How to Push Your Luck in Newfoundland
Newfoundland is full of superstitions.
I grew up knowing that some simple, everyday actions were considered lucky while while others were thought to tempt doom.
As Friday the 13th is upon us, I thought it would be interesting to look at the later sort —the things early Newfoundlanders considered unlucky.
What follows is a short list of how to push your luck in Newfoundland— things that were (or are) believed to bring misfortune. Proceed with caution — It might change the way you think.
You may never look at pigeons, stamps or brooms the same way again.
Beware A Mare-Browed Man
A mare-browed man?
Mare-brow, according to George Patterson’s Notes on the Folk-Lore of Newfoundland, refers to eyebrows that meet and extend continuously across the forehead. I think we would call it a uni-brow.
In any case, meeting a man with a mare-brow was considered unlucky. Men with a mare-brow were said to have the power to cast spells and bring ill-luck to the people of the community — So, if you can’t steer clear of a mare-brow, at least stay on its good side.
A Woman Crossing a Hunter’s Path
When it comes to unlucky paths, it’s not all about black cats.
If a superstitious man were to set out on a hunting trip the last thing he’d want was for a woman to cross his path. In some corners of Newfoundland it was believed having a woman cross the path of a hunter doomed his expedition to fail. I don’t know whether the same thought applied to female hunters.
Regardless, in other quarters a hunter’s path being crossed by a red-haired man or even a hare was thought just as unlucky.
Meeting a Tame Pigeon
A pigeon on your path could be bad, too.
Encountering a tame pigeon (not clear if they were concerned bout the birds we call pigeons today, or one of the birds traditionally called pigeons in NL) was a sure sign of bad luck, especially for women. It was thought that if a woman encountered a tame pigeon it was a sign of sorrow to come.
On the other hand, if she met two pigeons that meant joy. Three pigeons foretold of a wedding, and four meant a birth.
It’s a bit like the counting crows rhyme.
Reaching Through a Ladder
The idea that walking under a ladder brings bad luck is pretty common — it’s a superstition that survives to present day both in and outside of Newfoundland.
Once upon a time in Newfoundland people were even more cautious, not only would they not walk under a ladder, they refused to reach through or pass anything under a ladder. That too, was thought to bring on a bout of bad luck
Why are people so superstitious about ladders?
It’s been said that, at points in history, ladders were used in the place of gallows. If this is true it’s understandable that people wanted to avoid them. Their desire to keep away, it’s been suggested, lead to a feeling of bad luck about them.
Others suggest we should credit the ancient Egyptians for our thoughts on ladders. A leaning ladder makes a triangle (the building and ground being the other two sides) and the triangle was seen as a symbol for a pyramid — a very powerful and important shape. Walking under a ladder ‘breaks’ the pyramid and that’s very unlucky.
Others have suggested the triangle represents the Holy Trinity and walking through it breaks it. Again, not a good thing to do.
I always imagined it was because where there are ladders there are workers overhead and it just makes sense not have construction debris rain down on your head… but perhaps I’m too practical.
Obviously, the origin is a bit of a mystery and the superstition has lingered longer than logic behind it.
Avoid the Jinker
In Newfoundland English a Jinker is an unlucky fellow, a person who cannot or does not succeed in fishing. It was considered bad luck to have a jinker aboard your boat — it was inviting their bad luck to taint the entire voyage.
I can’t help thinking how awful it would be to be considered a jinker— not only were things not going well on the fishing/feeding-your-family front, there was a whole layer of social stigma against you.
A Rope Against The Sun
There’s a right way and a wrong way to do everything.
If you want good luck the only way to coil rope is with the sun, to coil against the sun invites bad luck.
In All Things, Follow the Sun
Beyond coiling rope, it was considered bad luck to do anything against the sun. It was considered especially bad luck to turn a boat away from the sun when leaving a stage — the boat must turn with the sun.
Dora Russell (Here in Newfoundland, 1956) points out that the sun influences the wind and weather, and observing the sun — at least with regard to sailing —may have had real-world implications. The ‘luck’ the following the sun brought to sailors may have transferred to other, less sun dependent, situations — like dealing cards against the sun, which was also seen as problematic.
The Moon Over Your Shoulder
It doesn’t end with the sun, the moon gets in on the action too. In fact, just looking at the moon the wrong way could get you in trouble.
It was important to always view the new moon from over your right shoulder, seeing it from over your left shoulder could set you up for a month of misery filled with ill-fortune and bad luck.
Digging a Grave on Monday
As if having to dig a grave wasn’t bad enough, doing it on the wrong day could curse you.
Digging a grave on a Monday was to be avoided if possible — it brought bad luck to the grave diggers. If the grave had to be dug there was a sneaky work-around. If the grave were begun on Sunday, even if only the sod was turned, that was enough to satisfy the fates and bad luck could be avoided.
Whistling
‘Whistle While You Work’ may have been a great anthem for Snow White but it would have gotten her nowhere in the fishing ports of old Newfoundland.
If there was one maritime behaviour that was sure to bring bad luck, it was whistling. It was thought that whistling while on the water would bring up wind. If someone were to be bold enough to whistle a tune, they had to be sure they were not calling up any more wind than they could handle.
Another strike against Snow White? A whistling woman, on a boat or not, was always thought a bad thing.
Steer Clear of Green
In some parts of the island green was considered an unlucky colour. Green belonged to the fairies. By wearing green, a person was welcoming a world of misfortune that might even include abduction. Wearing green was seen as an invitation for the fairies to take the wearer away to their hidden realm.
Even if someone was lucky enough to avoid abduction they might have to deal with a bank crash. According to Dora Russell (1956) some Newfoundlanders blamed the Great Fire of 1892 in St. John’s and the 1894 bank crash on the government’s reckless issuing of green stamps.
Inside Out Is Better
Who hasn’t, in a rush, discovered they’ve put their shirt or sweater on inside out or backward. Once upon a time It was considered bad luck to right that wrong. To stay on the right side of the fates you had to continue wearing the piece of clothing inside-out.
There was a possible of clothing-related remedy, however. If a person had been having a run of bad luck one way to end it was to take off their underwear and put it back on, inside out.
I don’t know why that was thought to work but I guess going back to the ‘foundations’ and symbolically starting the day over was as sensible a remedy as any.
A Broom In May
Getting a new broom in May was a sure way to bring misfortune into your life. There was an old adage:
Buy a broom in May, sweep your family away.
The idea, as it was put to me recently in a conversation, was that if you got a new broom in May you were inviting the death of a loved one. It likely comes from an old European belief, as many of these superstitions probably do.
There’s a great article about it on archivalmoments.
Mind the Kettle Stick
There’s no such thing as a bad cup of tea in the woods, or so I’ve been told. If someone wanted to try though, the best thing to do might be to burn the kettle stick — that was promised to bring bad luck.
A kettle stick is a piece of wood used to hold the kettle above the campfire. Once the kettle was boiled it was important to keep track of the stick. Accidentally burning it could ruin the whole trip. For hunters, burning the kettle stick meant that there would be no game for anyone else it could mean a serious accident.
It was no better if sailors pulled a shore for a boil-up. Burning the kettle stick would mean rough seas and wind.
Share Your (Bad) Luck
This list is just the tip of the iceberg, if you have any other pieces of Newfoundland superstitions concerning bad luck, I’d love to hear about!
Feel free to drop them in the comments below.
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The Christmas Review, 1893
The Christmas Review, 1896
Notes on the Folk-Lore of Newfoundland, George Patterson, 1895
Here in Newfoundland, Dora Russell, 1956
Old time magic for Halloween in Newfoundland