#sailor's superstition

[ltwilliammowett]

Superstition of the Irish Sailor

Just like other Sailors, they were also very superstitious and apart from the typical things that we already know enough about all of them, the Irish still have their own things.

Black cats were generally favoured by the Sailors as they were considered to bring good luck, but the Irish Sailors were particularly fond of these animals and liked to rescue them from violent farmers.

Red-haired women were also a great danger to the Irish and were considered to be very unlucky on board a ship.

Don't blow out a candle or you'll blow out a sailor's life, just let it go out by itself.

Don't wear black socks, they are priest socks and no sailor wears them unless there is a funeral or you want your mates to meet their end as quickly as possible. Because black attracts death.

Wear an Aran sweater - these special woollen sweater were worn by fishermen to bring them luck and to identify their corpses when they were washed ashore.

Ships made from Ash trees were especially blessed, as these trees were the sacred trees of the Norse gods.

If the lord's name was insulted or a bad word such as hare was used, the Irishman would rub it on metal and say cold iron to clear the name and keep witches, ghosts and fairies away.

A small hand-carved wooden goose brings a sailor good luck.

#naval history #sailor's superstition #irish #happy st patricks day #age of sail #18th century #19th century

[clove-pinks]

I was reading Utmost Gallantry by Kevin D. McCranie and came across an intriguing line. When Captain Isaac Hull of USS Constitution was fleeing a British squadron in 1812, he passed within gunshot range of a British frigate, but the enemy held her fire. Hull later wrote that the frigate "did not fire on us, perhaps for fear of becalming her as the wind was light."

I immediately remembered that Frederick Marryat wrote something very similar about a ship's guns somehow stopping the wind, and found it in The King's Own: "wind lulled by the percussion of the air from the report of the guns."

This was apparently a genuine sailors' superstition!

Action at Sea: an English and a French Frigate Engaging by Robert Dodd c. 1802 (ArtUK).

I searched Google Books for more references and found one in a late 18th century dispatch to the Admiralty quoted in Memoir of Robert, Earl Nugent: "their guns had so lulled the wind as to leave us little prospect of getting nearer to them."

I can see how, in an era long before smokeless powder, it might seem like firing large guns made the wind die down as the combatants were enveloped in clouds of smoke.

@ltwilliammowett have you heard this one?

#age of sail #sailors #superstitions #naval history #military history #maritime history #frederick marryat #war of 1812 #naval battle #but you don't hear about ships firing their guns to quiet high winds! #do the guns lull the wind or not my dude #naval artillery

[70th]

the people of district 4 being a deeply superstitious bunch…. everything has meaning: the skies, the tides, the seabirds, the fish

#i’m studying up on maritime superstitions ✌🏻 #you don’t kill a gull bc it harbours the soul of a dead sailor and so on

[cipher-zoo]

Buggy accidentally shot an Albatross as a kid/teen and the bad luck still haunts him.

(honestly I wish there were more sailor superstitions in One Piece)

#one piece #one piece headcanon #sailor superstitions #Buggy the clown #tw: animal death

[tintinology]

I think it would have been fun to see a more superstitious Haddock in the comics

I feel like there would have been so much potential for comedy there

#i bet theres some fun sailor superstitions #there was definitely a missed opportunity there imo #captain haddock #tintin

[lockree]

ma'am, if you're trying to escape your past on a transatlantic steamship that starts its voyage on a thursday in the year of our good lord 1899 and the cabin number next to your own room ends with a 13, then i have some bad news for you -

#it's bad luck #some ship companies still skip number 13 #sailing superstition says don't sail out on a thursday because thor might be sending a storm #sailors 🤝 medieval christians #daniel's cabin number is 1013 #1899 #1899 spoilers #1899 netflix

[sesamie]

Heyyo, do you have a source for these sailor superstitions?

Iv been working on a story about a sailor and would love to get more info on differt such superstitions since the book festures the paranatural and otherworldly forces

oh just wikipedia and aotearoa's maritime museum website and random other articles and things i looked up online!! i'm no researcher i can't say for certain any of this is credible it's just my own looking up stuff about my interests shsjfhsjs

#if it helps i can tell you a lot of them didn't begin as sailor's superstitions #like the one that says you shouldn't stir your tea with anything other than a spoon is originally just a scottish superstition i believe #aks #i hope your writing goes well and since i'm a little obsessed with all this stuff right now i would LOVE to read it #if you were amenable to that of course!!

[thefrillypirate]

New superstition unlocked: don't fucking do divination for your ship before transit because everything will go horribly wrong and you will pass off the sea for trying to get around her

#appalachian folk magic #sailors superstition #folk magic #tall ship sailor

[marryat92]

In a few minutes Marshall returned to the surgeon, who, tired with clambering over the rocks, was sitting down to rest himself a little. “Well, Marshall, I hope you have not hurt what I gave into your charge.”

“Hurt ‘em! — why, sir, a’ter what you told me, I’d as soon have hurt a cat.”

“What, you are superstitious on that point, as seamen generally are.”

“Super-what, Mr Macallan? I only knows, that they who ill-treats a cat, comes worst off. I’ve proof positive of that since I have been in the service. I could spin you a yarn.”

— Frederick Marryat, The King's Own

Embroidered cushion cover made by a sailor of HMS Chester (1915) depicting the ship's cat, NMM collection

#frederick marryat #captain marryat #sailors #cats #superstitions #nautical #lore #the king's own #hms chester #sailor crafts

[uamariner]

Sailors' Superstitions

#youtube #story #maritime #superstition #superstitious beliefs #history #sailor

[crispy-armpit]

✧ 𝖒𝖞 𝖕𝖊𝖆𝖗𝖑 ✧

ʏᴀɴᴅᴇʀᴇ ꜱᴇᴀ ɢᴏᴅ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

𓇼˚₊‧꒰ა 🫧 ໒꒱ ‧₊˚𓇼

⭒ 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘺: 10 dollars on a dare leads you to break one superstition that changes your life forever. you begin to learn secrets tied to your family and upbringing, at the cost of your freedom. who is this mysterious Anshumat, and why does he want you?

⭒ 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵: 𝘨𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘳𝘺, violence, implied stalking, kidnapping, choking, reader gets called a bride once

⭒ 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵: 1,418

⭒ a/n: yan sea god was inspired by an Indonesian myth called Nyi Roro Kidul! it's a really interesting legend if you want to learn more abt it ^^ also.... man tits...... meow..

will you venture down this path?

growing up, you would stay over at your grandmother's house every summer. her beautiful seaside cottage made the perfect accommodation for a family getaway. throughout your childhood, the superstitious old woman restricted you from doing specific things. rules like never whistling at night, don't open an umbrella indoors, etc.

you'd eventually found out that these were just scare tactics for children to make them listen. but there was one rule that your grandmother seemed to fear the most, a rule that never made sense... never wear white to the local beach. and when questioning her about the rule, she'd tell you the same story every time.

"long ago...

a cruel serpent god who once ruled these waters would rise from the ocean and into the islands, devouring innocent villagers and destroying temples along its path.

the gods and humans were furious at its actions. fed up with the destruction and death, they prepared a plan to thwart the serpent; a binding curse.

the serpent was cursed to spend its days rotting in a hidden island, where it was accompanied by its servants. it was also tasked with granting blessings to sailors passing through the rocky tides, where it weighed the sins of each individual to seal their fates.

but over the decades... the serpent grew bored and lonely. through a loophole, the serpent found a way to abduct humans. you see.. the serpent loves the colour white and pearls. so much so, it would use its voice, so alluring, to lure the poor victims who happened to wear such things. and once in the water, the serpent would drag the human to its temple where they would become its slave.. or worse...

its spouse."

here you are today, telling the same tale in front of your young niece and nephew. "well, that's one way to get bitches." your nephew, Keona laughs. a scoffing Kehlani adds on, "nah, who would want to marry an overgrown slimy snake?"

"hey now, take that shit to grandma. she just assigned me to be your storyteller," you shrugged. "and this story has a real reasoning behind it, ok?"

"what? sexy sea snake destroying villages?"

"no, it's so that little rascals like you..." you drill both your index fingers onto their foreheads, "are easier to find if you ever get lost at sea."

how did i end up here...

facepalming yourself, you sigh. you were disappointed in yourself. how'd you let those little punks reel you in a dare? where was the self-respect? the dignity? seriously, breaking your grandmother's number 1 rule for what? 10 dollars?

you walk along the shore while wearing a flowy white shirt and neck encased in one of your mother's pearl necklaces. the dare was simple: successfully walk down the shoreline without chickening out and boom— an extra 10 dollars into your wallet.

you'd prove to the twins that you weren't scared of a little bedtime story. buuut just in case you did happen to go missing (for reasons that are totally not hungry sea serpent related), you brought essentials in a bag, left a letter for your family, and are currently being watched by the twins.

laughing at yourself for the paranoia, you nearly reach the edge of the walk until you hear a feminine wail from between the hidden rocks. is someone hurt? the sound was coming from beyond your finishing point so it wouldn't hurt to check, right?

signalling the twins to come over, you bend down to their heights, "listen, it sounds like someone's in trouble past those rocks. so I want you both to go grab the first aid kit and call Officer Holden over, 'kay?" they nod and scamper off into town.

approaching the rocks, you peek in to find a naked... mermaid?! observing her, you notice the torn skin on her iridescent tail and warily walk over to her. "uh... hey? hola? salve? hallo? i'm ah— good human! no... nooooo bad.."

you notice the air seems to smell... sweeter?

the woman looks up at you from the sand with pleading eyes, "please— please help me! my name is Coralie, my master, he—"

"woah, it's ok! you're safe, help is coming. uh, your master? did he do this to you? are you an underwater criminal?!"

a distant melodious voice interrupts you. Coralie's previously pained face now warps into a sinister grin as her wound disappears. she crawls towards you as your vision fogs up and your knees buckle to the soft sand. the song lulls you into a deep sleep, your body now being pulled into the shallow waters.

you awake to the bright rays of sunshine and lungs filling in with fresh air. but the next in your line of sight knocked all the air out of your body again.

the luminous, barely-clothed body of an unknown man sat above you. his 9'7 self relaxed on the marble throne, with 2 pairs of eyes fixated on you. what the fuck is that?

you gawk at him, "holy mother of god..."

i'm not dreaming, am i?

his gaze shifts into amusement, "wrong. we gods do not have mothers. we were created."

"you're a... a god?"

"is it not obvious enough from my appearance? would you like to see another version of me?" the towering deity begins to warp into a feminine body as if it was melting and moulding itself. "is this preferable?" her new voice is flirtatious, genuinely curious.

then, she tries to warp into a third body. the transformation looks more painful than the one prior, it barely shifts halfway into a gruesome beast before returning back to its first body. he huffs while grasping his golden collar, "this... is not my original form. I have been cursed, long ago, to never set foot on human lands. this island is both my kingdom and prison."

you shakily stand up the marble floor, now noticing Coralie standing beside the throne with a pair of legs. slowly processing his words, you piece together the clues from his story and your memories of the abduction. this couldn't be...

"you are.. you're the sea serpent god! I can't believe grandma was right— shit, shit shit—"

he smirks at your panic, "correct. I am Anshumat; shapeshifter deity of the raging tides, granter of safe travels—"

"murderer and enslaver." you complete.

Anshumat roars, "correct again! you're on a strike, dear y/n. though trust me, my servants are treated well."

"..how do you know my name?"

"oh you poor thing, granny never told you? I know everything about you— a name is barely anything."

"told me what?"

"she used to be my cupbearer. until she escaped with that bastard traitor. isn't that right, Coralie?"

she nods, "yes, master."

"please sir, let me leave. my family— they'll search for me! I have a cat at home! I haven't even finished my favourite show.. so please..." you try to list more life goals.

he chuckled, "oh you are so amusing. and why would I do that? we've barely just been engaged, dear."

"what do you mean engaged?"

"I've been watching you since you took your first breath on earth, y/n. so imagine my surprise— to see you wrapped up in my favourite colour, like a pretty bride. you're my sacrifice."

fear tingles your spine, "wait, that was just a dare! i didn't really mean it!"

"doesn't matter. you will be my pearl."

"no! I have a family, a partner—"

"i said... it doesn't fucking matter." he slams his fist against the throne arm, "and you'll be seeing the head of that twat soon enough."

you don't give him a glance before you're turning your back and run down the staircase of the grand temple. careful not to trip, you focus on the flight of stairs, painfully aware of the loud footsteps approaching behind you. it doesn't take a second for Anshumat to pull on the collar of your shirt and slam you onto the staircase.

he sits atop you, lower region heavily grinding against your stomach. "get off me! don't you have hundreds of other options?! why me?!" you scream.

his bedazzled skin blocks your view of the sun, furious eyes glowing under his shadow, and sharp teeth bared into a snarl. "you do not get to leave me again. you will stay, and worship me. this island will be our eternal paradise."

large hands pressing against your throat, you struggle before darkness begins to cloud your vision.

"this time, you will live."

#yandere #male yandere #oc art #original yandere character #yandere boy #yandere male #yandere imagines #yandere scenarios #yandere monster #yandere art #yandere male x reader #yandere x darling #yandere x reader #yandere x you #yandere themes #tw yandere #yandere oc x reader #yancore #yandere oc #original character #male yandere x reader #soft yandere #monster x reader #sea god x reader #yandere sea god #obsession #oc x you #yandere writing #yandere original character #my oc art

[ltwilliammowett]

Sailor's weather superstition

Of course superstition doesn't stop here either and to be clear it's only a thing with sailors but also with farmers and so on. But here are a few:

A ring around the sun or moon, means that rain will come real soon

If you see a halo around the moon on a clear night, it could be an indication of bad weather. This is not a spooky prediction, but quite banal science. Although it looks like a ghostly ring, it is really just the light of the moon refracted (or bent) by ice crystals. These ice crystals form the cirrus clouds - the tuft-like clouds we find high up in the sky. These cirrus clouds don't cause rain or storms, but here's the thing: they precede some low pressure areas by a day or two, and low pressure areas bring precipitation.

(x)

In other words: If you see these ice clouds refracting the light around the moon, it means that cirrus clouds are present, which could indicate a coming storm. also goes with the sun, but please don't look in there, it's not good for your eyes.

Mackerel sky, not 24 hours dry

A mackerel sky looks like a sky full of fish scales. These are cirrocumulus or altocumulus clouds formed by atmospheric waves at high altitudes.  As these high clouds gradually penetrate the sky and the air pressure begins to drop, precipitation associated with the disturbance can be expected in about 6 to 12 hours.

(x)

A thickening and lowering of cirrocumulus to altostratus or altocumulus in the middle tier is a good sign that the warm or low pressure front has moved closer and rain may begin to fall within less than six hours.

Clear moon, frost soon

Well, that's what they say about clear nights in winter, clear moon, frost soon. And we can be sure to expect a cool morning. This is not untrue, because if there are no clouds, the heat that has been collected during the day can escape from the earth's surface through the non-existent cloud cover and can therefore cause frost in autumn and winter.

Red at morning, Sailors warning; Red at night, Sailors delight

Since I have already made a separate post on this, please forgive me for only attaching the link. https://www.tumblr.com/ltwilliammowett/670757025738866688/red-at-morning-sailors-warning-red-at-night?source=share

Hair curls at high humidity

Human hair is extremely sensitive to changes in humidity. There are even hygrometers that use human hair as a measuring instrument. Your hair can absorb water from the air through hydrogen bonds. Since humid air contains more moisture, a strand of hair can form more hydrogen bonds and you suddenly look like Curly Sue - of course not, but your hair can frizz.

Feeling a storm in your bones

Oh, every old slat is there, and will certainly stand on deck all the time and tell you from their aching bones and joints that the weather is going to be bad. Well, some people are sensitive to the weather and rheumatics and people with arthritis often react more sensitively to temperature and weather fluctuations (I can tell you a thing or two about that). This is because their body fluids are in a constant equilibrium with the ambient air pressure. So when the barometer drops - like an approaching storm - your tissues can swell, irritating nerve endings and causing you additional pain. However, not everyone is like this and therefore rheumatics are not to be used as living barometers.

Thermometer cricket

No thermometer on board for once ? No problem, grab a cricket, preferably the ecanthus fultoni, aka the thermometer cricket.

(x)

Because as soon as the temperature rises, the animal chrips much faster, when it drops, it's the other way round. But not only that, you can even determine the temperature exactly. The chirp rate is counted in the time of 13 seconds and then the number 40 is added. This value corresponds almost exactly to the temperature in Fahrenheit.

#naval history #weather #sailor's superstition #age of sail

[clove-pinks]

I saw the captain, who was accounted an experienced and skillful mariner, standing at the bow, while he muttered and pointed at something with his finger. I approached, and inquired what he was doing. The old man, with a cheerful countenance, answered, "I am breaking the force of a fatal wave, and am making the sign of the cross, and saying the prayers proper for the occasion." I said "Do you, then, know, amongst all these waves, which is the fatal one?"

"Yes," he said, "by so many waves by which the ship is tossed, none but the ninth can sink it."

— Fletcher Bassett, Sea Phantoms: or, Legends and superstitions of the sea and of sailors in all lands and at all times.

#age of sail #sailors #legends #superstitions #the ninth wave #the sea #sea phantoms #quotes #maritime #art #folklore #fletcher bassett

[twinkfromconvergence]

When they first found Drey Grizzly initially referred to Drey as it and while I know it’s because in-character they wouldn’t know who or even what they were seeing was I now headcanon he/it Drey supremacy.

#fucking. i so need to make a tag for my posts. #uhhhhh #sailor's soul speaks #get it? albatross. bluebird. superstition of sea birds being sailor souls?

[allaboutrings]

A Sailor’s Superstition Ring -- 18k Gold with Diamonds and Enamel

#Rings #Jewelry #Enamel #Diamond #Mermaids #I love her

[immediatebreakfast]

There are no wolves in England.

Modernity, and its need for land killed their home, and in consequence killed them too.

The people of Transylvania live with their legends at their front door, covering their necks with rosaries, and prayers. Closing windows, and hanging flowers. Less another life gets taken by that Evil Being whose eyes now point beyond their borders. A young english man was the last victim, who knows if his visage now walks in those forests, waiting for an unsuspecting traveler like he was.

There was something Inhuman aboard on the Demeter. It killed the crew, and pushed the captain to the edge of humanity, yet he held his head high, and made himself deserving of honor among the sailors of Whitby in death. All proud of the captain who completed his duty to the end.

"It almost seems as though the captain had been seized with some kind of mania before he had got well into blue water, and that this had developed persistently throughout the voyage."

A huge, unknown dog jumps from the tragedy of the Demeter, and hides in the shadows. Because it couldn't be anything else than a dog, there are no wild canines in England.

The log of the captain doesn't mention a dog. However, it is weirdly filled with superstitions.

Something, a horrible unknown beast is killing the poor dogs. We must do something! What if it gets the poor dog that left the Demeter in such a hurry, it might get hurt!

Even the oldest people in Whitby laugh at their legends. Only constructed to bring in tourists who are curious about them.

They could be true! Says an old sailor, but we don't need those anymore. There is no need to put rosaries on our necks, nor lock our doors.

After all there are no wolves in England.

#Modernity may protect us from modern danger #But what do the people of Whitby do against an ancient evil? It's something imaginary of course #Something something don't think about legends as something of the ignorant past #You don't know when those things that your grandparents told you may knock at your door #dracula daily #dracula #whitby correspondent #the demeter