superstitions about salt
There are countess superstitions about salt. In the world of the superstitious, salt has certainly had a big impact.
Who has not heard that spilling salt brings bad luck? The only way to change your luck is to take a pinch of salt and throw it over your left shoulder. Hopefully this would keep the evil spirit away. It was important that it be the left shoulder as your guardian angel was believed to be behind your right shoulder. You certainly wouldn’t want to harm your guardian angel. In the painting “The Last Supper” Leonardo da Vinci shows Judas spilling the salt. Some say that this shows that the superstition of spilling salt is quite old.
Salt has a long tradition as a protective omen. During 19th century England, it was not uncommon to sprinkle salt in each room of a new house before moving in and bringing in the furniture. This was believed to protect the home from evil spirits.
Salt has also been reported to be more effective at warding off unwanted people. If he had a visitor at his home and preferred that the particular person he called not return, he would simply sprinkle salt on the floor and door immediately after that person leaves. Sweep up the salt and then burn it. You shouldn’t get another visit from the unwanted guest.
In Buddhist folklore, it was common to throw salt over one’s shoulder before entering the house after returning from a funeral. He could never be sure that evil spirits weren’t following him from the funeral site. The salt would scare them away and prevent them from entering your home.
In Europe it was common in many places to put salt in the coffin of the deceased to prevent the devil from taking over the deceased.
It was believed that it was a bad omen if you ran out of salt. Always keep salt in your home. Many say “lack of salt, lack of money.” It is equally bad luck to lend salt to someone. Never return the salt you have been given or both the giver and the receiver will have bad luck.
Never pass salt to someone at the table. There are a couple of old sayings on this matter; “Pass the salt, pass the pain” and “Help me the salt, help me the pain”. If someone at the table needs the salt, be sure to put the salt down and let the other person collect it themselves.
There are also superstitions about salt and fishermen. If one were to throw some salt at a fisherman, it would surely bring him luck.
In Ancient Rome, it was believed that salt would protect newborns from evil demons and on the eighth day after birth, the child would be rubbed with salt.
As late as the 19th century it was believed that salt could protect newborn children in Britain. A small packet of salt wrapped in a cloth could be placed in the cradle to protect a child who had not yet been baptized. Likewise, a little salt was placed in the pocket of the baby’s clothes for her protection the first time the infant left home.
To this day, many people around the world still believe in the magical powers of salt. Some people in Asia still insist on having a small bag of salt in their car to ensure a safe journey.