Door superstitions
Door of St Cuthbert's church, WellsImage courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Hill Top Post commented that her mother was always quoting superstitions and they stuck in her head. The one she quoted said that people shouldn’t go out of one door and come in through another. That intrigued me but I couldn’t find much about it except that it seems to be an Irish superstition and means that people would carry the luck in the house out with them if they exited through a different door.
Then I discovered there were many superstitions involving doors, often contradicting each other. For example, in 1864, it was thought unlucky to go through the back door of a house you were intending to occupy. In 1907, after their wedding it was unlucky for the bride and groom to enter through the front door as that was the door the dead were carried out from. In 1923, in Taunton, Somerset, it was thought very unlucky to enter one’s new home through the back door.
Doors are considered paramount in forbidding entry to evil spirits and the exit of good fortune. In 1882, one way to challenge ill fortune was to change the doors, blocking an existing door and creating another. In 1926, an alternative to this was to foil a ghost by taking the door off its hinges and hanging it the other way round.
If there should chance to be a thunderstorm, doors and windows must be opened to let the lightning out if it came into the house, or to let it pass right through without damage.
Huge mezuzah on Jaffa Gate, Jerusalem
Image courtesy of Wikimedia CommonsSuperstitious people thought that the porch of the main entrance to a dwelling should have a good luck charm. In similar, though more serious vein, observant Jews hang a mezuzah on the front door and often all the other door frames in their houses, apart from the bathroom. The mezuzah case is placed on the right-hand side and contains a small scroll containing the Shema, a prayer from Deuteronomy, which is recited morning and evening. Jews will often touch the mezuzah as they pass through a door to remind themselves of their faith in God and their duty to Him.
Sculpture of Janus, Vatican Museum
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
For the Romans, Janus was the god of doorways and gates. Janus was portrayed with two faces, one looking into the past and the other looking towards the future. Sometimes he was shown bearded and at other times clean-shaven. He presided over all beginnings - the beginning of the day, the month and the year – and transitions. He oversaw the beginning and end of conflicts, and seasonal events like planting and harvesting. He also symbolised the meeting ground in life changes, as between life and death and youth and adulthood.
Janus was present at the beginning of the world and guarded the gates of heaven, governing access to it and to other gods. In portrayals of him he is shown holding a key in his right hand, a symbol of his protection of thresholds and frontiers. In Ancient Rome, a key was a sign that a traveller sought a safe place to stay or to trade in peace.
January, the month marking the beginning of a new year, is named after Janus.
There were a number of ceremonial gates or jani in Rome. They were freestanding edifices used for propitious entrances and exits. Close attention was paid to the departure of a Roman army, for there were favourable and unfavourable ways to pass through a janus (gate). The most famous janus in Rome was the Janus Geminus, which was a shrine to Janus. It consisted of double doors at each end of a rectangular bronze structure. By tradition the doors were left open in time of war and closed when peace reigned. The Roman historian Livy recorded that the gates were only closed twice between the 7th century B.C., when the Temple of Janus was built, and the 1st century B.C.
I always learn so much from your posts. Hope you are well. Still unable to post on my own blog. UGH!
ReplyDeleteNot being able to access your own blog is frustrating in the extreme. I hope it resolves soon.
DeleteSo Rome had no peace for 600 years? Wow.
ReplyDeleteIt makes our modern conflicts seem quite insubstantial, doesn't it?
DeleteThank you . . . I think.
ReplyDeleteHi Janice - those doors from a thousand years ago are quite extraordinary aren't they - I recently looked at my Durham castle ones. I don't know if you've got a Webster's but there's quite a few comments in mine. Also I'm born in Janus' time ... cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteDoors built to withstand fire, flood and enemies. Modern doors look flimsy by comparison. x
DeleteInteresting and well researched as usual but isn't there a superstition about not slamming doors that I can quote to someone near and dear?
ReplyDeleteI found this for you, Andrew, courtesy of Bing:
Delete"There are many superstitions about slamming doors. It is believed that all houses have a spirit, and so a slamming door is bad luck as it’s thought to harm this house spirit. A person who slams a door purposefully will experience bad luck for the rest of the day. If a door opens by itself it’s a sign that you will have an unwanted visitor soon."
Maybe the 'unwanted visitor' could be the reason to push this superstition ;-)
After having read your post I looked at all doors in my apartment and decided that from now on I will enter everywhere through the window. Or are there also evil spirits ??
ReplyDeleteEvil will get in anywhere - best to live in a cave!
ReplyDeleteSuperstition, across time and culture, is still alive and well in the 21st century isn't it? So is conflict. Wars between nations never cease.
ReplyDeleteSuperstitions are interesting, so long as one doesn't take them seriously. Conflict will arise as long as people seek power - empires rise and fall.
DeleteI'm not sure I've ever heard of any door related superstitions here in Belgium, although I bet I could find some if I did some research.
ReplyDeleteI'm familiar with the mezuzah, though. My former boss was Jewish, and we had one on the office door! Interesting to learn about Janus. I was aware that the month of January was named after him, but didn't know anything else about the god of doorways and gates! I am learning so much through your blog! xxx
Scratch the surface and there are strange beliefs to be found everywhere! x x
Deletewhat an interesting post. I really never gave much thought to the going and coming through doors except that it was bad luck and I wanted no part of that. I may need a good luck charm at both the front and back door. Hilltop post
ReplyDeleteI bet there's a thriving market in door charms and I expect there are many who collect such things ;-)
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