![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mhuzzellI wish on eyelashes. The mechanism is similar to that of blowing out birthday candles, or blowing all the seeds off of a dandelion head: if an eyelash is discovered to have fallen onto one's face, one can then transfer it onto a fingertip and blow it off whilst rehearsing some desire in the inner monologue. The gratification of the wish is based on one's ability to blow the eyelash off of the fingertip in a single breath (a condition usually foiled only by having wet fingers).
It's not as though I actually believe that blowing fallen eyelashes (NB, only those found on the face; eyelashes discovered elsewhere, such as on desks or the pages of books, are useless for wishing) from my fingers will actually cause the gratification of whatever-it-was I wished for (I can't tell you, of course; telling others one's wishes is widely known to prevent their coming true). But I still worry about the precise wording of my wishes, since you know those fulfilment things can be pretty damn tricky. "I wish I could do such-and-such" is actually just a wish for the possibility of doing "such-and-such". To actually wish for such-and-such, it'd have to be "I wish I were doing such-and-such" -- or rather, since that would actually require an instantaneous physical change, "I wish that I will soon be doing such-and-such". You get the idea.
I suspect it's mostly habit. My mother is spectacularly superstitious, complete with a firm belief in ghosts, spirits, auras and the like. My dad is not, but then, he believes that a single, personal God sent a series of 'messengers' (including Abraham, Krishna, Mohammed, and, 'currently' Bahá'u'lláh) down to Earth to teach us that all gods are One and all religions are One also, and all of humanity is One, and so on. As religions go, it's not too bad, but... still. He told me once that if I became a Bahá'í, I 'would get to give up all superstitions', but to be honest I don't see all that much difference. Point is, my upbringing was full of this sort of thing. I wouldn't be surprised if it was our dad who taught us to wish on dandelions, even. Wishing is supposed to be one of those childish things that doesn't count as 'superstition', I guess.
But if it's only habit, then why do I feel geniunely agitated if, for instance, I spill salt and don't toss a pinch of it over my left shoulder? More worryingly, why do I seem to pick up other people's superstitions? Like my friend Julia's about 'splitting the pole', wherein, if walking with someone else, or a group, all must walk on the same side of a lamppost of similar obstacle. Failure to do so will result in the eventual separation of those involved. This is kind of a silly worry, if you think about it, because of course you'll be separated from everyone in your life, eventually, through death if not before. I didn't even try to start following this one, but ever since I heard about it, I notice whether or not we 'split the pole' whenever I walk with someone, and if there's no particular obstacle, I will step out of my immediate trajectory to avoid splitting the pole. Dear me. At least I've given up avoiding stepping on cracks in the pavement, otherwise I might never get anywhere.
On the plus side, this picking-up thing means I do occasionally get new things to wish on, such as the tip of a piece of pie (but only if you eat the slice backwards; found in David Sedaris' Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim). However I refuse to take up my sister's habit of 'wishing time' when the clock reads 11:11. That's just silly, since it clearly doesn't date back any earlier than the invention of the digital clock, and we all know that a wishing mechanism is only as good as its Authenticity, and Authenticity is of course based on age.
Really, if wishing on things works at all, it's probably just because the wisher believes it works, but this is psychologically dangerous. I don't know of any placebos that work when exposed for what they are.
It's not as though I actually believe that blowing fallen eyelashes (NB, only those found on the face; eyelashes discovered elsewhere, such as on desks or the pages of books, are useless for wishing) from my fingers will actually cause the gratification of whatever-it-was I wished for (I can't tell you, of course; telling others one's wishes is widely known to prevent their coming true). But I still worry about the precise wording of my wishes, since you know those fulfilment things can be pretty damn tricky. "I wish I could do such-and-such" is actually just a wish for the possibility of doing "such-and-such". To actually wish for such-and-such, it'd have to be "I wish I were doing such-and-such" -- or rather, since that would actually require an instantaneous physical change, "I wish that I will soon be doing such-and-such". You get the idea.
I suspect it's mostly habit. My mother is spectacularly superstitious, complete with a firm belief in ghosts, spirits, auras and the like. My dad is not, but then, he believes that a single, personal God sent a series of 'messengers' (including Abraham, Krishna, Mohammed, and, 'currently' Bahá'u'lláh) down to Earth to teach us that all gods are One and all religions are One also, and all of humanity is One, and so on. As religions go, it's not too bad, but... still. He told me once that if I became a Bahá'í, I 'would get to give up all superstitions', but to be honest I don't see all that much difference. Point is, my upbringing was full of this sort of thing. I wouldn't be surprised if it was our dad who taught us to wish on dandelions, even. Wishing is supposed to be one of those childish things that doesn't count as 'superstition', I guess.
But if it's only habit, then why do I feel geniunely agitated if, for instance, I spill salt and don't toss a pinch of it over my left shoulder? More worryingly, why do I seem to pick up other people's superstitions? Like my friend Julia's about 'splitting the pole', wherein, if walking with someone else, or a group, all must walk on the same side of a lamppost of similar obstacle. Failure to do so will result in the eventual separation of those involved. This is kind of a silly worry, if you think about it, because of course you'll be separated from everyone in your life, eventually, through death if not before. I didn't even try to start following this one, but ever since I heard about it, I notice whether or not we 'split the pole' whenever I walk with someone, and if there's no particular obstacle, I will step out of my immediate trajectory to avoid splitting the pole. Dear me. At least I've given up avoiding stepping on cracks in the pavement, otherwise I might never get anywhere.
On the plus side, this picking-up thing means I do occasionally get new things to wish on, such as the tip of a piece of pie (but only if you eat the slice backwards; found in David Sedaris' Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim). However I refuse to take up my sister's habit of 'wishing time' when the clock reads 11:11. That's just silly, since it clearly doesn't date back any earlier than the invention of the digital clock, and we all know that a wishing mechanism is only as good as its Authenticity, and Authenticity is of course based on age.
Really, if wishing on things works at all, it's probably just because the wisher believes it works, but this is psychologically dangerous. I don't know of any placebos that work when exposed for what they are.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-04-17 05:11 pm (UTC)Beats me.
no subject
Date: 2008-04-20 01:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-17 07:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-17 08:11 pm (UTC)I thought this might perk up your Anthropological antennae...
no subject
Date: 2008-04-17 08:41 pm (UTC)funny story, which i probably already told you: my roommate emily, raised catholic, while claiming to be not superstitious simultaneously tossed spilt salt over her left shoulder with her right hand. oh the irony.
no subject
Date: 2008-04-17 08:59 pm (UTC)