed Sept. 13, 2016.

Dolnick, Barrie and Anthony H. Davidson. Luck: Understanding Luck and Improving the Odds. Random House. 2007.

Binney, Ruth. Nature's Ways: Lore, Legend, Fact and Fiction. David & Charles. 2006.

Westropp, Thomas Johnson. A Folklore Survey of County Clare. 1910 and 1913.

" Most leaves on a clover." Guinness Book of World Records. Date accessed Sept. 13, 2016.

" Largest collection of four-leaf clovers." Guinness Book of World Records. Date accessed Sept. 13, 2016.

Bayley, Harold. The lost language of symbolism : an inquiry into the origin of certain letters, words, names, fairy-tales, folklore, and mythologies. Barnes & Noble Inc. 1912.

Omurethi. Journal of the Co. Kildare Archaeological Society and Surrounding Districts. Volume 5. The Society. Kildare, Ireland. 1908.

Craig, Katherine Taylor. The Fabric of Dreams: Dream Lore and Dream Interpretation, Ancient and Modern. E. P. Dutton & Company. New York. 1918.

Miller, Gustavus Hindman. Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted, or what's in a dream: a scientific and practical exposition. G. W. Dillingham Company, New York. 1901.

George, Jason. " 160,000? That's a lot of luck." Chicago Tribune. March 17, 2008.

Friend, Hilderic. Flowers and Flower Lore. W. S. Sonnenschein, 1884.

Watts, D.C. Dictionary of Plant Lore. Academic Press. May 2, 2007.

Photo Credits

Main Image: Four-leaf Clover on Wood by Claudia (Bella67)

Four Leaf Clover in Hand by PublicDomainPictures

Four Leaf Clover in Grass by Claudia (Bella67)

Four Leaf Clover by Cygnus921

Clover Patch by Susanne Hornauer

Clover Heart by Mev

Shamrock by Oatsy40

Combined Images: Red Clover by Ivar Leidus & White Clover by Anja (cocoparisienne)

Clover Collection by E.M.A. Timar

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The luck of the four-leaf clover is the most identifiable clover superstition but is only a small piece of clover lore. Clovers are versatile plants capable of bringing you a spouse, healing your ailments, or driving away evil spirits. Depending on the variety and number of