harry potter books bring bad luck

[niyad]

okay, we all need a bit of a break from the insanity that seems to be all around us, so herewith one of the lesser insanities of the day:

I was chatting with a friend this morning, and we were discussing knowing people of various political and religious persuasions. She was telling me about one of her friends, somewhat of a reichwingnut, only growing more so by the day. My friend is trying to figure out how to gracefully and gently extricate herself from this woman's company (unlike me, she is a gentle soul, and quite unwilling to hurt people's feelings)

She told me that this woman had been telling her of all the bad luck that woman's brother is experiencing. Seems that, amoung other things, his significant other just broke up with him. The reason, according to this woman? the presence of the harry potter books in his house. she knew this because the books had been hers previously, and she had a significant run of bad luck as long as she possessed the books. the bad luck stopped as soon as she gave the books to her brother, though she did warn him about them bringing bad luck.

Of course, as my friend pointed out, the fact that the brother is an abuser and an alcoholic with a vile temper has absolutely nothing to do with his partner breaking up with him. and we both had to wonder why, if the woman knew the books were bad luck, she would give them to her brother in the first place.

now, I know harry potter has been blamed for a lot of things, but this is the first time I have heard that he is a harbinger of bad luck.

[hifiguy]

1. There is no bottom to the depths of stupid

that some people choose to believe. Honest to dog, do people like this need instructions printed on the toilet paper? Do they need to be reminded to breathe?

[Liberal Veteran]

2. I dunno. It could be a Horocrux.

Try stabbing it with a basilisk tooth.

[WhollyHeretic]

8. ...

[Lizzie Poppet]

10. *golf clap*

Hmmm...I may have to start referring to Rick Santorum as "He Who Cannot e Elected."

[surrealAmerican]

11. ... but that only worked for Riddle's diary.

Sure, it's a powerful magical object, but not really in the same league as a horcrux.

[Bok_Tukalo]

3. It's not the books

It's the receipt from Borders tucked between pages 151-152 of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

[niyad]

18. damn!!!, I KNEW I should stop using those receipts as bookmarks!!

[southernyankeebelle]

4. No offense. This woman sounds batshit crazy.

[virgogal]

5. I had a bad luck dress once. Every time I wore it---disaster. I tossed it in the rubbish even

though I had paid quite a bit for it.

I would never have given it to charity----it was cursed.

[RebelOne]

14. I am not supersitious, but I had a suit

that I gave away because the day I wore it (which was Friday 13th), I had a car accident, and when I finally got to my office, the coffee pot tipped over and spilled hot coffee all over me.

[virgogal]

17. Should have got it together with my dress. Possible Armageddon. :-) I'm

not superstitious either,but that dress was something else !!!!

By the way,my 1st grandson was born on Friday the 13th.

[niyad]

19. you do know why friday 13th is now considered unlucky, don't you?

Yes, it is Friday the 13th once again, supposedly one of the unluckiest days of the year. However, did you know that this day was not always considered to be unlucky, and that some people even find it to be the luckiest day of the year? Many Pagans think that this day is especially magickal due to the fact that it is the Goddess' sacred day and also her sacred number (on account of the 13 lunar months). There are also many other reasons why the number 13 is considered lucky.

. . . . .
http://janedoesmusings.blogspot.com/2009/02/friday-13th-christianity-and-pagan.html

Friday The 13th
Posted by Claire

Feb 13

Given that some of my non-Pagan friends have lately asked me about where witches stand on the idea of Friday the 13th being unlucky, I thought I should post something. I’ve never subscribed to the notion of specific dates, days or times of year being unlucky, but I know people who are incredibly superstitious (who are often surprised that I’m not, being Pagan and all).

According to folklorists, there is no written evidence for a “Friday the 13th” superstition before the 19th century. The earliest known documented reference in English occurs in an 1869 biography of Gioachino Rossini:

[Rossini] was surrounded to the last by admiring and affectionate friends; and if it be true that, like so many other Italians, he regarded Friday as an unlucky day, and thirteen as an unlucky number, it is remarkable that on Friday, the 13th of November, he died.

On the other hand, another theory by author Charles Panati, one of the leading authorities on the subject of “Origins” maintains that the superstition can be traced back to ancient myth:

The actual origin of the superstition, though, appears also to be a tale in Norse mythology. Friday is named for Frigga, the free-spirited goddess of love and fertility. When Norse and Germanic tribes converted to Christianity, Frigga was banished in shame to a mountaintop and labeled a witch. It was believed that every Friday, the spiteful goddess convened a meeting with eleven other witches, plus the devil – a gathering of thirteen – and plotted ill turns of fate for the coming week. For many centuries in Scandinavia, Friday was known as “Witches’ Sabbath.”
. . .

http://www.pagancentric.org/?p=120

. . . .


While Friday the 13th may be bad luck for some, for witches and Pagans it's often considered a magical date. After all, Friday is named for Freyja, a Norse goddess of fertility (sometimes called Frigg). The ancient Egyptians associated the number thirteen with immortality -- there were twelve steps on the ladder to eternal life and knowledge; the thirteenth step meant going through death into everlasting life.

Upper-class Romans required thirteen guests to be present at weddings. In the Hebrew faith, age thirteen is when a young man or woman is finally considered an adult.

Finally, thirteen has a strong association with the moon for modern Pagans and Wiccans. There are thirteen lunar cycles each year, and many of us celebrate the full moons with an Esbat rite. Thirteen is the traditional number of witches in a coven. Wiccan author Scott Cunningham published The Thirteen Goals of a Witch in his book Wicca for the Solitary Practitioner, loosely basing the list on an older British traditional source

. . . . .


http://paganwiccan.about.com/b/2008/06/13/its-friday-the-13th.htm

[virgogal]

20. Thanks for all that most intereting reading. Took me while to get through

it,but fascinating stuff----I learned a lot.

Thanks again.

[2ndAmForComputers]

21. And here, ladies and gentlemen, is why superstition is Good For Bu$ine$$.

It makes people waste money.

[Nikia]

6. My ex coworker lent me a pregnancy book after she had a miscarriage

Then I had a miscarriage and gave her the book back. She lent it to someone else who then had a miscarriage. After that, she vowed never to inflict the book on anyone else.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

7. sounds like it was GOOD luck

for the woman who finally left. Bro sounds like a paaaa-RICK.

[LeftyMom]

9. It could be a paisley tie lurking in the back of the closet, drawing demons.

http://www.demonbuster.com/paisley.html

[Still Blue in PDX]

12. Oh, my dog, I'm dyin' here . . .

That is totally crazy.

[Generic Other]

13. That was like an exocism complete with bad organ music

I feel cleansed of my need to worship the letter "Y"

[tanyev]

15. Yeah, look at what a disaster they've been for J.K. Rowling.

[grantcart]

16. lol