1 Hindus believe that cutting nails and hair on Saturdays brings bad luck.
Hindus believe that it’s inauspicious to cut hair and nails on Saturday because it angers planet Saturn (shani), which then brings bad luck. However, ask people who cut their hair and nails on Saturdays, and we bet they’ll tell you their hair looked better and their nails neater, and no planet hovered above them with bad luck.
2 If a black cat crosses your path, then your tasks get delayed or postponed.
black cats. They are blamed just for being black (no racist joke here). It’s a popular belief in the west too that, if a black cat crosses your path, it’s a bad omen. For the west, the origin of this superstition came from Egypt. Egyptian culture believed that black cats were evil creatures, whereas the Indian explanation is that black represents Shani and therefore brings bad luck. It is said that if a black cat crosses your path, then your day’s tasks get delayed or postponed. Which reminds me, when we were kids and went for our exams, and if a black cat crossed, never once was the exam delayed or postponed. Now say?
3 Omitting the 13th floor from the building.
No explanation for this one, because number 13 is just considered unlucky. Ancient Christianity declared the number thirteen unlucky and therefore till date apartments and hotels skip the thirteenth floor.
4 Curse of 8.
According to numerology, the number eight is ruled by the planet Shani (again Shani!) and therefore if you’re ruled by the number eight then there shall be lots of obstructions, limitations and frustrations in your way.
5 Keeping onions and knives under your bed will drive away bad dreams.
An onion and a knife is kept under a newborn child’s bed to drive away bad dreams. It is also believed that placing an onion under your pillow while you sleep will bring you great insight when dreaming about who your future partner in life will be. We suggest all single people try doing this to prove how wrong this belief is!
6 You lose your wealth, if you shake your legs.
Shaking legs is not just a sign of nervousness. It also drives away your wealth. It is believed that if you shake your legs, prosperity will flow away from you. That explains, why we are so broke at the end of the month right!
7 Sweeping floors in the evening drives away Laxmi from the home.
Even if your room is filthy, your mom will not let you sweep the floor in the evening. That’s because Hindus believe that Goddess Laxmi generally visits homes during the evenings (specifically around 6-7 pm), and therefore sweeping will drive her away. This is, of course, assuming that Goddess Laxmi has a problem with basic hygiene.
8 Teen tigada, kaam bigada.
According to the phrase, ‘teen tighada kaam bighada’, anything above two gets difficult to handle. And that a discussion is always better between two people rather than three. However, this was misinterpreted as 3 being unlucky.
9 Eye twitching.
it is considered that the right eye twitching is good for men, and the left one brings good news for women.
10 Crow shit brings luck.
We’re not making up shit if we tell you that crow shit is considered lucky. Hindus believe that crow shit brings ‘laabh’ and that money is on the way. If that was the case, then crows would’ve been the best pets no?
11 Adding one rupee to a gift sum is auspicious.
Because one is a lucky number. The shagun must hold an amount which ends with one. It should be gyraah rupaye ka prasad or ek sau ek ka present at Indian weddings and pujas.
12 People with flat feet bring bad luck.
Many consider that flat feet indicate widowhood. And, therefore in ancient India, during match-making, the mother of the groom checked the feet of the bride.
13 Putting a small spot of kajal on a baby’s forehead took care of ‘buri nazar’.
To drive away buri nazar, babies are smeared with black kohl. A tikka on the forehead and cheek is believed to ward off the evil eye.
