Norse Mythology Research Paper

Everything has an origin or a meaning behind it, right? Nothing is just thought of out the blue, as one might say. People stop everything, and become nervous when they “jinx” themselves. They will then knock on the nearest piece of wood to chase the evil spirits away. It is thought in superstition that these “spirits” will cause irony and make bad luck happen. For example, if one would boast about their good fortune, then the evil spirits would cause horrible things to happen and the persons luck to completely change.

Why wood, you might ask. Surely metal or rocks would make a louder racket. Rocks and metal do make a louder racket, but the reason for wood dates back to the time before Christianity and Islam. Pagan groups and cultures, such

as the Celts and Indians, had religions intertwined around trees, giving the thought trees and wood possessed magical properties that had some defense against evil spirits. (http://mentalfloss.com) That is why you use wood.
There is also a knocking part though. Why do we knock on wood rather than touching it or something along those lines? Well, some experts think that the knocking portion dates back to times even longer ago. Pagans would bash and knock objects against things such as trees and rock to scare away the evil spirits from their home. (http://mentalfloss.com)
Knocking on wood isn’t the only superstition. There are many others of wide varieties and beliefs. One other popular superstition is that if you break a mirror it will cause you seven years of bad luck. This belief appears to have been originated by the Romans, for they invented the modern mirror. It has been thought by many cultures that what you see in a mirror is actually your own soul. Therefore, seeing yourself in a broken mirror is showing your broken soul, hence the reason it is thought of as bad luck. (http://www.wisegeek.org)
Why seven years though? Well, the Romans are the reason for that to. It was common belief for the Romans that the body completely renewed itself every seven years. That means, after seven years your soul would be completely healed, and your bad luck would end. (http://www.wisegeek.org)
Thirteen is one of the most feared numbers. Why, it’s just a number. How could a number harm you when it’s not even physical? Well, for many legends and stories, bad luck and events have been associated around the number thirteen. For example, it is thought that Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus at the Last Supper, was the thirteenth guest to arrive to the Last Supper.
That is a Christian belief, but not the only myth centered around thirteen.

In Norse mythology, it is said that there were twelve gods seated at a banquet, when Loki, the uninvited thirteenth god, arrived and killed lots of other gods, and unleashed Ragnarok, the Norse doomsday. (http://mentalfloss.com) Thirteen is unlucky in many mythologies, is that a coincidence?

For further instilled dread, traditional gallows had thirteen steps leading up to them, and the hangman’s rope may have had thirteen coils, though it is closer to something like eight coils. (http://mentalfloss.com) These may have been implemented as a scheme by the nobles to inflict fear in the criminals, and perhaps frighten future criminals from their acts.

A subpart of “lucky thirteen”, and maybe the best known, is Friday the Thirteenth. It is thought that if the thirteenth day of the month falls on a Friday, than that day is considered especially unlucky. You may be able to see that the thirteenth day is unlucky, but why does the day of the week matter? The most reasonable answer goes back roughly to the year

1307.
On October 13th, 1307, there was a mass execution and arrest of the knights Templar.

Those caught were then burned at the stake. (http://mentalfloss.com)( http://www.catholic.com) The exact dates are unknown, but legend tells of the execution being on Friday the Thirteenth.

It seems like most superstition is bad luck, does it not? This makes excellent sense too, for it is very possible that superstitions were created influence the younger generation away from wrong-doings. Nevertheless, there are superstitions that are about bringing good luck to a person. Perhaps the most popular being the lucky horseshoe. There are several origins about how horseshoes came to be luck, but they all agree on a couple things; Iron and warding off goblins.

Strange duo right? Wrong. It is for the most part agreed on that horseshoes hanging by doors was good luck. It was thought that the horseshoes would scare away the “goblins” that cause misfortune and haunt your dreams. These goblins were scared of the people’s weapons, in other words, scared of iron. (http://www.livescience.com) It is also thought in several different cultures that iron wards off evil

spirits.
Okay, so iron is protection from spirits, but why a horseshoe? The best explanations are that a horseshoe pointing upwards is like the symbol for the Celtic moon god, (http://www.livescience.com) the other being that horseshoes have seven holes, and seven is considered lucky. (http://list25.com)
As you can see, superstitions flow from the time before Christ, to your modern life. Some are created from historical events, and some as warnings and legends. Nearly all people believe in at least one superstition, even if they don’t realize it, and superstitions are likely to follow human nature to the time when a family is exploring stars. Just wait for the day when a child’s mother says “Don’t bring a rock to space or you’ll have seven years of bad luck”