Threads of Belief
by Aditi Dhananjaya, High School Student
Whether it may be your fear of the unknown or your faith in magic, there will always be superstitions. They have followed humanity for centuries; they act as a flicker between comfort and fear, sitting in our houses like a candlelight. From making a wish at 11:11 to avoiding black cats, people forever continue to cling on to the rituals with feelings of belief and devotion. They live in the space between luck and logic. Superstitions seem harmless. They are the quiet parts of life that give us comfort in times of uncertainty. For instance, an athlete wears a lucky sock to every game only for the calmness it provides them, even though they know it doesn’t guarantee success. Superstitions, even the irrational ones, have been shown to reduce anxiety. They act as the tiniest anchor that holds us from chaos. They make you feel like you are in control when everything around you feels unpredictable.
There are several aspects to superstitions. Culture. It flows through generations. In some households, handing scissors to another person is a signal that they are going to get into an argument. In other households, a sudden hiccup is a sign that someone is thinking of you. For a lot of people, superstitions are less about fear and more about being connected to their family and their tradition. An evil eye hanging in the car, a grandmother’s short warnings, or the belief that rain on a wedding day brings luck: these are the things that keep culture alive. Even if the belief of it fades away, the habit still stays. Superstitions become threads that tie generations together; the silent part of culture that can speak louder than words. What might look strange in one culture could be perfectly ordinary in another. These differences show how belief is dependent on its environment, adapting to each culture’s stories and values.
Superstitions can also bring a sense of unity. Over time, they become a language that everyone understands. It turns into something that people recognize in each other. In a world that often feels disconnected, these are what remind people of themselves. Wearing the same sweatpants for every test or wishing on an eyelash, they spark connection. A connection that makes us make us feel as though even strangers can believe in the same magic that we believe in. There have been studies that have shown a link between superstitions and success in sports teams due to the psychological effects of making them more confident.
However, superstitions are not all just fun and games. When the same belief turns into fear, it has the potential to take over someone’s life. What once brought comfort can start to feel controlling. People may refuse to leave the house on certain days or even be worried about a broken mirror. The tiniest parts of someone’s life may turn into a psychological burden, starting to fuel anxiety instead of calming it. When people start relying on the rituals more than the reasoning, some situations may lead to irrational decisions. When the mind becomes trapped in the desire for control, it can lead to them believing that every outcome depends on whether they follow a certain belief. Life becomes exhausting, getting filled with unnecessary pressure to do meaningless tasks just to feel safe.
Humans are animals that crave meaning. They look for patterns and start to form stories, no matter if they have all the information or not. They start to turn spilled salt into a warning and a penny into a promise. It doesn’t matter if these have real meanings, they are fine as long as they feel that it is true. This instinct is a part of what makes people creative. The imagination that invents superstitions also fuels storytelling and innovation. Superstitions also make humans more hopeful and resilient, increasing their courage to face uncertainty.
There is science that says there can be a balance between belief in superstitions and reason. It only becomes a problem when the comfort becomes a dependence on the control. Perhaps, superstitions may indicate that humans feed off of their imaginations. They want to believe in something bigger and something more ideal. They may knock on wood, not because they think that the trees are magic, but because it feels good to go against the uncertainty.
In a world full of science and technology, superstitions ground us. Despite our progress, we are still individuals who look for meaning in coincidence. Maybe that is not a weakness but a strength.
