Even in a world ruled by science, many people still hang on to age-old fears and beliefs
You've just left your house and the first thing you see is a black cat in your path. You walk under a ladder, trip and break a mirror that is propped up against the wall.
Are you about to have a disastrous day? It depends on whether you're a superstitious person.
Science has been able to explain most phenomena in this world and in this day and age it seems silly for some to practice superstitious beliefs.
WORLD OF UNCERTAINTY
"We all live in a world of uncertainty," says Stuart Vyse, a professor of psychology at Connecticut College and author of the book Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition. "Superstitions give people a way of feeling in control of aspects of their life that are completely out of their control."
In his extensive research, Vyse attempted to identify certain demographics and personality types that are more prone to superstitious beliefs.
Some findings are obvious while others a little more interesting.
"Obviously, groups such as actors, athletes, gamblers and college students tend to be superstitious," he says.
"And this is mainly because their worlds are filled with uncertainty."
It has been argued by many that there's a correlation between intelligence and superstitious belief. Namely, the dumber you are, the more likely you are to follow superstitions.
But Vyse believes differently.
"The research is really fuzzy on intelligence and superstitious belief," he says.
"Intelligent and well-educated people are more interested in new-age beliefs such as crystal balls and channeling rather than being concerned with walking under a ladder."
But Vyse did find some interesting anomalies.
"For the most part, women are more superstitious than men," he says.
"Women's magazines and publications have more horoscopes than men's and many studies point to the fact that women have a stronger belief in black cat/ladder forms of superstitions."
Vyse says there's really no explanation.
Age is another factor in determining why people are superstitious. While the findings are far from concrete, Vyse believes that, in general, older people tend to be more skeptical, thus less superstitious. Because many forms of superstitions are learned, younger people are more likely to follow them.
KNOCK ON WOOD
While many of us cross our fingers, knock on wood and throw salt over our shoulders, most don't even know the meaning of the action.
"I knock on wood all the time," says Sara Lymon, 24, a student at the University of Ottawa.
But when asked what it meant, Lymon was stumped.
"Knocking on wood quite likely has to do with the pagan belief in wood and wooden objects," says Dr. Edmund Kern, a professor of history at Lawrence University who has studied superstitions throughout the ages.
"Another possibility is that one (who knocks on wood) is symbolically indicating the solidity of the hoped outcome ... Nonetheless, knocking on wood is a belief that has been around for quite some time."
Tracking the history of superstitions is not easy.
"Anyone who tells you they know the origin of a superstition is lying to you," says Kern. "The only thing we can do is find the earliest appearance in historical records and try to figure out where it came from."
This is especially difficult because historians did not document superstitions until the 1800s.
"That's one of the interesting things about studying superstitions," says Kern. "No one bothered to explain them until the 19th century. I think nostalgia and romanticism brought an interest in recuperating traditional practices."
But the origins of some superstitions are a little more obvious than others. For instance, the belief that walking under a ladder is bad luck is really just a safety precaution. If you walk under a ladder, your chances of getting something dropped on your head increases.
Likewise, it's considered bad luck to light more than two cigarettes with one match. This superstition is traced back to the two World Wars when soldiers were in foxholes and trenches.
"The first cigarette would allow the sniper to locate the enemy," says Kern. "The second cigarette would allow the sniper to zero-in. And the third cigarette would allow the sniper to take the shot."
But there are many other superstitions that have a more abstract significance. For instance, superstitions about black cats aren't as easy to explain.
"Cats have always been linked to superstition, regardless of colour," says Kern. "They're nocturnal animals."
Before widespread lighting, nighttime was associated with danger and insecurity even more than it is today, Kern says.
As a result, cats have been looked upon with suspicion throughout history.
WAILING CAT
"Another reason may be the similarities between cats and humans," says Kern. "A wailing cat can sound a lot like a human child. The sound itself implies danger or uncertainty. The movement of cats can also be perceived as disturbing -- they behave in ways that sometimes surprise us."
Superstitions are globally ubiquitous. So much so they may have played a role in U.S. policy during the Reagan era.
In May of 1988, Donald Regan, former White House chief of staff to Ronald Reagan, released his memoirs. They stated that after the assassination attempt on President Reagan, the president's wife employed a San Francisco-based astrologer to advise her on a wide range of topics.
Suggestions that certain days were "bad" for her husband often led to cancelled addresses, meetings and the odd business trip.
In her own memoir, Nancy Reagan admitted to consulting an astrologer on a regular basis but maintained it had no influence over her husband's decisions.
Regardless, there are some people who base major decisions on superstitious beliefs.
"I help people to empower themselves," says Matt Staple, a psychic who works at Love Dragons located in Metcalfe, just outside Ottawa.
"Being a psychic is like two jobs: Helping people to see things that have happened and are going to happen but also to help them make decisions."
GIANT MIRROR
Staple likens the universe to a giant mirror whereby people send out "vibrations" that come back to them.
"It's like physics," he says. "Everything has an equal and opposite reaction."
Staple maintains that by showing people how to send out the right vibes, they will be reciprocated with their wishes.
"Don't send out vibes that are bad," he says. "For instance, if you are looking for wealth, send a vibe that you already have money."
When asked whether people should heed superstitions, Staple says those who believe in superstitions are most likely to be affected by them. But, he warns, that doesn't mean non-believers are immune to the effects.
Ever wonder why your dog is hesitant to chase down that black cat that lives a couple doors down?
Burrhus Frederic Skinner, arguably the most famous psychologist in history apart from Freud, has an idea why.
He argues that animals demonstrate superstitious behaviour. In order to prove his point, Skinner used hungry pigeons. The pigeons were placed in cages that had mechanisms which delivered food to the birds at regular intervals.
He discovered that after a while pigeons associated certain behaviours with the deliverance of food.
For example, if a pigeon had been moving its head up and down when the food was dispensed, the bird would begin to believe that action produced the snack.
Subsequently, the pigeons would continue to perform these actions in hope of getting more food.
Skinner concluded that the pigeons formed a ritualistic behaviour which they associated with the food and argued it was proof that animals could exhibit superstitious behaviour.
Throngs of other researchers disagree with Skinner's assertion but the theory is still a source of scientific argument today.
So, the next time Spot is sitting by his food bowl with his paws crossed, he may be trying to bring about the kibbles through superstitious intervention.
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HIGHER POWER
The Scope of Superstition reaches even the halls of power:
- In the early 1970s, the CIA funded a multimillion dollar research project at the Stanford Research Institute involving "remote viewing" (psychics).
- U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was scared of the number 13. He would not attend meetings on 13th floors of buildings, would not travel on the 13th day of the month and had his secretary sit in on dinners to be the 14th guest.
- Former first lady Nancy Reagan regularly consulted an astrologer who gave her advice on what her husband, Ronald, should do.
- Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King was known to consult psychics and hold seances.
- The Chinese government spent millions of dollars through the 1980s and early 1990s on researching psychic abilities but in 1999, psychic research became the center of controversy. As a result, the government banned Falun Gong, a traditional medicine practice surrounded by mysterious beliefs, and issued an arrest warrant for its leader who now resides in New York city.
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