Superstition - Are you afraid of days like Friday the 13th?

Since it was recently Friday the 13th, I thought it would be the perfect time to discuss superstition. Are you superstitious?

The definition of Superstition is:

su·per·sti·tion –noun

a belief or notion, not based on reason or knowledge, in or of the ominous significance of a particular thing, circumstance, occurrence, proceeding, or the like.


Friday the 13th is often a day wrapped in superstition and fear. There are some people that don't like to schedule anything important, any travel, or make any big decisions of this day. Some are so gripped in fear that they won't leave the house.

In my family this day has always had a little different meaning. I had a sibling born on Friday the 13th, so for the past 29 years we have all thought it to be a lucky day....even though that night there was storm so terribly that people lost power for days and trees fell into homes and streets....but we enjoyed the birth of a new family member.

So many things like this are based in legend or fear. I did a little research on the internet and found that the idea that Friday the 13th was an unlucky day. It looks like there are many different theories to why this is an unlucky day. I won't list them all here, but here are a few that I came across:

There is a Norse myth about 12 gods having a dinner party in their heaven. When the 13th uninvited guest, Loki the mischievous, walked in and arranged for Hoder, the blind god of darkness to shoot Balder the beautiful-the god of joy and gladness with a mistletoe tipped arrow. Legend says that when Balder died, the whole earth went dark and mourned. It was a bad and unlucky day, and from then on they consider the number 13 to be unlucky.
There is an apparent fear of Friday the 13th that comes from Christian tradition. Partly it was a fear of the number 13 and party the fear of Fridays, 13 because it is the number of people present at the Last Supper (Jesus and his 12 apostles) and Judas, the 13th person to arrive, later betrayed Jesus leading to his torture and crucifixion. To some, Friday's are not favored as lucky because Jesus was crucified on a Friday. In addition, some theologians have taught that Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit on a Friday, and the flood of Noah's time happened on a Friday (I'm not so sure about that these are true) It seemed that things that were doomed began on a Friday.

Some say that the Christian distrust of Friday's in linked to the early Catholic Church for their overall suppression of the pagan religions and women. On the Roman calendar, Friday was devoted to Venus (the goddess of love). Later when Norsemen adapted their calendar, they named the day after Frigg, or Freya (Norse goddesses connected to love and sex). It was said that Frigg would often join a coven of witches, normally a group of 12 and thus bring the total to 13, there is also old church stories that 13 is an unholy number because 12 witches would meet with the devil. Both females posed a threat and some theories suggest that the Church vilified the day named after them.

There is yet another connection to the superstition of 13 being unlucky to pagan practices. The pagan lunar calendar has 13 moths, also corresponding to the human menstrual cycle, connecting the number to femininity.

They there are sure to be people who don't like the date simply from the modern day 'Friday the 13th' horror films.

Whatever the reason, I am not afraid of a number or a day of the week. To me that would be like saying, "I think that February the 1st is an unlucky day, once I stubbed my toe and broke my arm. That year is was on a Tuesday, so I don't go outside on Tuesdays or on the February 1st."

Whether this is a date that gives you a since of impending doom or not, we know that there is a hope and a person stronger than any of the evil things that are in the world.

Here are a short list of scriptures on fear:

Psalm 12:2 "Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation."
Psalm 23:4 "I will fear no evil for You (God) are with me."
Psalm 27:1 " The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?"
Psalm 27:3 "Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear."

May we take comfort in God's promises and lay down our own imagination and fear, which is surely a tactic of Satan to seek, kill, and destroy. (even if it isn't too noticeable to everyone else). Speak truth out loud, Satan really hates that.

In conclusion, again I will state that I am not a afraid or superstition of this day or the number 13.  I don't believe I'm superstitious of anything that I can think of.  But if you are, perhaps this article will have helped you to get a new perspective and release yourself from fears that aren't based in truth.

My God bless you with Peace and Discernment!  I'd love to hear what you think about superstitions!

Jessica