Author Archives: ntrost

Wishing on eyelashes

Text:

HT reports that he uses eyelashes to make wishes.

“When I find an eyelash on my cheek, I swipe it up with my finger, make a wish, and blow on it.”

When asked what the rules are for this ritual, HT responded with the following:

“You have to keep the wish to yourself. You have to blow it off your finger, it won’t work if it’s still stuck to you. My dad told me that there’s a game you have to play as well, if you notice someone else has lost an eyelash, you hold it between your pointer and your thumb and ask them to guess which finger it’s stuck to. If they get it right, then they get to make a wish. If they get it wrong, then you get to make a wish. But, you have to make a wish for that person, not for yourself. I don’t really do it that way, I just make a wish with the eyelash.”

When asked where he picked up the ritual, HT responded:

“From my parents. When there was an eyelash on my cheek, my mom would say that I get to make a wish, so I just kinda made the connection from there. Other than my dad explaining the game you can play with it, no one really explained it beyond that. I used to kind of pick my eyes for eyelashes, but my mom made me stop that by telling me I wouldn’t get to make a wish if I forced it that way.”

When asked what he likes to wish for and if there are any limits to the kinds of wishes you can make, HT responded:

“I can’t tell you what I wished for cause then it won’t come true. But no, I don’t think there’s any limit to what you can wish for. I guess it is just an eyelash, so you probably can’t ask for anything big, like winning the lottery or something. I don’t know, I just wish for little things here and there.”

Context:

HT is a twenty-four year old man, a recent college graduate, who is currently living at home with his parents. This the response that he gave when he asked to tell me about any good luck charms that he has.

Analysis:

By making a wish and blowing an eyelash away, HT engages in a form of sympathetic magic, where the act of performing a ritualistic action is believed to influence real-world outcomes. In one sense, the practice is a form of homeopathic magic, where the act of blowing the eyelash, which has been imbued with the wish, can be put out into the universe, a magic act that takes the wish from the mind of an individual and into the physical world. The size of the eyelash also seems to have some correlation with the size of the wish that one can make. In another sense, this is a form of contagious magic, wherein a smaller part of his body, his eyelash, will be able to affect the world and he affected in return. Since the eyelash was once physically connected to him, the magic that happens with it/to it will impact him as well. HT’s father’s explanation of the game that involves the eyelashes adds another layer to the ritual’s complexity. The game involves a form of reciprocity, where the eyelash has the opportunity to grant a wish to another person. However, this wish has limits, as it still must pertain to the person that the eyelash came from. It’s possible that the invention of this rule could be a modern adaptation, a way of taking the sting out of someone losing their wish by losing the game. The game elevates the ritual of making wishes with eyelashes by infusing it with interactive elements (albeit voluntry ones, by HT’s admission) and reinforcing its communal significance within the group.

Oranges in Christmas Stockings

Text:

“Growing up, my mother used to put oranges in my stockings and now it’s something I do with my kids as well,” says CR.

When asked the reason for oranges in the stocking, CR responded:

“Honestly, I had no idea why growing up. I thought it was maybe just to make the stocking look fuller. I looked it up a few years ago and remember that oranges were a big deal during the Great Depression since they were rare. I think it’s also supposed to represent good fortune and bags of gold. I liked doing it just because it’s what I remembered my mother doing for me and thought it was nice to get something other than just a ton of candy.”

Context:

CR is a sixty year old acting teacher. Originally from Virginia, she moved to LA when she was eighteen and has lived in various areas of the San Fernando Valley. This is the response she gave when asked if she has any favorite holiday traditions.

Analysis:

CR’s decision to continue the tradition of putting oranges in stockings for Christmas with her own children highlights the enduring power of familial customs and the desire to connect with one’s heritage. By passing down the practice of placing oranges in stockings, CR not only honors her own upbringing but also imparts a sense of cultural continuity and shared experience with her children. Her rationalization that the oranges were meant to make the stocking look fuller demonstrates how folk practices, even once divorced from their original meaning, can continue to be passed down, since people will assume there is some rationale behind the practice and come to their own conclusions. Her curiosity at one point prompts her to investigate if there is a reason beyond the one she has come up with, but seems to have little bearing on her fondness for the practice; as she says, she does it because her mother did it for her.

Bench press PR rituals

Text:

CM reports that when he and his friends work out, the way to “PR,” or to get a personal record, while using the bench press machine, is to go through a mental checklist of things to do, typically in a particular order. For example, one might check the position on their feet on the ground, then their back and shoulders, and then how they are holding the bar, in that order. When asked what happens when one does this out of order, he says that it makes it more likely that one won’t get the PR. He didn’t describe this as a strict superstitition, but that it would really affect him if he didn’t go through this checklist in order.

When asked if he has any special rituals or food that he does before attempting a PR, CM reported that he eats sour patch kids. While he doesn’t strictly adhere to the idea that he needs to eat sour patch kids in order to get a PR, he says that he kicks himself if he fails at a PR and he didn’t have any sour patch kids beforehand.

Context:

CM is a male college student at USC. For this interview, he was asked to describe good luck charms for sports and exercises he does.

Analysis:

CM’s PR ritual illustrates the impact of superstition within secular settings. Despite lacking religious or spiritual connotations, CM’s adherence to pre-performance rituals reflects a human tendency to seek psychological comfort and a sense of control in uncertain situations. Since there is still much unknown about bodybuilding as a discipline, despite bold assurances by many trainers and influencers to have scientifically proven methods on the best ways to work out, it makes sense that many people trying to bodybuild will rely on superstitious rituals to some degree. These rituals are reinforced in failure, confirming CM’s bias, as well as his peers’ bias, that these practices will lend themselves to a PR. The magic is performed through the body, whether through the positioning of body parts or the consumption of sour patch kids, but the effect is on the mind, which is considered the ultimate obstacle when working out.

Cross country good luck charm

Text:

CM reports that when he ran cross country in high school, he and his fellow runners would keep the bibs from previously won races as good luck charms. He explains that this practice was celebratory, to keep a trophy of achievement to look back on and remember fondly. However, beyond being a trophy, CM says that saving these bibs, which have a chip inside that records the time of the run, serves as a good luck charm for future races.

Context:

CM is a male college student at USC. For this interview, he was asked to describe good luck charms for sports and exercises he does.

Analysis:

CM’s practice of keeping race bibs as good luck charms serves as a good example of homeopathic magic, a form a sympathetic magic based on the principle that “like produces like.” In this context, the race bibs, imbued both with the mental memory (the runner’s recollection) and physical memory (the chip inside) of past victories, possess an inherent quality that can influence the outcome of future races. As technology advances, the way we practice and observe sympathetic magic evolves as well. The chip is a sort of digitial sympathetic magic, one that forever preserves one’s victory, which serves as the facet for influencing future races; success is reified by the chip and can be physically possessed by the runners. This practice makes sense in a field such as cross country, where much can be outside of one’s control, and where it is imperative to have continued, repeated wins in order to have success in the sport.

Black-eyed Peas for New Year’s

Text:

“I always make my kids a spoonful of black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day. It’s something that my mother had me do as well when I was growing up.”

When asked why during the New Year, CR responded:

“They bring you good luck into the new year. I have them other times during the year, but as far as I know, they’re only lucky if you have the first day of the year.”

When asked what effect having a spoonful of black-eyed peas have:

“I don’t what specifically, just that it wards off bad luck in the new year. So I get nervous when my kids complain about not wanting their black eyed peas because I don’t want them to be unlucky. I’ve tweaked the recipe to have bacon so my son will actually eat it.”

Context:

CR is a sixty year old acting teacher. Originally from Virginia, she moved to LA when she was eighteen and has lived in various areas of the San Fernando Valley. This is the response she gave when asked if she has any favorite holiday traditions.

Analysis:

CR’s insistence on serving black-eyed peas specifically on New Year’s Day demonstrates the temporal significance attached to this ritual. The new year represents a liminal period, marked by transition from old to new, and individuals seek to ensure a favorable start to the coming year. The emphasis on consuming black-eyed peas as the first meal reflects the power of auspicious beginnings and the importance of setting a positive tone for the months ahead. The tradition is a blend of superstitition and culinary customs, where the consumptionof black-eyed peas brings good luck, likely due to its historical associations with prosperity and abundance. Moreover, CR’s adaptation of the recipe to include bacon illustrates the dynamic nature of folk traditions and how they can be adapted to personal preferences and contemporary tastes. Her anxiety for her children’s luck going into the new year is palpable and her effort to adapt the recipe for their tastes demonstrates its importance to her.