The black cat crossed the road or put the keys on the table, and on the street they saw a swallow flying low above the ground. Are these just events or do they mean something?
In this article we will try to make out with you such a topic as Russian signs and superstitions. We will get acquainted with the meaning of these terms, as well as find out a few verified facts regarding different types of human activities.
What is the difference between omen and superstition
It is believed that the sign - this is what was "noticed", that is, a recurring event with equal components. Most of them are related to the weather, but there are also other areas of life and human activity.
Superstition comes from the phrase "that which is believed in vain (that is, in vain)." Thus, it turns out that random matches belong to this category. It is impossible to influence them, but people believe that you only need to create the necessary surroundings, and it will succeed.
The only catch is that the line between these two concepts is ephemeral. In fact, one over time flows into another. With a change in climatic conditions, Russian folk signs about the weather become superstition. And in the course of technological progress, many things become more clear and go into the category of rules or accepts.
Signs by day of the week
Monday, Wednesday and Friday in the Russian folk tradition are considered days when you should not start a new business. This does not mean that nothing needs to be done, and our ancestors were lazy. Not at all! They were very inventive and hardworking, an example of this is the amazing architectural monuments, some of which are built of wood without a single nail.
It was simply believed that Monday starts all week. And if something does not work out that day, then you will be tormented by the remaining six.
On Friday, it is also not recommended to start anything new, since the case will subsequently move forward with difficulty, "back off."
These two days were called difficult, unlike them, Tuesday and Saturday were easy. It is at this time that it is best to take on any job from scratch. It was also recommended to go on a long journey precisely on these days, since it will be easy and enjoyable.
With regard to money, there was a superstition that whoever returns or spends money on Monday will have an entire week spent. And borrowing on Tuesday will lead to a great deal of personal debt.
The signs of the Russian people are often intertwined with fiction and superstitions, which, however, does not prevent many people from being guided by such instructions.
Signs by the seasons
Once such observations were the basis of meteorological knowledge, and today grandmothers in the villages, guided by signs, often give odds to weather forecasts.
Let's see what events were of particular interest to our ancestors.
Let's start with spring. At this time, many migratory birds return from their wintering places to their habitat. It was believed so: if finches fly, the cold will continue, and larks, on the contrary, carry heat.
The geese were judged by the rainy spring. If they fly high, then the months will bring a lot of moisture.
A lot of birch sap - it will be rainy summer, and bathing sparrows predict wet weather in the next day.
Summer Russian omens usually relate exclusively to precipitation.
If frogs croak in the pond during the day, birds worry and fly low, ants hide, and flowers close, then there will be a severe thunderstorm.
Autumn signs told our ancestors about the weather for the next six months.
For example, if the leaves began to fall off late, then a harsh and protracted winter was expected. And mosquitoes that appeared in November, on the contrary, spoke of a soft and warm snow season.
In winter, Russian omens mainly focused on signs of the onset of the thaw.
So, if the trees are covered with hoarfrost, or the crow hides his head under the wing, or the evening dawn quickly burns out, it was believed that warmer days would soon come.
However, bathing crows, scurrying and screaming sparrows promised a blizzard and bad weather with frost.
Here are brief environmental features that our grandfathers drew attention to predict future events.
Bird features
As you can see above, a lot of the things that Russian omens notice are based on the behavior of birds. Yes, this is true, because only these representatives of the local fauna are always in sight. Fish, wild animals, insects are less noticeable or much less common in everyday life.
Today, some ethnographers advocate for certain superstitions, linking them to the result of the harvest and the weather. So, for example, the behavior of birds, portending favorable conditions for filling bins, can likewise indicate good luck in financial matters and well-being (as a result of a large harvest).
So, of superstitions regarding the behavior of birds, only the shitting pigeon, the stork who made a nest on your roof, and a flock of birds flying at you were considered favorable.
All the rest promised unhappiness. We are not talking about signs related to the weather, they will be discussed a little later.
How to call wealth
In addition to weather and bad, there are also good Russian signs. Now we will talk about incidents that, in the folk tradition, promise to improve financial well-being.
By the way, most of these signs resonate with the popular Feng Shui system. If this knowledge was used by the ancient peoples, who could not borrow it from each other, it means that they probably have some rational meaning.
So, you should not keep several brooms in the house, but you only need to store it with the bar down and the broom up. Also, among the Slavs, the dining table was considered a symbol of prosperity, so the empty containers and packaging placed on it show disrespect. Try to avoid this behavior.
Also, the oriental tradition of yin-yang echoes the idea of taking money with the left hand, and giving it with the right. A careful attitude to banknotes, rather, has deeper roots than simple superstitions.
If you begin to behave in a disciplined manner, value finances, don’t crush banknotes, keep them in a clean and beautiful wallet, then a positive shift is evident in the whole person, and in the financial sphere in particular.
Thus, it turns out that most of the signs are a logical consequence of self-development and spiritual growth of a person.
Wedding signs
10 Russian signs that are worth knowing to all those who marry will be given below.
So, when the couple goes to the registry office, you should not turn around, because a mental return to domestic problems will break the mood and can lead to subsequent quarrels.
At the ceremony you need to constantly be around, and even better to hold hands. It is believed that this creates a single energy space of the family.
The wedding ring is considered a symbol of the well-being of the family hearth, so in the old days they didn’t take it off, much less they didn’t let anyone measure it.
Bells, ribbons, bows and the noise of the wedding procession are required to take the evil eye away from the newlyweds and attract positive energies.
Loaf with salt - a symbol of Mother Earth and well-being. If during the ceremony one of the spouses did not bite off a piece of it, the family is waiting for an early divorce.
The groom brings the bride in her arms to the house as a sign of the ease of her future life.
When they cross the threshold, the young must first step on a towel and walk along it, crushing several old plates. It is believed that in this way the newlyweds say goodbye to the old life. But the rushnyk was kept all his life as a talisman.
By the way, in the old days, a glass broken at a wedding did not promise good luck. They simply tried to neutralize it with the phrase “for good luck”. Whole wine glasses are kept in the family as a talisman of well-being.
When the young people go to get married, you should choose one path and return home another.
None of the wedding accessories are ever given to try on to other people, either before or after the ceremony. Even to relatives and friends.
Bad omens
Talking about the good, it is worth mentioning the bad Russian signs. Next, the most common superstitions related to unhappiness will be voiced.
Salt in the 18th century was worth its weight in gold, so when it was scattered it promised a quarrel. As an antidote to the negative, it was recommended to turn everything into a joke, for example, sprinkle it on her head.
The whistle in the house was also not welcome. It was believed that evil could be planted upon them.
Clothing, dressed inside out, was unambiguously characterized: "you will be drunk or beat." And often - the first and second.
All signs associated with the threshold, basically have the tradition of laying under it a part of the dust of ancestors for protection. Therefore, greeting, stepping on or transmitting something through it was forbidden.
It was also believed that walking along strange unfamiliar tracks was not worth it. One could “pick up” various misfortunes.
Russian signs about nature
Probably the most common and universally recognized are Russian folk signs about the weather. They are the only ones who do not possess the slightest hint of mystical overtones and are based on observations of animals and elements.
For example, low flying birds, worrying birds, frogs loudly croaking, flowers that closed during the day showed that it would rain soon.
The cat, curled up in a ball, showed a near frost lying on its back - heat.
Birds bathing in the dust also spoke of warm weather.
Thus, most signs that relate to the phenomena of nature and ambient temperature should be believed. They are based on the instinctive behavior of animals and plants, which are more sensitive than humans.
Attitude of meteorologists
There are people who believe in signs more, and there are those who trust only the forecast on television.
Meteorologists themselves say that many Russian signs have scientific value. Over the centuries, our ancestors have learned to correlate the flowering of trees and the time of planting of different crops, the state of plants and the behavior of fish and animals.
So, for example, when sunflower seeds ripened, it was believed that it was time to catch catfish. And the blooming maple earrings signaled the need to sow beets.
