Post by Ralph on Jan 29, 2004 15:32:21 GMT -5
SatiyaH said:
The origin of the number 13 being unlucky: 13 people at the Last Supper (one of them, Judas betrayed Jesus, and led to the Crucifixion): 13 witches in a coven: the 13th card in a Tarot deck is Death: The origin of Friday being unlucky: Jesus traditionally is thought to have been crucified on a Friday; Hangman's Day used to be on a Friday, the day criminals were executed: Vikings never sailed on a Friday, as it was the day of their god Freya, and they did not want to offend her. For some Friday 13th is lucky: In Japan, Friday the thirteenth is considered to be an exceptionally lucky day. And the number 13 has not always been considered unlucky: there are 13 Buddhas in the Indian Pantheon, 13 mystical discs surmount Chinese and Indian Pagodas. 13 is a sacred number of the Mayans, with 13 snake gods, and 13 days in their week: the ancient Hebrews had 13 lunar months in the year.
Numerologically there is nothing unlucky about the number 13, which is also 1 plus 3 which equals 4. The 4th position in the cycles of time does however represent the "test" or "challenge" period. You are faced with a challenge to a personal weakness which you must overcome.
During the Middle Ages, the superstition against Friday the 13th grew. On Friday, October 13, 1307, King Philip IV of France ordered the arrests of Jaques de Molay, Grand Master of the Knights Templars and sixty of his senior knights in Paris. Thousands of others were arrested elsewhere in the country. After employing torture techniques to compel the Templars to "confess" to wrongdoing, most were eventually executed and sympathizers of the Templars condemned Friday the 13th as an evil day. Over time a large body of literature and folk wisdom have reinforced the belief. In the 18th century, the HMS Friday was launched on Friday the 13th. It was never heard from again. Since then, ships are not usually launched on that date.