There are several theories as to why the number 13 is considered unlucky:
13 turns make a traditional hangman's noose. Anything less would not snap a neck. (I don't know if that is true or not. I have not tried it.)
At Jesus's last supper, there were thirteen people around the table, counting Jesus and the twelve apostles.
On Friday 13 October 1307, King Philip IV of France ordered the arrest of the Knights Templar.
A year which contained 13 full moons instead of 12 posed problems for the monks who were in charge of the calendars. This upset the regular arrangement of church festivals.
In ancient cultures, the number 13 represented femininity, because it corresponded to the number of menstrual cycles in a year (13 x 28 = 364 days). The theory is that, as the solar calendar triumphed over the lunar, the number thirteen became anathema.
Ancient Persians believed the twelve constellations in the Zodiac controlled the months of the year, and each ruled the earth for a thousand years at the end of which the sky and earth collapsed in chaos. Therefore, the number is identified with chaos and the reason Persians leave their houses to avoid bad luck on the thirteenth day of the Persian Calendar, a tradition called Sizdah Bedar.
In the Viking tradition, it is believed that Loki in the Norse pantheon was the 13th god—more specifically, Loki was believed to have engineered the murder of Balder, and was the 13th guest to arrive at the funeral.
I just did some searching about the hangman's noose reference. I had heard that the number of loops was determined by the weight of the hangee. I couldn't find that reference. I did find that in actuallity, it was likely 6-8 loops rather than 13 that was used.
ReplyDeleteMy own understanding, and admitted prejudice, is the reference with femininity. Thirteen has been sacred to women and all who honor the Divine Feminine since there have been records of that kind of thing. When the Roman Catholic Church dominated the European world, they did as much as possible to hide any possibillity that anyone might remember women in power or the Divine Feminine.
So not only was the number demonized, but the true reason for it's demonization was hidden in a bunch of other ideas about why it was done.
Oh...yeah...in addition, the Moon has always been sacred to women and those who honor the Divine Feminine. This is likely because of the correspondence between menstral cycles and full moons...13 of each in a year.
ReplyDeleteWhen one couples this with Friday, we get the unlucky Friday the 13th. This actually adds more credence to the anti-Feminine agenda for demonizing 13. Friday is a mondernization of the original name for the day. This original name can be translated to "Frigg's Day".
Frigg was a Scandinavian/Norse Goddess,often compared to Venus in the Roman pantheon. This makes Friday the only day named for a Goddess. The double-whammy of two Feminine references on this day makes this day extremely unlucky for those who want to deny/denigrate Femininity...or very lucky and sacred for the rest of us. :)