Superstitions
Mysterious happenings are all around us today. I personally have done extensive studies in the histories of many of these superstitions, from the common to the absurd. Science tends to claim that all superstitions are pointless, and, in some cases, I agree, such as the fear of black cats, but the fact of the matter is that some superstitions come from a rich pre-Christian background. Many superstitions have been doubted since the rise of science, but it has been said that "In spite of advances and science, people are still superstitious." First, today's superstition is yesterday's magick; second, many people still practice the old ways; and finally, even common people practice. Superstitions are a part of our everyday lives and always have been.
First, today's superstitions are yesterday's magick. Magick is the term practitioners use to describe the direct but subtle influence over reality; magic is a term for stage tricks. Long before the age of science, magick was a common element in every religion, even Christianity. Even science in its beginning, was based on old magicks like numerology, begun by Pythagoras, and alchemy. Since then, we have several leftovers from the old ways, my favorite of which is knocking on wood. The ancient Celts (pronounced Kelts) began this practice as a way of thanking the wood fairies, who were seen as mostly responsible for good luck. Today, when speaking of one's good fortune, it is common to knock on wood, though most people do not know why. Despite science's attempts to turn the old ways into useless or forgotten superstitions, the remnants of them are still around.
Second, many of us still practice magick, roughly 10,000 in America. Collectively, the religion is known as Wicca, though not all Wiccans practice magick, and not all of those who practice magic are Wiccan. Obviously, the scientific community would prefer to believe that we are either insane, delusional, or con-artists, but none of that is true. I have seen magick work and have done it myself. In fact, my favorite way to gain the trust of a new friend is by granting him or her one wish, as long as the wish is not too grand; as I said before, magic is subtle.
Witchcraft started in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. Superstition started when women were accused of acting strangely. These superstitions turned into trials, and later lead to mounds of hanged people. Most of the people accused were innocent, but the harsh judge rulings left them with nothing to live for. The only options for the tried, no matter if guilty or not, were to claim guilty, living the rest of their life in prison, or to plead not guilty and hang. Due to both consequences being equally as punishable, many people isolated themselves from society. Unfortunately, some people caused the uprising of the salem witch trials more than others did. In the play The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, Abigail Williams single handedly attributed to the
reason for the superstition and the rituals that come along with them are they are one of
At Nero's birth his father is reported as saying, " Nothing born of myself and Agrippina can be other than odious and a public disaster. " He had no idea.
By its conclusion, I hope to have shown how magic has developed over the centuries and how its continual evolution has effected not only our culture, but society and attitudes towards Paganism.
Witchcraft has been in practice for centuries upon centuries, having been traced back to the beginning of mankind, where it was seen as a religious practice that instilled magical rights upon the user (Witchcraft). Prehistoric art exemplifies this, with inscriptions detailing magical rites that were used to ensure that their hunting was successful (Wiccan One’s Universe). Witches were commonplace all over the world with different stigmas and stereotypes attached to them from each respectful culture that contained them. The belief in magic predated Christianity, Judaism, and recorded history, and over time magic became mainly associated with one group - Witches (Erzulie). This could have been due to the fading out of many other ancient religions as well as the growing popularity that Witchcraft gained from incorporating man...
Nero last of the Julio-Claudian emperors has lived on for almost two thousand years in infamy. Three different sources seemed to have the same opinion of him, that he committed heinous crimes against the senate, the people of Rome, and his own family and therefore is deserving of his reputation. Dio Cassius, Suetonius, and Tacitus are all ancient sources who wrote of the emperor’s reign. Tacitus is the only of the three to have been alive during his reign. All three were wealthy upper class citizens holding titles writing after Nero’s death. And all had the same opinion of Nero that he was a disgraceful emperor deserving of his fate. But their accounts vary greatly and details as simple as names are not constant throughout the accounts. Two events stand out as the most controversial and varied in their recounting, Nero’s murder of his mother Agrippina, and the great fire of Rome. Both of the events have been told differently by the aforementioned sources so I will examine each account and compare them. Although Nero was notoriously cruel his part in the horrors that befell Rome during his reign have been exaggerated by biased sources.
Superstitions have been around for many centuries. Just like in Shirley Jackson’s, The Lottery, it is believed that, “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon”. Many of the superstitions that are common today have a colorful history that are not based on facts, but simply on perceptions and beliefs.. For example, walking under a ladders considered to bring bad luck. It tempts “Fates” and awakens spirits. However, this can be counteracted by placing a thumb between the index and middle finger and holding it for 5 seconds. Similar to superstitions, stereotyping is an age old problem of beliefs and perceptions. Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery, challenged the typical stereotype that it is always the man that dies. Likewise, today’s stereotypes are being
Superstition has been around almost since people first inhabited the earth. For this reason, it has played a main role in many classical pieces of literature. One of Shakespeare’s tragedies, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, is full of superstition and the supernatural. It contained so much superstition in order to foreshadow key events in the plot, to further develop characters, and to thrill and relate to the Elizabethan audience for whom the play was written.
Now I am going to talk about another emperor who definitely was not the same man that Nero was and he goes by the name of
“Superstition is a belief or way of behaving that is based on fear of the unknown and faith in magic or luck: a belief that certain events or things will bring good or bad luck” (Merriam-Webster). “Superstition is an irrational belief that an object, action, or circumstance not logically related to a course of events influences its outcome” (The Free Dictionary). “Superstition is the belief in supernatural causality—that one event causes another without any natural process linking the two events—such as astrology and certain aspects linked to religion, like omens, witchcraft and prophecies, that contradict natural science” (Wikipedia). Superstition, a belief or practice generally regarded as irrational and as resulting from ignorance or from
It seems like most superstition is bad luck, does it not? This makes excellent sense too, for it is very possible that superstitions were created influence the younger generation away from wrong-doings. Nevertheless, there are superstitions that are about bringing good luck to a person. Perhaps the most popular being the lucky horseshoe. There are several origins about how horseshoes came to be luck, but they all agree on a couple things; Iron and warding off goblins.
For example, Peeking at the eggs on which a hen is sitting was believed to make you blind. A pregnant woman who ate pork could have a baby with a mouth like that of a pig. Among a Nigerian tribe Yoruba, it was believed that there were spirits hidden in rivers and hills in various cities. Since these spirits were there to protect the people, they were not to be disturbed on certain days of the week. In almost all Nigerian societies, there is a strong belief that most disease and death are caused supernaturally, by witchcraft, curses, or charms. For a long time, the tribe Ibos believed that twins were an abomination and be killed at birth. Among some of the Hausa people, it was believed that marrying a Yoruba woman could result in Mystical dangers such as serious sickness or even death.
The role of technology throughout my life has been up and down to say the least. While technology has aided my dysgraphia by helping teachers read my essays and papers, it has also played the part of being not only a distraction during my school work, but a distraction in my life as a whole. Yet technology is not bad or good in and of itself, the positives and negatives of technology truly depends on or are relative to the user and how they utilize the technology given to them.
Nowadays, technology has become an essential part of our society; it helps people to share information and influence minds in good and bad ways. It has changed the aspects of everyday life, such as education, job satisfaction, health care, and leisure time activities. Also, it provides another form of communication and exchange of information which was not available before. For instance, cell phones are the best examples of technology linked to change in today 's world. People have started using Smart
Informational technology has helped so many people keep in touch with others, interact with others through social networking, help employees with work or help employers figure out whom their hiring. So how could informational technology help me? In plenty of ways, then not. One being through social, educational, and another being professional. So having all of this technology might be a bit overwhelming, but overall it is helpful to almost everyone. This newer technology today can help so many people with so many different things whether it be talking to your best friend, skyping with your future boss about your future career, spending over eight hours doing research on a paper that’s due in less than twenty-four hours away or just sitting on your computer for hours watching cat videos on the internet. It’s all how you spend and use your time on the internet.