Salt Superstition

Spilling Salt Superstition

Spilling salt has throughout history been considered bad luck. It predicts something bad is going to happen to someone in the company.

So, what can you do if you by mistake spill some salt? You don’t want to accept this bad forecast. No fear, there is a simple cure.

Your next step is to take a pinch of salt and throw it over your left shoulder. Problem solved; you broke the spell. You can rest assure that you and your company are safe from the salt threat.

Notice that we wrote you have to throw over the left shoulder. There is an explanation for this rule.

Your guardian angel is behind you on your right side. You risk harming your guardian angel if you throw salt over your right shoulder. That would only make things worse.

It seems Leonardo da Vinci was well aware of this salt superstition.

In his painting “The Last Supper” he painted Judas spilling the salt. We all know what happened. Judas betrayed Jesus.

Passing the Salt Superstition

So, what do you do if someone kindly asks you to pass the salt. Naturally most of us are courteous. We pick up the salt and hand it to the person.

According to this superstition that is something you need to stop doing. It is bad luck.

Remember the old saying: “Pass the salt, pass the sorrow”. Another saying is:“Help me to salt, help me to sorrow”.

When you are asked to pass the salt, do it another way to avoid bad luck:

You pick up the salt cellar and place it on the table. Make sure it is close to the person who requested it. That person needs to pick up the salt from the table. All is fine.

Just remember to place the salt cellar on the table. Do not hand it over to another person’s hand. 

Salt and a New Home Superstition

A superstition in 19th century England involved salt and a new home. This was a time when many believed in evil spirits. These spirits could be lurking around just about anywhere.

These canny spirits could take residence in an empty house. In some cases, previous tenants left them behind. They also needed to prevent evil spirits from moving into their new home.

The method they used to stop evil spirits from taking residence involved salt.

This ritual required that the house was empty. Then they sprinkled a little salt on the floor of every room.

After the sprinkling of the new home with salt, they could move in. 

Salt and Money Superstitions

Do you remember the old saying: “Short of salt, short of money”? Never put yourself in the situation that you have no salt in your home. That would be bad news concerning your finances.

Make sure you always have some salt in your home. To be on the safe side keep some extra salt stored in the back of your cupboard.

It is a sorrowful situation if you run out of salt.

Should someone you know run out of salt and ask to borrow some salt, say no. Do not lend anyone salt. It is pure bad luck.

So how do you help the person in need? Simple, you give them the salt as a gift.

They must not under any circumstance return any salt to you. That is bad luck, that would bring both of you bad luck.

It is perfectly fine to gift someone salt. In fact, that is a wonderful thing to do, wishing them prosperity.

The only condition is that the salt is a gift and not a loan.

Unwanted Guests and Salt Superstition

You have just said goodbye to some unpleasant company. Your guest filled the room with loads of negative energy. The last thing you wish is for that person to come for a return visit.

 Shortly after your unwanted company has left, grab some salt.

Sprinkle salt on the floor in the room where your company had entered. Remember to sprinkle salt on the steps or floor of the entrance.

The salt should attract the bad vibes of that person or persons.

The next step is to get your broom and sweep up all the salt. This salt contains the negative vibes. The final step is to burn the salt.

That should do the trick. You should be speared from their company in the future. All this is according to an old superstition.

Death and Salt

Some Buddhist communities use salt to ward off evil spirits. Returning home from a cremation ceremony can be risky. Evil spirits could be tempted to follow the grievers.

It is important that these “up to no good” spirits do not enter their house.

The solution is to throw salt over their shoulders before entering their home. This stops the spirits and make them back off.

An old European superstition involved placing salt in the coffin. This was a precaution to secure the devil would not claim the deceased.

Fishermen’s Luck

In the world of fishing there are many superstitions around the world. One of them involves salt.

One method to wish a fisherman luck, is to throw a little salt on him or her. This action was supposed to bring plenty of luck.

Just make sure you avoid the face when throwing the salt. Getting the stuff in your eyes could sting.

Babies and Salt Superstition

In 19th century England there were many superstitious people.

A newborn was considered  vulnerable before the baby was baptized. These were critical days. Precautions were taken to protect the baby from evil happenings.

One of these protective objects was a tiny bag of salt. They rapped it in a piece of cloth and hid it in the cradle.

A cloth containing salt was also hidden in a pocket of the baby’s clothes. This was to protect the baby when they carried the child outside for the first time.

The First God in Norse Mythology

In the Norse mythology creation story one of the first creatures was the primeval cow named Audhumla.

It was Audhumla and her love of salt which led to the creation of the first god. Audhumla was in luck when she discovered a stone that tasted salt.

The cow licked the salty stone for three days. Each day weird things happened.

On the first day the cow observed human hair growing from the stone.

On the second day a head arose from the rock.

Finally, on the third day the rest of the body burst out of the salty stone.

The first god named Buri had come to life. Buri was the grandfather of the main god in Norse myth named Odin.

Buri did ultimately die even though he was a god. The apples of youth had not yet been created.

These apples were later supplied by the goddess Idunn.

Pillar of Salt in the Bible

One well-known story is that of Lot’s wife who turned into a pillar of salt. This was her punishment for not following orders to not look back.

Some speculate that as salt was a known purifier.

Lot, his wife and their two daughters were told to flee the sinful city of Sodom. Lot was the nephew of Abraham.

God was going to destroy the two cities Sodom and Gomorrah. He intended to eliminate all immorality in these two cities.

These two cities were located by the Dead Sea. As we know the levels of salt in the Dead Sea, just over 30% salt.

“But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.” Genesis 19:26

On Mount Sodom by the Dead Sea there is a salt formation called Lot’s Wife.

Moral of the story; Never look back, look only to the future.