Paganistan: Notes from the Secret Commonwealth
In Which One Midwest Man-in-Black Confers, Converses & Otherwise Hob-Nobs with his Fellow Hob-Men (& -Women) Concerning the Sundry Ways of the Famed but Ill-Starred Tribe of Witches.
The Witchiest Number
Call it triskaidekaphilia.
Lucky thirteen.
Thirteen is an oddball number, which is why witches like it so much. The ideal coven: the god and his twelve companions.
“Six and seven,” witches used to say: a greeting, back in pre-Blessed Be days. For reasons obvious to those in the know, this was a covert expression of Craft identity. In Italy they said “Five and eight” instead, for the same reason.
The ancestors counted in tens and twelves. Twelve was the “long ten,” as 120 was the “long hundred.” That explains why the teens don't start til thirteen; it used to be “three-ten.”
So thirteen means, “the cycle begins again.” Thirteen is both an end and a beginning.
Ah, cowans and their silly superstitions. No seat 13. No room 13. No 13th floor.
My street address is --11. Penny's next door is --15. I figure --13 must be my house's secret identity, what with being the covenstead and all.
Call it a quirk. I like to do things in thirteens. When I write out the charity checks, they tend to be in multiples of thirteen. 39 (=3 x 13) seems particularly auspicious.
The thirteenth part of something is the part of virtù. (Think again of those twelve witches and their god.) You could call it a thrithe (< tithe, a “tenth”). You could call it a threind (< Scots teind, “tithe”). Remember that every year at Halloween the fairies pay their threind to Hell.
The Grand Coven—you could call it the “Long Coven”—is, of course, 169: thirteen thirteens, a coven of covens.
So hail to the Witch's Dozen, the beginning and the end.
And a very fine six and seven to you, too.
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We used to have Triskadelaphilia parties in our homw every yoear on any Friday the 13th. It was fun! I wrote an article on it just recently for my weekly Newspaper column and the edior corrected my title and other body copy to "phobia" because he thought I'd made it up. It's bona fide! Here's my piece as written just for fun!
Good Earthkeeping (Column name) By Tasha Halpert
Triskadeckaphilia or Phobia, You Choose[
Mythology has fascinated me ever since I first encountered it in school. Until I discovered Joseph Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces I was not conversant with much more of it than the Norse myths and those of Greece and Rome. I highly recommend this very special book to anyone who enjoys folk and fairy tale as well as learning more about the myths we all grew up with. The stories and tales of the heroes and heroines of yore are part of our cultural heritage and an important key to how we behave. Among the tales are also smaller, more prevalent myths embodied in our superstitions.
"Step on a crack, break your mother's back." Growing up, how many sidewalks did I hop and skip along to avoid their seams and cracks? Ladders? Never walked under them though I didn't know why then. Pick up a penny? Well of course! How about Friday the 13th? Make you nervous? Not me, I always liked both the number and the day. Stephen and I used to give a party any time it came up on the calendar. We called it a celebration of the Triskadeckaphilia Society: Lovers of the number thirteen.
In the seventh grade I wrote a paper on the origins of superstitions. Always fascinated by superstitions, I have been reading and studying them for a long time. Certain societies and groups are more superstitious than others. For instance, the Irish used to clothe their baby boys in dresses so they would not be stolen away by the fairies. They also felt it was bad luck to praise a child. The Italians, as well as numerous other nationalities have strong feelings about the "evil eye." They may make a gesture called a "fig" to ward it off. Eastern countries, among others have amulets one can wear or hang in one's home. You may have seen one, a hand, called the Hand of Fatima.
While it might make sense not to walk under a ladder, another reason is that a leaning ladder forms a triangle, symbol of the trinity. Walking through it is a sign of disrespect, bringing bad luck. From the Internet I discovered that this superstition and a good many others actually date back to ancient Egypt, where the triangle was also considered a sacred symbol. I was surprised to discover a good many of our common superstitions actually date back that far.
Other common superstitions originated in Greece and Rome. Whether we subscribe to any given belief or not it seems as though these are an important part of every culture and incorporated into the human psyche. We may believe we are beyond such superstitions nonsense, or is it really non sense? Often the so called superstition was logical behavior. Touching wood for instance, to invoke good fortune was thought to insure the help of the spirits residing in the trees the wood came from. Do you throw salt over your shoulder if you accidentally spill it? Say "God bless you when someone sneezes? Many do, and why not? A little extra insurance never hurts.