I WAS walking through the park the other day with my
friend May when she stopped and saluted in the direction
of a distant bird, uttering the words "good afternoon,
Mr Magpie".
Although to many this would seem bizarre at best, we
both carried on chatting as if nothing had happened.
She's a rational, feet-on-the-ground sort of person who
isn't prone to believing in superstitions or mystic powers
but, for some reason, she's twitchy about magpies.
advertisement
And the reason, she says, has its root in men.
"I think that when someone has had a run of bad luck
in their life an almost instinctive response is to become
somewhat superstitious," she says.
"After all, with so much of our life
seemingly outside of our control, it may seem
advisable not to tempt the gods to put a spanner
in the works. It doesn't surprise me at all that
normally rational people may feel they could
be inviting a calamity by not observing a few
irrational rituals, especially around the area
of a newly-developed relationship and I have
probably been guilty of doing the same
thing in my past.
"In fact, I have never got over the need
to salute a single magpie. This dates back
many years to a turbulent relationship in
which I was hardly sure of whether it was
on or off from one day to the next.
It would, of course, have been a safer route
to personal happiness for me to have ditched the
man in question rather than to rely on magpie
power but many of us seem to have it within us to
try evoking magic when all else seems to fail."
For my own part, I'm not really into
saluting birds but I do notice the odd bit
of superstitious behaviour slipping in if
I'm interested in someone or in a new
relationship.
For one thing, I read my horoscope more. I
don't believe in astrology at all but if there's a new bloke on
the scene I feel compelled to flick to the star signs in whatever
publication I get my hands on to scan for hints that we are, in
fact, going to get together and live happily ever after.
Taking this to the next stage, I also saw a tarot card reader
recently, where we discussed my love life. In my
defence, I probably wouldn't have had my fortune
told if I wasn't writing about it for Single in the
City. But I still clung onto every scrap of
information I could glean about potential Mr
Right and me.
In fact, writing this has brought back a
memory I think I must have suppressed
through embarrassment. When I was around
20 I briefly dated a bloke who kept messing
me around.
I was terribly down about the whole thing and
allowed a friend to convince me that the answer
lay not in forgetting about him and moving on but
in investing in a "magical" amulet. I used this to perform a
spell involving waving it round in a candle and calling him
back to me. I wore the amulet round my neck for ages after that
- needless to say he didn't come back and, thank God, I moved
on. It makes me cringe but at the time I felt so powerless that I
was up for all the help from magical forces I could get - even
ones I didn't believe in.
And then there is the small statue of a dog in a park near my
home which my parents told me was magical when I was a
child and which I have wished on every time I've seen it since.
And despite the fact that as I type this I know it's ridiculous, I
will continue to wish on it indefinitely.
I suppose the thing about turning to superstitions and
various forms of magic is it gives you a sense of
control at a time when everything can seem out
of your hands.
And it's not just in romantic situations that
people turn to superstition - I'm sure as many people
have lucky pants for interviews as dates and I even know
a sailor who has a lucky pair to help her win races!
In important situations you want to do everything
you can to give yourself an edge, whether it's getting
your hair done or putting a four-leaf clover
in your pocket.
Plus, if you're not the most confident of people,
the idea of charming someone into
falling for you with the power of scented
candles and an incantation is rather
more appealing than actually going
and talking to them.
But are superstitions and magic
harmless diversions?
Most of the time, the answer
is probably yes. Saluting a
magpie or avoiding
going under a ladder
is unlikely
to have a
major impact
on the rest of your life.
But if you're turning to superstition or
magic to do the work that you should be doing yourself, it
might be time to give it up.
If you really like someone, it's best to ask them out, not try to
charm them with magic and, if they're not into you, sitting
in your room doing spells or reading your horoscope
for a hint that they might change your mind is
only going to make you obsess and won't help you
move on.
And if you are seeing someone
you like, buying them a nice little
present is probably a more sound
investment than a necklace that
promises to bind them to you forever.
Wishes are all very well - but it's
up to you and not some mystic power
to make sure they come true.
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
Print
Email this