Advice and Superstition
If you want a person to win at cards, stick a crooked pin in his coat.
People born in the morning cannot see spirits or the fairy world. Those born at night, however, have power over ghosts and can see the spirits of the dead.
Never cut an infant's nails until it is a twelve-month old, or it will be light-fingered and addicted to stealing.
To insure good fortune for your baby throughout life, be sure that his first gift is a silver coin. Place it yourself into the child's hand. If the child drops it, s/he will have difficulty holding onto money throughout life. (Conversely, if the child grasps it tightly; s/he will be fortunate with money.) Be sure to remove the coin from the baby's grasp and carefully save it as the baby's personal amulet.
Gift a new baby with an old fashioned red coral and silver bell teething ring. The coral to ward off the evil eye, the silver bells for good fortune.
Dress your little girl in red, or at the least put a red ribbon in her hair, to protect her from evil.
A sick person's bed must always be placed north and south, not crossways.
The hair and nails of a sick person cannot be cut until after recovery.
If someone dies in your family, you must stop all the clocks, cover all mirrors with a black cloth or turn it face towards the wall, let the household fire go out, and open all doors and windows
The seventh son of a seventh son has power over all diseases, and can cure them by laying on of hands; and a son born after his father's death has power over fevers.
Fire is the holiest of all things. Walk three times around a fire on St. Johns Eve, and you will be safe from disease for all that year.
An iron ring worn on the fourth finger is effective againsat rheumatism.
Never get married at harvest time. If you do, you will have no rest from worries and troubles, and you'll always be overworked and laden with cares and anxieties all your life long.
To insure a loving marriage, both bride and groom must join hands and jump over the besom laid on the floor.
It is good fortune, for a bride, on her wedding day, to be near a cat which sneezes, on that day.
Never carry an axe on your shoulder through a house. If you must carry one through a house, carry it lowered.
If a bee enters your home, it is a sign that you will soon have a visitor. However, if you drive the bee out of your home, you will have bad luck, or the visitor will be unpleasant.
Having a black cat as your household companion is considered very good luck.
If a strange black cat enters your home uninvited, you will have great fortune throughout the year. If you shoo it away, it will take it's gift of good luck with it.
The Yule Candle should be burned until it burns out naturally.
Never light three candles with one match...nor have just three candles burning.
To prevent an unwanted guest from returning, sweep out the room they stayed in immediately after they leave.
If you sweep the house with broom in May "You will sweep the head of the house away."
It is bad luck to sweep dust out of your house onto the porch. Always sweep towards the center of the room, and take it up in a dust pan from there.
Never set thirteen people down to dinner, or one will die within a year.
Never put shoes on the dining room table, it is very unlucky.
You will get a letter if a moth flies towards you, your nose itches, you develop a white spot on the nail of your ring finger, or you sneeze on a Wednesday.
If you are expecting a delayed letter; hang a found hairpin up by a nail on your wall.
Never put a letter into the left hand of your friend, or your friendship will end.
It is good to cut hair at the new moon and by the light of the moon, itself.
The cuttings of your hair should not be thrown where birds may find them. The birds will take them to build their nests, and you'll have headaches all year thereafter.
Never begin to make a dress on Saturday, or the wearer will die within the year.
Never begin a journey on Friday or Saturday, nor move from your residence, nor change your situation.
If the soles of your feet itch, you will soon be going to a strange place.
Spit on your new bat before using it for the first time.
Never kill a bee, it is as unlucky as breaking a mirror.
In some parts of the United States, a black cat crossing your path is thought to be unlucky. In Britian, it is considered good luck.
A black cat aboard ship is a very good omen. If your man is a sailor keep a black cat in your home to insure his safety while at sea.
People are said to have the 'Evil Eye' if they have eyes of different colours, eyes set too deeply in the sockets, eyes too close together, or have one eye lower than the other which squints.
If anywhere on the right side of your body itches, it's a good omen.
If anywhere on the left side of your body itches, it's a bad omen.
If your right palm itches, you will soon be getting some money.
If your left palm itches, you will soon be paying out money.
If your right ear itches, someone is talking nicely of you.
If your left ear itches, someone is talking bad about you.
If your right eye itches, you will get a nice surprise.
If your left eye itches, you will get a nasty surprise.
If your eyebrow itches, you can expect a visitor.