Knocking on Wood (Indo-European, Celtic, or possibly British)

• The actual origins, and even meanings, of the phrase are as varied as the cultures which use it, with some suggesting roots in the Indo-European or Celtic belief that spirits good and bad resided in trees who could be either called upon for protection or chased away by knocking on their home, and others (particularly Christians) linking the practice to the magical power of the wooden Crucifix. Most likely among the different theories, historians have attributed the superstition to a 19th-century British children’s game called “Tiggy Touchwood” in which young players claimed immunity from being tagged by touching the nearest piece of wood. Adults picked up on the habit and the phrase (the British still say “touch wood” today), and the rest is history.

Step on a Crack, Break Your Mother’s Back (African and European folklore)

• Another superstition involving something cracked or broken being associated with bad luck is the superstition of “stepping on a crack” as foretelling, or even causing, harm to a family member. As with mirrors, cracks—in the earth, on a sidewalk, or almost anywhere—have long been seen as portals to the realm of the supernatural, for both good and ill. To step on those cracks might be to invite or release unwelcome spirits into the world ready to do one harm.

The Number of Four (China)

• As we’ve seen with numbers like thirteen and seven, numbers are frequently assigned different magical significance or statuses depending on the culture in question. For the Chinese, the number “four” is a no-no, due to the similarity in its pronunciation, in Chinese, to the word for “death.”

Tucking Thumbs in Inside of a Cemetery (Japan)

• Like the fear of the word “four” in China hinging on the similarity, in its pronunciation, to the Chinese word for “death,” the Japanese similarly tuck in their thumbs when in a cemetery visiting the graves of dead relatives. This comes from the connection between the Japanese word for “thumb” and its meaning as the “parent finger”. To tuck in one’s thumbs while inside a cemetery, then, is to protect one’s parents from death.

Sweeping Feet (South America)

• If you happen to be on a cleaning spree in Brazil, you will want to steer clear of brooms. Or at least be careful. South Americans believe that if your feet are swept over by a broom you will remain single for the rest of your life. The curse can be broken, if you immediately spit on the broom. The exact origins of this superstition are unknown, but legend has it that a woman who cannot keep house, does not a good wife make.

Itchy Palms (Caribbean)

• Depending on which palm of yours begins to itch, you may find yourself in the Caribbean with a bit of extra spending money, or in the red. It is a common belief that an itchy left palm means you will owe money soon, whereas an itchy right palm means money is coming your way. There is an explanation that might tell us why such a distinction. The left hand seems to hold passive energy and the right hand contains active energy which could symbolically explain the coming in and out of money.

     Curse of the Evil Eye (Mediterranean and Middle East)

• It's a common belief—spanning the Mediterranean, Middle East, and South Asia—that's been held for thousands of years that to achieve too much success would be to invite the anger or inspire the envy of the gods, who would then smite the unfortunate individual with a reversal of fortune. In response to the fear of this curse, people across the ancient Mediterranean began fashioning amulets and beads with an image of an 'evil eye', sometimes referred to as nazars, which would then help ward off that horrible, untoward fate.

Superstitions

• Superstitions are our brain’s way of making sense of a perplexing world.

• We are superstitious when we wrongly identify the cause of a particular effect, especially when we invoke a supernatural belief or myth in that estimation.

• Can be related to religious, cultural, or personal values

• People try to explain events like illness, accidents, etc. by relating them to supernatural processes.

• Based on beliefs or assumptions

•  Superstitions are simply an overextension of our desire to find truth in the world.

• Some research suggests that superstitious thinking may be biologically helpful when the correct answer to a particular problem would give us an enormous advantage for survival.

Science

• Over time, as we learn nature’s truths and laws, we leave less space for the guesswork of superstition.

• A branch of knowledge that is based on the systematic study of the components comprising the physical and natural world. 

• Evidence for science is based on observations and experiments.

• Science has to do with experimental and systematic knowledge

• Generally speaking, the loss of superstitions is a sign of progress. But that doesn’t mean superstitions never have value.