Does Throwing Salt Over Your Shoulder Ward Off Bad Luck?

Superstitions weave themselves into our daily lives in a fascinating way. They become so subconscious that we don’t even realize whilst acting upon them. One such superstition involves throwing salt over your shoulder. 

Though this superstition may seem trivial today, this act is considered to ward off evil and reverse bad luck for centuries. Throwing salt for good luck has significance across different cultures and beliefs. 

Let’s dive into the history behind the practice of throwing salt over your shoulder and understand if it really can ward off bad luck.

Why Do We Throw Salt Over the Shoulder?

People who believe in superstitions do all sorts of things to avoid bad luck. For example, people avoid walking under a ladder or consider broken mirrors to be bad luck. Similarly, there is a history of throwing salt over your shoulder that is considered to ward off bad luck. 

Here are some of the common reasons why people throw salt over shoulders: 

• To reverse bad luck: A common superstition suggests that spilling salt is bad luck. So to reverse this bad luck, people began throwing a pinch of salt over their shoulder to ward off the misfortune spilled salt would get. 

• A shield against the evil eye: The “nazar” or evil eye is a common superstition in many cultures. Throwing salt here is a symbolic gesture for protection, creating a spiritual shield that protects you from bad energies.
  
• Connection to purity: Salt has long been associated with purification and cleansing. It is considered to be incorruptible with the ability to fix corrupted things. Throwing it over the shoulder is a way to cleanse the area and prevent bad luck from taking hold.

• To keep evil spirits away: In many cultures and religions, like Buddhism, throwing salt after someone leaves is a custom. Throwing salt after a funeral keeps evil spirits and negative energy away. The spiritual meaning of throwing salt after someone leaves is seen as a way to protect the departed soul from any lingering harm or negative energy.

These are a few of the reasons why throwing a pinch over your shoulder became linked with good luck superstitions. Let’s have a look at what’s the correct way to do this.

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Which Shoulder Do You Throw Salt Over for Good Luck? 

According to the belief, you can ward off evil spirits if you throw salt over your left shoulder with your right hand. So, why do we throw salt over your left shoulder? This is because the left side is often associated with an evil omen. 

The story is that the devil lurks over your left shoulder and throwing salts over this shoulder will blind or distract the devil. This should prevent him from bringing you bad luck. 

What happens if we throw salt over our right shoulder? Probably nothing. There is no significant harm in throwing salt over your right shoulder; it probably just won’t protect you in the same manner as throwing over the left shoulder, as is believed

How Did The Throwing Salt Over Your Shoulder Originate

The act of throwing salt over your shoulder has multiple origin stories, and it’s likely that many cultures independently adopted the practice. Here are a few tales explaining its roots:

• The value of salt: In ancient times, salt was an expensive and valuable commodity. Spilling it was seen as a wasteful mistake that invited bad fortune and curse. Spilling salt was wasting money, something only a devil would want. So, to correct the error and invite good fortune, people began throwing salt to blind the devil. 
  
  Similarly, in India giving salt to someone at night is a big no! They believe that evenings are for Lakshmi, the Goddess of money, who enters the house in the evening. So giving away something as valuable as salt is like asking the Goddess to leave. 
  
• Biblical superstition: Another popular Christian theory is that the story goes back to the biblical time to Lott’s wife. The story is that Lott lived in Sodom, a place of great sin, filled with wicked people. God wanted to destroy the city and instructed Lott, who was a good man, to leave Sodom with his family. His wife looked back onto Sodom while leaving when being led to a moral place. God angrily turned her into a pillar of salt. The moral here is that you must put the devil behind you and the good before you.
  
• Passing of salt: The passing salt superstition is yet another theory of the origin of this superstition. It is believed that you should never pass salt directly from hand-to-hand across a table. This can literally cause bad luck to transfer from one person to the other. It is considered bad luck in many cultures – something that can bring bad fortune or lead to a quarrel between the two involved. If you do accidentally accept the salt from someone, you can toss a pinch to counteract the bad luck.

Like all common superstitions, the origin of throwing salt over your shoulder has historical and cultural significance that has varied across cultures and evolved over time. 

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The Connection Between Salt And Christianity

Salt has had a deep connection with Christianity throughout history. The Bible refers to salt multiple times, symbolizing purity, loyalty, and value. In the Bible, salt is often referred to as a sacred symbol. Jesus even refers to his disciples as “the salt of the earth.” It has also been a part of some rituals for blessings purification. 

Thus, in Christianity, spilling salt is considered disrespectful, something only a devil would do.

This is also symbolized in art. If you look closely at Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous painting ‘The Last Supper,’ you will notice that Judas has knocked off salt onto the table with his elbow. The image symbolizes his betrayal, reinforcing the context of bad luck and the need to counteract such a spill with a protective action.

Christians also believe that the left side is associated with evil and devil, whereas the right is associated with goodness and angels. So, even Christans threw salt over their left shoulder to blind the devil.  

The Power Of Salt

So, now you know what to do when you find yourself accidentally spilling salt– throw a pinch over your left shoulder and wait for your fortune to change. 

Throwing salt over your shoulder is a common superstition seen in many cultures and traditions and remains in existence even in the modern world. Whether it’s throwing salt after someone leaves, or not giving salt to someone after sunset, the practice carries a rich history, deeply rooted in cultural context that makes it more fascinating.