Living with superstition builds character.

Living with superstition builds character. 

People are generally superstitious, especially those of the older generation. We relate many events to supernatural causes. We act according to beliefs we inherited from our ancestors. Superstition may not rule our lives but it serves to sharpen our consciousness, build our character, and help preserve our culture. Mythology is important in every culture and it influences other cultures as well.  Greek mythology is the leading example. 

      

Dr Abe V Rotor

1. Forego your trip if a black cat crosses your path – it is bad luck.

2. Don’t clean the house at night, more so, if you sweep the dirt out of the door. You drive good luck away, (Lalabas ang suwerte.)

3. If you get lost in the wilderness, reverse your shirt, so that you will be able find your way back.

4. Tikbalang (Filipino version of a centaur) comes out when it is raining while the sun is out.

5. Three persons in a picture means the one at the middle will die.

6. A mole (taling) on the sole indicates the person is a wanderer (gala’).

7. A mole (taling) located along the path of tears means the person is going to be widowed.

8. Bride must never try her bridal gown before the wedding; the ceremony might not push through.

9. Don’t hang on the window; you court bad luck.

10. Itchy palm means you are going to have money.

11. Keep your fingers close together and if light seeps through between them, it means you are not frugal.

12. Singing while cooking means you are going to remain a bachelor or spinster – or marry someone much older than you.

13. A victim of maternal impression (paglilihi) loses pep (sigla) and may even get sick.

14. If a pregnant woman is in labor, never sit at the center of the stair.

15. A comet in the sky means war is coming.

16. Eat raw eggs to enhance easy delivery of your baby.

17. A pregnant mother should not eat eggplant, else her baby will have dark complexion.

18. One who cries every time she cuts onions means she does not love her father- and mother-in-law (biyanan).

19. Taking a bath immediately after ironing clothes will make you sick of leprosy.

20. If a pregnant woman eats eggs, her child will be born blind.

21. Full moon causes abnormal behavior. People who are affected by this belief are called lunatics.

22. Beware of Friday the 13th, you might meet an accident.

Kapre, a hairy black monster, lives in this old balete tree.

UPLB Mt Makiling, Laguna on the way to the Mud Spring.

There was a report that the tree bleeds with blood! 

23. No two siblings should marry within the same year, otherwise their marriages will not be successful.

24. When someone gives you a footwear as a gift, be sure to pay him any amount in order to break the omen that you will be “kicked” or pushed around.

25. When the pregnant wife skips or walks over (laktawan) her husband, the husband will bear the burden of paglilihi (maternal impression).

26. If you want a person to be sad and to cry often, give him or her a handkerchief as a gift.

27. One who is about to be wed must remain at home to avoid accident.

28. Avoid having your feet pointed at the door while sleeping.

29. Prepare rice cake like suman and tikoy on New Year so that good luck will stick around.

30. When planting be sure your stomach is full, so that you will get good harvest.

31. If you accidentally break a glass or china, get a similar one and break it, otherwise bad luck will haunt you.

32. Breaking a mirror means “seven years itch.”

33. If you dream you lost a tooth, it means is bad luck. To break the omen, silently go to a tree and tell your dream so that it will be the tree that will suffer.

34. Needle bought in the afternoon is likely to rust.

35. A birthday celebrant must take extra precaution against accident, so with a new graduate. 

Image of a white lady taken by a CCTV camera

36. The bride should not look behind while marching the aisle, otherwise the wedding will not be disrupted.

37. The number of steps of a stair is based on the alternate oro (gold)-plata (silver) formula. Aim for oro in the last or highest step.

38. Wearing bright clothes, especially red, on your birthday makes the day happy.

39. After the wedding the man must exit first from the church so that he will not become a henpeck husband.

40. Don’t give your loved one a necklace, otherwise your relationship will not last.

41. Don’t allow your friend to remove your ring, otherwise you will quarrel.

42. Kill a chicken for a new born baby as an offering.

43. Sweeping or cleaning the house while a dead relative is in wake will lead to the death of another member of the family.

44. Eating jackfruit during menstruation is prohibited otherwise the woman will get sick and even die.

45. When planting sitao (string bean), place a comb on your hair to induce the production of abundant long fruits.

46. Eating chicken cooked with squash will cause leprosy.

47. A woman on her menstrual period should not visit a garden or orchard otherwise the plants will become sick or die.

48. To know if it is true jade, it remains cool even if the body is warm.

49. Beware of the werewolf. Man can turn into a wolf, and vice versa.

50. Eight (8) is a lucky number; 8 is infinity. It means money will circulate.

51. Four (4) means in Chinese C or death. Every time you reach an age with the number 9 or 4, take precaution; you are prone to accident.

52. Don’t cut fingernails at night; it’s bad luck.

53. In Chinese marriage, the woman walks backward led by a relative to be delivered to the bridegroom.

54. If a child keeps spitting, it will rain.

55. If you point at the moon your will suffer a cut.

56. Babies smile at angels we don’t see.

57. Fixed marriage at birth is good luck.

58. Chinese calendar is late by two months – New Year is in February.
Chinese age starts one year at birth.

59. Palm lines may change, so with our lives.

60. Blessed palm on Easter Sunday is hang at the door for good luck.

61. First cut hair and fingernails of a baby must be kept in a book so that he will be intelligent.

Indeed there's really a white carabao, and it glows at night in flickering light. 


62. Wearing black is symbol of mourning; to the Chinese it is wearing all white.

63. Among the Chinese, miniaturized house, car and the like, go with the departed to assure him of a happy afterlife.

64. In a Chinese temple, you offer food to the gods, and then eat it after. This is not the case in Filipino custom; just leave the food offering (atang).

65. To the Chinese, paper money goes with the dead; it will be converted into real money in afterlife.

66. Light candles outside of the house during All Saints Day in deference to of the souls of the dead and the unseen.

67. When you happen to encounter a funeral entourage, throw some coins in respect of the dead.

68. Don’t stand in front of a gate if you are pregnant.

69. If by mistake it’s the bride that hands over the arras to the bridegroom, expect that she will be the breadwinner.

70. Diamond studded wedding rings do not make a perfect relationship.

71. When blessing a new vehicle, sprinkler fresh blood of chicken in tires and engine to bad omen of accident.

72. Place some coins in the foundation of buildings and other structures during ground breaking ceremony to make them strong and withstand time.

73. Children are sacrificed in making bridges and other infrastructure.

74. Bury placenta with rosary and pencil so that the child will be both intelligent and God-fearing.

75. Palms with crisscross lines (rapas Ilk) means the person is cruel.

76. Palms with netted lines means the person has an unorganized life (magulong buhay).

77. Shake (pagpagin) the items such as clothes after a customer had left without buying any, to break bad luck.

78. Place money in a bed pan (arinola), so that it becomes plentiful.

79. Babies that fall from their cradle do not suffer injury, thanks to their guardian angels.

80. When you give a wallet as gift be sure you put a coin or a money bill in it so that the wallet won’t run out of money.

81. When transferring to a new house carry with you 24 oranges, salt, water, and rice.

82. Jade stones around the wrist of a baby indicate his condition. If they turn light in color the baby is not well.

83. When transferring a dead person into the house, be sure it is head first; when taking him out, it is feet first.

84.Bed must not face the door, otherwise the sleeping person will become a victim of bangongot.

85.Don’t bump the coffin while carrying it; it is bad luck.

86. Pour water at the doorway once the coffin has been taken out.

87. Wash face and hands after the dead has been laid to rest.

90. When coming from a wake have a stopover somewhere and do not directly go home, otherwise the spirit of the dead will follow you.

91. The wishbone of a chicken makes a wholesome game for two. Wish comes true to the one who gets the common stem of the Y-shape bone.

92. One can determine the sex of the baby by the poise and shape of the pregnant woman. If rotund, it’s going to be a girl; if pointed, it’s going to be a boy.

93. During labor, if the pain is bearable and continuous, it’s going to be a girl; if labor pain is intermittent and intense, it’s going to be a boy.

94. When leaving the dining table ahead, those who are still eating must rotate their plates, otherwise they will remain bachelors or spinsters. (The belief is silent on the fate of the married ones.)

95. Couple to be married the following day must not see each other the night before.

96. When Friday comes don’t talk about the supernatural, such as kapre, dwende, and the like.

97. Never buy a cat; it will not be a good mouse catcher.
 
98. If a cat sneezes it’s going to rain. But if it sneezes three times, everyone in the family will catch cold.

99. A cat that has its back towards the fire means a typhoon in coming.

100. Unfortunate events usually happen on full moon.