ANIMAL SUPERSTITIONS
Birds
There are scores of phrases and superstitions I found that reference birds. "A little bird told me" refers to the notion that birds are messengers from various areas of the spirit world. When a bird delivers a message to a person, in the old days, a person was said to have privialged information.
Storks have long been thought to bring babies to a home. This is probably because of the easily observable paternal behaviors of storks. Throughout Europe many storks lived and were the subject of study. These birds lived to be over 70 and it was bad luck to kill them in ancient Europe.
Crows, magpies, and ravens have been associated with death and bad omens. This has a root in Native American mythology which said that these birds escorted souls to the land of the dead. Some say crows can be taught to talk if their tongue is split. While it is true crows (like parrots) can be taught a few words, splitting the tongue is a cruel and unusual superstition.
Swans are thought to sing just before they die. This goes back to Greek mythology which tells of Apollo passing into the body of a swan after his death. Hence, when someone accomplishes something great, just before they die, that thing is referred to as the person's "Swan song".
Black Cats
"Don't let a black cat cross your path or you will have bad luck." This is almost a universal western superstition. It goes back to medieval Europe when it was thought that a black cat was the mascot of a covent of witches. After seven years of service cats turn into witches. The way you could tell if a cat could turn into a witch is if theirs eyes glowed in the dark. But, of course all cats' eyes glow in the dark.
Egyptians worshipped cats and believed some cats to be reincarnated Pharoahs. That, plus the fact that cats tend to land on their feet brought us the idea that cats have nine lives. Some say that cats that lie on someone's chest are attempting to steal the breath of the person they are laying on. Greg McCulley's grandmother often told him it was because when a cat purrs, it disrupts the diaphragm's breathing pattern. But, this is not true.
Toads
Some said that toads caused warts. While it is true that toads have wart-like skin, they don't cause warts in humans. The cure for a toad's warts was strange. The first way to get rid of it was to rub a bean on the wart and then burn the bean. If that didn't work, you had to rub a piece of stolen meat on it, then bury the meat. A last attempt was to rub a grain of barley on the wart and then feed it to a two year old chicken. The easiest way to remove a wart is by the use of dermatologist.
Rabbit's foot
We have all heard that a rabbit's foot is lucky for the human (not so lucky for the rabbit). But, there is some management involved for your rabbit's foot. It must be always carried in your left pocket (since the left side is the source of bad luck) and it must the rabbit's hind left foot. Also, the rabbit had to be killed at midnight by the light of a full moon by a cross-eyed, left-handed 21 year old male. If you follow all of these requirements then you have one mighty rabbit's foot.
The reason the rabbit's foot is considered to be lucky is because when they run, their hind legs land in front of their front legs.
White Horses
When you see a white horse, clap three times for good luck and make a wish. This is McCulley's grandmother's superstition and she swore by it. White horses mean different things in different parts of the country though. In the south, they bring good fortune, but, if you see one in New England, spit over your left pinky finger and dig your thumb into your palm to stamp out the evil.
Bulls
An old Spanish myth states that bulls get angry when they see the color red. In fact, however, bulls are color blind, but from this we still get the expression "He's seeing red" when someone is really mad.
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