Friday the 13th Five

1. Are you superstitious? To some degree. (Hey, I have OCD, after all, some of OCD rituals are grounded in superstition, so I guess you could say my Paxil makes me less so.) Some superstitions have religious aspects, for example, and those I tend to give more weight to. I, however, really love to learn about superstitions. I have several books of collected ones. It's interesting to find out their history.

2. What extremes have you heard of someone going to in the name of superstition? The worst was something I did. It was, I'm afraid, a borderline moment. I went to back into a parking space and there was a black cat who refused to move and I wouldn't force it so I was late to class since I had to find another parking spot and then babbled to my professor--who probably thought I was nuts--about the whole thing. But you have to realise that a couple of months before I had struck and killed a black cat, at midnight, on a Friday the 13th, after leaving a get together where people had stupidly played with a Ouija board and something had attacked the house wards. So I was still spooked.

3. Believer or not, what's your favorite superstition? Crushing eggshells so evil can't use it as a boat to get to you. Oh, and rowan tree and red thread as a protection against evil. (It's part of the reason I chose Rowan as my last name.)

4. Do you believe in luck? If yes, do you have a lucky number/article of clothing/ritual? Oh, yes--good and bad. Remember, there's a Roman Goddess of luck, Fortuna. My favourite number is 13. I rather think since I'm Pagan it should be lucky for me, anyway.

5. Do you believe in astrology? Why or why not? I do, but not the kind you read in the paper. Astrology is much more precise than that, and those generalisations are virtually meaningless. Why do I believe? 'As above, so below'. Platonic philosophy teaches us that we, the microcosm, are reflections of the greater macrocosm. It is the structure of the universe. Do I think that the planet Mars, ruler of Aries, is sending little rays of whatever to control my every thought? Not really. Do I believe that everything in the universe impacts everything else, with even seemingly infintesimal things like butterfly wings or a drop of water into a pool having some effect? Yes, I do.