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Get Lucky! Good Luck Superstitions and Old Wives' Tales

Bring luck into your home. rusty horse shoe and four leaf clover
Written By: Catherine Boeckmann Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

There are many superstitions for “good luck” around the home. Many of these would be called “Old Wives’ tales.” Let’s have fun exploring these age-old sayings.

Even though most of us say we are not superstitious, we avoid walking under ladders and practicing other superstitious behavior! Is it just tradition, or is there something to some of these old wives’ tales?

Here are 11 sayings for good luck in your home that come from The Old Farmer’s Almanac folklore archives:

  1. Scatter Solomon’s seal on the floor to banish serpents and venomous creatures from the room.
     
  2. To protect your house from lightning, gather hazel tree branches on Palm Sunday and keep them in the water.
     
  3. Add caraway seeds to chicken feed to keep poultry from wandering. Feed the seeds to homing pigeons to help them find their way back.
     
  4. Stuff fennel in your keyhole or hang it over your door to protect against evil spirits. (Of course, we now know fennel has many natural remedy benefits to help keep us healthy!)
     
  5. Never carry a hoe into the house. If you do so by mistake, carry it out again, walking backward to avoid bad luck.
     
  6. Never walk under a ladder, which is Satan’s territory. If you must do it, cross your fingers or make the sign of the fig (closed fist, with thumb between index and middle fingers).
     
  7. If you give a steel blade to a friend, make the recipient pay you a penny to avoid cutting the friendship.
     
  8. Never give a knife as a housewarming present, or your new neighbor will become an enemy.
     
  9. Never pound a nail after sundown; you will wake the tree gods.
     
  10. Nail an evergreen branch to new rafters to bring good luck. An empty hornet’s nest, hung high, also will bring good luck to a house of any age.
     
  11. When you move to a new house, always enter first with a loaf of bread and a new broom. Never bring an old broom into the house.
a loaf of bread and a knife


Enjoy folklore? Read all about herbs and folklore—and their many uses around the home!

What do you think about these superstitions? How superstitious are you?

Home and Health

About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann

Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Catherine Boeckmann is the Executive Digital Editor of Almanac.com, the digital home of The Old Farmer’s Almanac. She leads digital editorial strategy and publishing across a wide range of Almanac sub...

Read more from Catherine Boeckmann

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Comments

<span>Mo Miah</span> Thu, 09/19/2013 - 13:18
love this article, keep up the great content! :)
<span>Cloebsky</span> Wed, 09/12/2012 - 18:57
we are planning to build a house.when is the best time to start the construction?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Thu, 09/13/2012 - 11:13
See our best days timetable for best days to set posts or pour concrete: http://www.almanac.com/bestdays/timetable
<span>Janlinae</span> Tue, 09/13/2011 - 11:16
I rescued a small cast iron frypan from a thrift store. The only problem is the handle is made of wood. Any idea how to season it properly without burning off the handle?
<span>Sweetbeth</span> Wed, 07/22/2015 - 23:36
the handle can be removed. The ring at the end of the handle is actually the eye of a long bolt. turn it counter clock wise and remove it. The wood handle comes off easily. Clean and season your pan as you see fit and replace the handle and rod. good luck and happy cooking! :)
<span>Maria M. Hickman</span> Sun, 06/01/2014 - 05:39
Wash it very good at first and then put a thin layer of vegetable oil in the pan with a paper towel, wipe exess off with a clean paper towel.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Wed, 11/20/2013 - 12:34

This pan is not meant to be in the oven. Stove top only. You can try to season it with some oil on a hot burner. Do it several times. Cool and wipe off the extra oil in between. And start using the pan to cook bacon and frying with butter. It will get seasoned as you start using it.

 <span>Dolly Reyes</span> Wed, 06/02/2010 - 03:03
about cast iron pan's,,,,how can i clean off the build up from bottom of pan's i love my cast irons use them for everything , i just cant find a way to get the build up off...plz help :(
<span>Shari Peterson</span> Mon, 11/18/2013 - 08:34
Check out diy.com,it will walk you through a process of cleaning your cast iron pan and if your handle is wood does it have a way to remove it ? Or I wood never it with tin foil.I hope this helps.
<span>Angie2376</span> Wed, 04/06/2011 - 17:34
I use borax (20 mule team borax) I love the stuff and it works amazingly. Just lightly sprinkle the bottom of the pan with it and wet it slightly. Let it sit a few minutes and the wipe clean. You may have to do it twice depending on how bad the pan is. You can also cover it with salt and heat it up and try that, but I find the borax works better. Remember to season your pan afterwards!