Image courtesy of Nuestro Stories.
Ranging from the utterly innocuous to the profoundly spiritual, there are plenty of superstitions that our cultural beliefs tie us to. While those superstitions are held year-round, during this time of the veil lowering and the ancestors coming back to us, it feels like the perfect time to call back on some of the lessons they left behind.
Polilla Negra
It is said that a polilla negra, or black moth, is a harbinger of death. If one appears to you, especially if one flies into your home, and you don’t sweep it away immediately, someone close to you will die shortly after.
Something’s Lost That Can’t Be Found — Please San Antonio Look Around
San Antonio (Saint Anthony) is the Patron Saint of lost things in the Catholic faith. When something is lost, if you say a prayer to San Antonio, it is said to help find it. Yet, if you want to add a little extra oomph to that prayer? Place a picture of San Antonio upside down when asking him to help you locate your lost things. You must turn his image right side up when that item is found.
Los Espiritus del Rios
More than likely tied to the legend of La Llorona, it is believed that if you take your children to the river to swim, you must place your hand on their head and yell their name three times. If you do not do this, and your child gets in the water, the river spirits will take them. The yelling of the child’s name, in a way, marked the child as yours and prevented La Llorona from confusing it with her own child.
Don’t Sweep in the Dark
While most mamas and abuelas love nothing more than a clean house (as evidenced by those 7 am Saturday wake-up calls); there is one time when cleaning is absolutely forbidden. At least certain kinds of cleaning.
It is believed that sweeping at night brings bad luck to your household. The origin of the story goes back to the times before electricity, when the light was minimal, and sweeping in the dark could sweep away more than just dirt — it was believed that you would sweep away valuables like rings, money, or other things that could have been dropped throughout the day.
Tied to the Earth
There is an old superstition connected to childbirth, especially in rural indigenous communities. It is said that after giving birth, women were to bury the umbilical cord under a tree to ensure that the child can grow roots, not only in the community on a micro level but to the Earth itself on a macro level.
Don’t Mess Up The Tamales
While this one is a little less severe, it is certainly just as serious because it has to do with one of our most treasured foods. Tamales. An old superstition specifically points to never making tamales when you’re angry. According to legend, making tamales when angry keeps the masa from fluffing when it cooks - and nothing is worse than an unfluffed, dry, thick tamale.
‘Vaporu’ Heals All — As Long As You Rub it On Your Feet
Listen. There is nothing you will ever be able to do to convince my mother that Vaporub can’t heal nearly anything that ails you, especially when you slather it on the bottom of your feet and put on your thickest pair of socks.
She’s not wrong, though.
Face Your Fears, But Make Sure You Eat Some Pan
Pan dulce cures… well, basically everything. But according to this specific superstition, if you are feeling fear or anxiety, you’re supposed to eat a piece of sweet bread. I don’t know the origin of this one, but I agree with it wholeheartedly.
Everything is Better con Sabor
One thing that can be said about Latinos is we love spices. Our foods often feature layer upon layer of spice, sweet, sour, hot, spicy, and tangy. Complex profiles make our food some of the most favored in the world. Culturally, we commune around food. It is a major component of our celebrations. So when you cook and add your spices, it is said that you are supposed to throw them in the pot in the form of a cross to bless the food before cooking it.
