An expert on phobias estimates that 1 in 10 people reading this believes Friday the 13th carries bad luck. If you are one of these people and are particularly jumpy today, don’t worry: I have discovered an ancient ritual to protect you.
All you need to do is stand up and face east. Take any money you have and put it in a bag. Wave it over your head and slowly recite:
“Oh-wah. Tah-goo. Fy-am.”
Say it over and over, faster and faster, and louder and louder. And when you feel better, mail the bag of money to me. You are thereby protected!
An irrational fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia. If you can pronounce it, you’re probably too smart to have this fear in the first place.
Some say Friday the 13th’s bad rep goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. It was on a Friday, supposedly, that Eve tempted Adam with the forbidden fruit. Also, Jesus was crucified on a Friday.
As for the number 13, some suggest the number 13 was purposely vilified by the founders of patriarchal religions in the early days of Western civilization because it represented femininity. Thirteen had been revered in prehistoric goddess-worshiping cultures, allegedly because it corresponded to the number of lunar (menstrual) cycles in a year (13 x 28 = 364 days).
On the flip side, Egyptians consider the number 13 to be good luck. It’s the 13th stage of life, which just so happens to be death, so I don’t know why that would be good luck, unless you believe in prophecies of a glorious afterlife.
Of course, the real danger of Friday the 13th–the thing that has haunted people for ages–is fear of the unknown, fueled by superstition, and vice versa.
“We may have come a long way from living in caves, but many of us are still terrified by imagined shadows,” says Andrew Skolnick of the Commission for Scientific Medicine and Mental Health. “Many of us still drag our knuckles when it comes to believing in the supernatural or in being suckered by the latest shaman’s miracle potion.”
Buying into superstitions of any kind can be harmful, says Dr. Bob Carroll, author of “The Skeptic’s Dictionary.” “Belief in the evil eye has led people to behave terribly toward others. You might behave recklessly if you think your lucky charm will protect you.”
For example, in December 2003, a patient wanted to test the potency of a charm an herbalist had prepared for him. It was supposed to protect people from bullets. It didn’t work. During testing, he accidentally shot and killed his doctor.
Carroll says 13 is unlucky only if you believe it is.
Some prophecies, after all, are self-fulfilling.
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lpotash@tribune.com
