List of bad luck signs

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

• A priest passing through
• Breaking a mirror is said to bring seven years of bad luck[1]
• Bird or flock going from left to right (Auspicia)(Paganism)
• Certain numbers:
  • The number 4 (tetraphobia) in Chinese culture
  • The numbers 4 and 9 in Japanese culture
  • Also in Japanese culture, maternity wards numbered 43, as it can literally mean "still birth"
  • The number 13, known as triskaidekaphobia
  • The number 17 in Italian culture
  • The number 39, known as the curse of 39, in Afghan culture
  • The number 666, known as hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia
• Friday the 13th (In Spain, Greece and Georgia: Tuesday the 13th)
• Failing to respond to a chain letter
• Giving a clock as a gift in Chinese culture, as in Chinese, to give a clock has the same pronunciation as attending their funeral[2]
• Greek Orthodox priest in the street. It is considered a bad omen to see a priest walking in the street, and superstitious people whisper "ΣΚΟΡΔΑ" (skorda - "garlic") under their breath.
• Hanging a horseshoe with the ends pointing down, as it is believed that the luck will 'fall out'[3]
• Opening an umbrella while indoors
• On the Isle of Man, the mention of the word "longtail" (referring to a rat)
• Ouija board
• Navajo:
  • pointing at a rainbow[4][5]
  • throwing rocks into the wind[4][5]
  • a coyote crossing one's path[4] heading north[5]
  • an owl 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. [6]
• Pointing towards feces (England)[7]
• Ravens, crows and magpies
• Saying the word "Macbeth" or wishing someone "Good Luck" while inside a theatre
• Shoes on a table
• Three on a match (superstition)
• Tipping a salt shaker over
• Viewing one's doppelgänger may be considered a harbinger of bad luck
• Walking under a ladder
• Black cat crossing one's path

See also

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

References

1. "Breaking a mirror - meaning of broken mirror". Mirror History. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
2. "Cultural China - Festivals and Customs - Taboo 2 - Giving a clock". Retrieved 30 April 2016.
3. "Luck and Horseshoes Webpage accessed 22 Aug. 2010". Indepthinfo.com. Retrieved 2011-12-19.
4. Ernest Bulows. "Navajo Taboos for Nature, Domestic and Wild Animals". NavajoCentral.org. Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
5. Alysa Landry (July 24, 2014). "10 Things You Need to Know About Navajos". Indian Country Today Media Network. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
6. 1958-, Wang, Q. This is the same in Korea but with spoons. Edward (2015-01-26). Chopsticks : a cultural and culinary history. Cambridge. ISBN 9781107023963. OCLC 881469397.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
7. Sources of Superstitious Beliefs. Julius B. Maller and Gerhard E. Lundeen The Journal of Educational Research Vol. 26, No. 5 (Jan. 1933), pp. 321-343