SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

My mam's friend was into the occult etc. She even had a ouija board. (She was a Methodist lay preacher too ) But she was really superstitious about green. She wouldn't have anything green in the house, or wear anything green. I must admit that when we were first married we had a lot of green, green wallpaper, green door, green car, and we had a lot of bad luck. We gradually got rid of the green and things changed, which rather confirmed the superstition. But I'm not really convinced.

the reason green is unlucky is because it was traditionally the fairies colour,so if you were wearing it they might be jealous or annoyed and curse you for it!

Steve Jones wrote: the reason green is unlucky is because it was traditionally the fairies colour,so if you were wearing it they might be jealous or annoyed and curse you for it! Green? The fairies at the bottom of my garden always wore pink.

Planting a pear tree close to the house is supposed to be lucky. Peonis are supposed to scream if you dig them up, as are mandrake roots. I'm sure Steve Jones will verify!    

Si wrote: Planting a pear tree close to the house is supposed to be lucky. Peonis are supposed to scream if you dig them up, as are mandrake roots. I'm sure Steve Jones will verify!     We had a lovely peony at our other house. The trouble is that you wait all spring for it to flower. You get a couple of weeks in late May early June, a storm and it's gone for another year. Still I had a ritual of going out on New Years Day to look if it was poking its shoots above the soil and invariably it was.

Steve Jones wrote: Rowan trees are lucky to have in the garden as they are supposed to keep away witches(never kept me away though<G>). Carters used to carry whips made from rowan wood so that people couldn't cast spells on their horses.i suspect the association with witchcraft got confused and that is why some people thought they were unlucky. In Pannet Park Museum Whitby there are one or two bits of rowan i think they are carved they came from old cottages that were pulled down and it states they were put in the cottages as steve says to keep away witches.Also in there is a human hand that has been dryed it was used by a burgler to hold a candle it was supposed to make him invisable at night.Honest i did not make this up go see for yourselfs.

Si wrote: Planting a pear tree close to the house is supposed to be lucky. Peonis are supposed to scream if you dig them up, as are mandrake roots. I'm sure Steve Jones will verify!     We had a pear tree right against the gable end of our house in Meynell Road Colton in the 1940s and it was decidedly unlucky - split it from top to bottom so wide you could see daylight through it. The pears were delicious though - used to fill the house's tin bath with them and sell them to passers by.

tilly wrote: Steve Jones wrote: Rowan trees are lucky to have in the garden as they are supposed to keep away witches(never kept me away though<G>). Carters used to carry whips made from rowan wood so that people couldn't cast spells on their horses.i suspect the association with witchcraft got confused and that is why some people thought they were unlucky. In Pannet Park Museum Whitby there are one or two bits of rowan i think they are carved they came from old cottages that were pulled down and it states they were put in the cottages as steve says to keep away witches.Also in there is a human hand that has been dryed it was used by a burgler to hold a candle it was supposed to make him invisable at night.Honest i did not make this up go see for yourselfs. It's true, Tillydowner. It was called "The Hand of Glory" I think.

Trojan wrote: Steve Jones wrote: Bringing may blossom into the house was supposed to be very unlucky,this actually goes back to the fact that it was a Pagan custom so the church tried to stop it by declaring it unlucky. When I was a kid we used to say if you picked cow parsley and brought it into the house your mother would die. In fact we used to call it "mother die" We called cow parsley, 'Stepmother' so guess it ties inwith mother die!

Si wrote: tilly wrote: Steve Jones wrote: Rowan trees are lucky to have in the garden as they are supposed to keep away witches(never kept me away though<G>). Carters used to carry whips made from rowan wood so that people couldn't cast spells on their horses.i suspect the association with witchcraft got confused and that is why some people thought they were unlucky. In Pannet Park Museum Whitby there are one or two bits of rowan i think they are carved they came from old cottages that were pulled down and it states they were put in the cottages as steve says to keep away witches.Also in there is a human hand that has been dryed it was used by a burgler to hold a candle it was supposed to make him invisable at night.Honest i did not make this up go see for yourselfs. It's true, Tillydowner. It was called "The Hand of Glory" I think. Your right Si it is called The Hand of Glory it must be ten years since i was at Whitby must go again soon .Tillydowner i bet that is going to stick iv been called a lot worse than that. LoL.