Elizabethan Era Superstitions

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During the Elizabethan era, there were a lot of beliefs which could be pointed out as superstitions, and some of these “beliefs” proved to be dangerous in many certain ways. But why would people believe in such meaningless things? Well, since there was nobody to stop them from going the wrong way they didn’t think they were doing anything wrong. These beliefs seemed foolish to some, where as some people believed that they were actually true. Those that believed in them would follow them strictly and would say that if you don’t follow the superstition correctly, you will have to get ready for the consequences. There are a lot of superstitions that are really shocking, and surprisingly, some people still believe in these superstitions today. …show more content…
One technique was to have hellebores and hollies planted in your house because they free your house of evil spirits. “Hellebores also prevented evil spirits from bewitching animals” (Herbs and Flowers). Along with the beginning of these techniques, superstitions were also becoming more well known. A lot more people were beginning to believe in superstitions. According to Prasad Mahabal, people believed that good luck charms were iron, silver, fire, salt, and running water. They also believed that sudden hair loss was also unlucky. “It is said that this meant there would be health problems and financial turmoil in your life. Also, a pot stirred counter-clockwise brings bad luck to those who ate the contents and this also causes the food to spoil” (Mahabal). We also follow some of these superstitions, unknowingly, like “when you open your mouth to sneeze the devil enters your body and saying bless you stops the devil from entering”(Herbs and Flowers). Even though we probably don’t believe in this we still have the habit of saying bless you when someone sneezes. There are some superstitions that we still follow without realizing such as “not walking under a ladder because they are linked to the gallows” (Beliefs and Superstitions). Another famous superstition is not saying good luck before someone performs because that can cause them bad luck in exchange, so it’s better saying break a leg (Rivers). Without realizing what the superstitions actually mean some of us still use them even if it is just by habit. So maybe it’s the same with the Elizabethan people. Maybe they just needed the right guidance, but where was the guidance? Did they not have someone to lead them back to the right
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