History and Luck of Friday the 13th

Yesterday was Friday the 13th.  With that in mind, I decided to do some research on exactly how and why this was considered an 'unlucky' day.  I'd never put much thought into it.  To be honest, it simply never crossed my mind that the number, the day, or the combination of the two should have any reason at all to be considered as unlucky.

Well, apparently, there are actually a great number of reasons one might consider the number unlucky.  In one ancient Norse tale, Loki is the 13th (uninvited) guest at a dinner in Valhalla, which ends with him slaying Balder.  Speaking of dinner parties, Judas was also the 13th apostle and wound up betraying Jesus in the story.  And, in ancient Rome, the 13th witch at a gathering was believed to be the devil by the recently Chritianized population.

Numerology also has a hand in our subconscious association with the number 13 and bad luck.  The number '12' is considered 'complete', so 13 is considered just a bit too much, apparently making it a number of restless and uncomfortable energy.

The day of Friday is a separate connection all together.  It is synonymous with bad luck due to a biblical association with Jesus reportedly being crucified on that day, some scholars believing (I'd love to know how they figured this one out) that Adam and Eve were bad monkeys on that particular day and ate the apple, and even that Friday the 13th specifically is the day Cain allegedly killed his brother Abel.

So, a 13 falling on a Friday in particular is, in our culture, about as bad as you can get on the unlucky scale.

To be fair, there are many things that have been associated with the number 13, that wound up kind of sucking; Apollo 13, for example.  And, studies to apparently suggest that there are a higher percentage of accidents (even though fewer people are driving, due to their fear of the day), hopital admissions, etc. on Friday the 13th.

I do have to wonder, however, whether those statistics take into account the idea of a self-fulfilling prophecy?  If people are set on the idea that something bad is going to happen, then in my experience they're right!  Keep looking for trouble, it will find you.  If you keep your mind, both conscious and subconscious, clear and focused on just the positive, then you'll likely not run into so much trouble.

True, the power of positive thinking only goes so far, like anything.  But, what possible positive purpose does it serve to insist that everything is going to be bad?

Either way though, it can't be denied that the number 13 is most certainly unlucky for some, even many.


For More Information:

National Geographic article

Time Magazine Article

Urban Legends About.com Site