Superstition

So I learned in my Anthropology of Religion class about superstition and why it is even a thing.

It isn't that it actually has a physical effect on the universe or whatever. Like throwing salt over your shoulder after you've spilt it doesn't change some force of nature from wreaking havoc on your being.

INSTEAD...the power in superstitions comes from the psychological changes it creates in a persons being. That person feels safer for throwing the salt over their shoulder and so they ARE safer.

When everything else is out of their control, the superstition gives them an explanation for WHY things happened. People can handle things better if they think they know WHY said thing happened.

Lindsay came home today and asked to see my ring **spoiler alert** **I'll get to that later**. I showed it to her and she asked if she could put it on. Then she quickly said, "wait, isn't that bad luck or something?"

I am going somewhere with this, I promise.

So the superstition is that maybe if someone else tries on your engagement/wedding ring, that brings bad luck upon the couple. I thought about that and thought about how it would be sort of a comforting thing.........STAY WITH ME. THIS WILL SOUND AWFUL BUT IT WAS AN EXPLANATION THAT MADE THE SUPERSTITION THING MAKE A LOTTA SENSE TO ME.

OK....so if something awful ever happened and Christopher and I were not together forever and a day for whatever reason, it would be a comforting thing to be able to look back and say, it is because I let Lindsay try my ring on. Like he dies of Ebola or something...the explanation that he was exposed to it and the virus did this that and the other would not be a good enough explanation. WHY was he the exposed one? **Thinks back to when I let someone try my ring on** That is why. It would be weirdly comforting.

Practically speaking, I know that it is ridiculous to find comfort in that. But THAT is the power of superstitions.

There is an anthropological piece by Evans-Pritchard (THERE IS A VIDEO THAT YOU CAN TAKE A GANDER AT) that tells how the Azande explain things like this.

Say a person stubs their toe on a path they've walked 10, 208 times without stubbing their toe. They claim it is witchcraft or magic that made them stub their toe that particular time. It is how the explain it. Or a granary collapses on a person and kills them when 203,734 people have sat under that same granary 120,421 times. Witchcraft. That is why that particular person was smooshed by the granary.

It is the same with superstitions. I might write more about this and like knocking on wood....

NOTE TO SELF: I did everything I could (knocked on wood) and so there was nothing else I could do to fix what happened. I can be ok with it...