BIRDS: Superstition has held, for millennia, that the death of a bird in close proximity to a person’s home heralds the death of a member of the family. Likewise, a bird’s entry into a home can mean either an immanent death, or the arrival of an important message in the near future. Many people still believe that a bird tapping at the window is also an omen of impending death to one of the house’s occupants. This belief stems from the ancient belief that birds are actually the messengers of departed souls, or the souls themselves, come back to guide those soon to die. BAT: Perhaps because of its nocturnal nature, a manner once found odd and demonic, the bat’s place in myth and superstition is plagued by accusations of spreading death and misery. Often pictured escaping either the depths of Hell, or Pandora’s mythical box of sorrows, the bat’s reputation has never been a pleasant one. For centuries, a bat in the house was considered a sign of approaching death to a member of the family. Seen as evil and unlucky, or even as the Devil in disguise, the bat is the archetypal symbol of death in Western mythology. Strange, then, that the dried, powdered heart of a bat, when carried in the front pocket, was said to stop bullets or prevent a person from bleeding to death, as late as the early twentieth century. And, while such expressions as “blind as a bat” continue to prevail, the washing of one’s face in a bat’s blood was actually once thought to allow that person to see in the dark! CAT: Throughout time, the cat’s ability to avoid most dangers of death and bodily harm have sparked humanity’s own curiosity and imagination, bringing on mythological appearance and long lists of superstitions. For starters, it is often said that if a cat looks in a mirror, bad luck will follow. This superstition most likely sprang from the belief that cats, particularly black ones, were witches in disguise, and since witches used mirrors to cast harmful spells, therefore a cat staring into a mirror could mean nothing but trouble. Likewise, most people believe that a black cat crossing one’s path is bad luck. That idea, too, stems from the belief that the black cat is evil, and that an encounter with one meant that Satan had taken notice of that person. Tthe black cat still tends to be viewed as a witch’s familiar, or companion. As such, it has been ascribed many special powers, including invisibility, shape-shifting, and the ability to cast magical spells. In fact, it was once believed that, should a black cat, or indeed any cat, jump over a dead body, the corpse would turn into a vampire. The only way to prevent this change was to kill the cat responsible. However, since it was also considered bad luck to kill a cat, there was really nothing to do but lock the dead body away in hopes no cat could find it. MICE: Mice, much like cats, were considered agents of the Devil and symbols of death and misfortune. Very likely because they were responsible for the spreading of various diseases, and because the cat population was kept under such stringent control because they were objects of evil purpose, the mouse enjoyed a certain freedom of movement while suffering a particularly malicious reputation. However, unlike the cat, the mouse was held in absolutely no reverence, and therefore, if a mouse was seen, it was very often immediately dispatched of. It might be prudent to note that there is some speculation that this centuries-old superstition of evil might, in fact, explain why Victorian ladies were always portrayed as being terrified of mice, as any lady of breeding should be absolutely horrified of anything wicked, by Victorian standards of thought. `From Yahoo Answers, the other post is from WIKIPEDIA
Posted on: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 01:57:38 +0000