Suspicions, traditions, folklore, fairytales….what and why do we believe or hold so much store in these tales, passed down from generation to generation.
Today is Friday the 13th! My oh my…the fear that this day brings to some people. If something bad does happen today to someone, no doubt it will be because ‘it’s Friday the 13th’. Something bad happened to someone yesterday, and something bad will happen to some tomorrow, so why will that be? It can’t be because of the date, can it?
I live at No. 13. I bought this house four and a half years ago and have not experienced any bad luck…in fact, quite the opposite.
Going over all the places I have lived since I was born, and there have been quite a few I realised I have lived in these numbered properties: 1, 8, 10, 13, 14, 15, 20,22, 116, 495 and I have a lived in two properties in Ireland where we don’t have house numbers, just townlands and the postman just knows the house by your name.
When I bought my current house, No. 13, my mum said I should change it to 12A. I smiled and for all the good advice she has given to me over the years, I decided not to take her advice on this.
I have, over my life, walked under ladders, broken a mirror, had black cats cross my path etc. I have had both good and bad things happen to me, but not necessarily as a direct result of these events. Like night and day, sunshine and rain where one follows the other, how we perceive it, is just that, perception.
So where do the origins of No. 13 being unlucky come from? Norse Mythology seems to shed some light on it. Loki, a shapeshifter God, is considered a trickster God full of cunning. His aim was apparently to create chaos and was neither all good nor all bad. However, he orchestrated the death of Balder, the God of Light at the dinner party of 12 Gods. Loki was the 13th God, but was an uninvited guest at said dinner party!
Religion, Christianity. Judas Iscariot the 13th person at The Last Supper. He was the man who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver (the night before the crucifixion, which was a Friday). He then, so we are told, felt bad and tried to return the silver.
There are two accounts in the bible: Matthew 27:5 States that Judas hanged himself due to his remorse. Acts 1 1:18-19 states that Judas bought a field with the money and fell, headlong, and his body burst open. Theologians suggest that he hung himself in the field, the rope or branch broke, and he decomposed.
The next historical event Friday 13th, 1307. The Pope, Clement V and King Philip IV of France ordering the arrest of the Knights Templar, including the grand Master, Jaques de Molay, who was tortured. It is said he cursed his captures and vowed the curse would continue and would bring woe and misfortune throughout the ages on the date of his arrest!
So there we have it. Three significant events linking the No. 13 and turning it into a cause and effect that all bad things, must happen on the 13th. The 13th day, the 13th floor of a building, the 13th Number of a house.
But then, as with everything, there has to be a flip side. How many good things have happened on the 13th day, the 13th floor of a building, the 13th number of a house.
In China No. 13 is considered assured growth. In Italy, it is associated with fertility, life and prosperity and in numerology it views No. 13 as opportunities and new beginnings. The Native Americans consider 13 as a sacred symbol of good luck, fertility and cosmic order.
Given that I have an open mind on such things and given that I dared to buy a house with the No.13, have booked trips on the 13th day, have sat in seat No. 13 on a aircraft, train and ferry I can categorically say that I have come to no harm. Now, just to convince potential purchasers to come buy my house, so I can get exploring my next adventure!
On that note then, go an enjoy your Friday the 13th and put some good vibes out to the universe.
Happy Valentine Eve…… now that poor man is another story…..His horrific end happened on the 14th, but it is said to have been a Friday !
Relay shun ships 
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