MissX --- OMG, I'd forgotten all about magpies! I used to live in the UK, and my friends there did train me in the ways of magpie courtesy... We always used to say 'Good morning (or afternoon or whatever), Mr. Magpie, and give my regards to Mrs. Magpie' whenever we saw them, as well as touching caps or forelocks in the bird's general direction. I remember one morning on the bus to school, there was much commotion with the whole bus-load of us all greeting the magpies --- I don't know where they all came from, but there were 50 or 60 of them that morning, dotted along the route. No one could have a conversation because of all the magpie-greetings! I don't really remember the reason for the superstition, though, except that I know it was bad luck to pass a magpie without greeting it... Can you refresh my memory?

--- sweetstuff

P.s. Lilith, this is a magpie...
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Oh, and as for me... Not superstitious at all, until I walk through the doors of my theatre, and then watch out! 'Break a leg' MUST replace 'good luck', 'the Scottish play' MUST replace 'Macbeth', and of course then there are all the various superstitions about ladders, soap, salt, rope, and so on...

One time, on opening night of a show, someone told me to have 'good luck', and it nearly killed me... I was the stage manager; within 10 minutes of curtain my headset had caught on fire (mmm, flame and sparks travelling down a wire connected to my head, that was fun), and I had to call the rest of the show (cue the actors, sound, lighting, etc) by signalling to my assistant on the other side of the stage. Pretty much as soon as I'd put out that fire, one of the dancers fell down the dressing room stairs and broke an ankle. The central piece of the set (a little 'stone' bridge) collapsed when the two lovers stood on it for their main song (the show was Brigadoon)... Oh yeah, and the fog machine got stuck on 'spew', so it was shooting fog onto the stage at a great pace for the whole first act until I could fix it. Coincidence? I think not. :rolleyes:

--- sweetstuff

I have no clue why I do this one, if someone knows the reasoning behind it please share.
When I go over a set of RR tracks I put both hands on the interior roof of the car and lift both feet off the floor.... as to not be touching the tracks. Driving or passenger! LOL I have no clue but have done this consistently for 20 years!

I have this thing where i have to leave my window unlocked in case Lilith is waiting outside :D

SFC~
A britt that doesn't know that Magpies are associated with Merlyn?

*striking forehead with palm*
*blushing furiously*
*scuffling toe on the floor*
*stuttering*

Well... I, uh... erm... it's just... you see... well the thing is... you know... I... we... argh... oh... blast and botheration!! I didn't know!!

In my defense --- I'm not a Brit, I just lived there for a year, and that was in my early teens.

The bit I do remember, on further racking my brain, is that one magpie alone was supposed to be bad, that's why we always had to make mention of a partner; but two magpies together was supposed to be good luck. How does the rhyme go?

"One's sorrow, two's mirth,
Three's a wedding, four's a birth.
Five's a christening, six a dearth,
Seven's heaven, eight is hell,
And nine's the devil his ain sel'."

I still don't know what all that has to do with Merlin/Merlyn... Care to enlighten me, Murphy? Pleeeease? :)

--- sweetstuff

sweetstuff-
Merlyn was supposed to be able to become a magpie, or crow.
He also was said to use magpies as spies.

Still don't like to step on the sidewalk crack... even tho I'm not much concerned about breaking Mother's back now.... ;)

SFC, the poem's Scots, Merlin was Welsh (they think).

Just mixing lores.

SCF this is the one i was tought when i was small.

One for sorrow,
two for joy,
three for a girl,
for for a boy,
five for silver,
six for gold,
seven for a secret,
never to be told,
eight for a wish,
nine for a kiss,
ten for a time
of joyous bliss


I think this is what it is supposed to signify.


One: Sorrow. An unhappy event. A change for the worse. Maybe loss or a death.

Two: Joy. A surprise. A change for the better. Sometimes the finding of something.

Three: Marriage. A celebration. Sometimes the birth of a female child. Othertimes some significant event around a daughter.

Four: Birth. Usually the birth of a male child. Sometimes a significant event surrounding a son.

Five: Silver. Something costly. Usually a positive transaction.

Six: Gold. Wealth. Sometimes money. Maybe greed. Occasionally a negative transaction.

Seven: Something of spiritual significance. Often a secret. In some cases witchcraft, or the performing of sacred rites.

Eight: Something profound. Death, dying, or a glimpse of Heaven. A life-altering journey or experience.

Nine: Something sensual. Passion, or forbidden delight. In some versions this is corruption, in others it is closer to temptation.

Ten: Something extreme. An overwhelming sensation. Something paid in full.

Eleven: Uncertainty. Waiting. Wanting. May be in relation to a spiritual matter.

Twelve: Fulfillment. Riches (though not always of a material sort). A fruitful labor. Something completed. An end to a problem, or the answer to a question.

I maybe incorrect though. I do know that the magpie was once thought of as evil (bit like a crow).


Lilith ~ i used to do that as a kid. also do you hold your nose when you drive over water or put your hand over your head when you go through a tunnel??

Danziggy~ I hold my breath through the tunnels and I live where there are may long bridges so I would be dead from holding my breath over them :D

I always wear something grey: just in case I meet a single Magpie. Last year I saw the weirdest thing. My neighbour's cat was high in a tree close to a Magpie nest. The Magpies were dive-bombing the cat and two crows joined in the fun. Maybe there is something in that Merlin myth after all?

And the cat? He continues his tormenting unscathed.

I'm not superstitious at all. The only thing I can think of that I do is that I like to put my left sock and shoe on first. Just habit I think.

While I believe in karma, I am not superstitios... at least not in the common sense.

I believe in the laws of the universe. Negative and positive energy. If you put out positive energy, that is what you will attract. I truely believe in what comes around goes around.

Bananas on a boat are bad luck. I live by this, because I have seen the consequences.