Category Archives: Folk Beliefs

Clairvoyance & Dream Interpretation

Nationality: American
Age: 48
Occupation: Student
Residence: Glendale, AZ
Language: English

“Clairvoyance runs in our family. I was taught about it at a very young age. My mom educated me about it at a very young age. Dream interpretation and stuff like that and astral projection and meditation. I’ve gone into trances with binaural beats and left my body.”

What does clairvoyance mean to you?

“Clairvoyance means to be empathic, feeling other people’s emotions, feeling certain types of energies in a room, sleep paralysis. My sleep paralysis is when my body is splitting when I leave my body at night, so you get stuck in between. I’ve had to learn that when in a sleep paralysis, I pray in my mind. I explained this bruja around the corner who explained that my spirit is splitting from my body. My dreams are not normal dreams. I can tell the difference. I can feel all my senses. I can smell, I can touch. Most people are unable to do that. I can feel pain. I have every emotion, fear and everything. That’s not normal.”

Has this always happened for you?

“That’s happened to me all my life. My mom had premonitions. I believe dreams are not necessarily dreams.”

Are there any rituals you do to enhance your dreams?

The informant described using tourmaline or “any stone that gives properties or elements to psychic clairvoyance or astral projection” She puts the stone under the bed, pillow or on her bedside. She described that she grounds herself before going to sleep by “creating a bubble like white light for purification and protection,” as in meditation. She says that she “imagines a safe place in the bubble like a garden or river of amethyst.” She emphasizes the importance of protecting yourself and setting intentions because people that don’t might bring something back with them from the other realm.

Analysis: While dreams themselves are not traditionally considered folklore, I would argue that the informant’s described beliefs about her dreams can be interpreted as a folk belief. Coming from her mother, the informant has been passed down this belief and continues in the practice of dream interpretation in the present day. She also described her mother’s dreams to be premonitions, or seeing the future, while her own was described to be more along the lines of astral projection. This shows some variation within her own family’s interpretation of their dreams. She also describes some ritualistic precautions before attempting to go into this dream state. Meditations, usually guided meditations, are often used to go into trance-like states, which she does herself while also dabbling in binaural beats. Using binaural beats shows the constant evolution of folkloric rituals and practices as she is incorporating modern day technologies into her practice. 

Grandma’s Earrings & Brooch

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA

“When my grandma passed away, the two things that I got from her were a pair of ladybug earrings and a butterfly brooch. So I started as a tradition wearing one of these items. Anytime I had a big presentation, anytime I had a big event, anytime I went to a family event where my grandpa was going to be there, as a way to invite her. I don’t know. It just felt like if I was wearing one of those, she was with me and she was able to see what I was doing and still keep up, even though she wasn’t alive. It definitely got to the point where times when I was like ‘oh, i don’t really want to wear either of these. They don’t go with my outfit’ but I’m not going to say that grandma can’t come to Christmas dinner. So you wear the brooch or you wear the earrings so that grandmas with you.’ I do that for a lot of things.”

Do you also view them as good luck charms in a way?

“Oh, definitely yeah. I mean it’s just like having someone on your side/ I mean, I don’t think it physically brings me good luck. Even though I know butterflies are signs of hope and I know ladybugs are signs of luck, I don’t view it very strictly in that way. It’s supposed to be my grandma and she’s going to help me get through it.”

Did you start doing this on your own?

“Yeah, I started a couple months after, so I’ve been doing it for about nineish years now.”

Analysis: After the death of close relatives, especially grandparents, we receive family heirlooms or some sort of memorabilia from their lives. Particularly with jewlery, we tend to inscribe intense meanings onto these items, feeling that they are a connection to the person’s spirit. Wearing their jewelry is like carrying them with us, just as the informant described. By having her grandmother with her, the informant has the confidence to face stressful events as well as accompanying her at family gatherings. The informant specified that she feels an obligation to wear the items around her grandfather since he had lost his wife. In a way, this creates a special bond with her grandfather who sees his granddaughter carrying a piece of his wife as she lives through her. This is one of the many ways of coping and supporting family members in their losses of loved ones.

Walking Home Backwards After a Funeral

Nationality: American & Trinidadian
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Glendale, AZ
Language: English

“A superstitious belief in my family and some of my friends have is that after a funeral, we will enter our homes backwards.It’s mainly so the spirit doesn’t follow you home, especially if you go to the graveyard site or cremation site.”

Can you please explain to me how they enter the house backwards?

“From what I’ve seen from my parents, they fully enter backwards, so they don’t start facing our house or like the front door if that makes sense.” She goes on to explain to me that “someone’s been there to let them in, or it just matters that they enter the first door frame facing backwards.”

Context: The informant identifies as a Hindu.

Analysis: In Hindu traditions, this superstition is common after funerals. It is believed to prevent the spirit from following the family home and getting stuck there, essentially aiding in their transition to the afterlife. This tradition is also a way to purify the home from any lingering negative energies after death that might have followed the family home. Spirits and ghosts in folklore tend to be tied to a property or area, so this practice prevents this from happening to their loved ones. This superstition has also shown up in other folk superstitions, and the consistency of walking backwards out of a cemetery seems to be the common trope. This practice shows how universal superstitions might be if you look beyond the religious contexts. 

Miyeok Guk (Seaweed Soup)

Text:

Seaweed soup is traditionally eaten every year on someone’s birthday. Historically, seaweed soup was eaten by mothers who were about to give birth or just had given birth, as a way to boost their iron levels in their blood–seaweed has exceptional levels of iron. This would help the mother’s body heal or prepare for the birth, as at the time it would be dangerous, with high mortality rates.

Context:

The informant has eaten seaweed soup every year for their birthday; not only have they eaten it every year, they also learned how to make it from their mother.

Interpretation:

Because miyeok-guk is traditionally consumed by women after childbirth due to its rich nutrients like calcium, iodine, and iron, and belief that it helps with recover and milk production, the soup is now closely associated with mothers, maternal care, and birth. I assume that it is eaten on people’s birthdays(regardless of whether they are or plan to become mothers) as a way to honor the mothers who gave birth, recognizing the sacrifices that one’s parents–especially the mothers–make. Beyond its symbolic meaning, miyeok-guk is also a regular part of everyday meals due to its nutritional value and accessibility. This highlights Korea’s traditional food culture, which often views food as medicine—a concept rooted in hanbang, or traditional medicine that reflects the often health-oriented approach to food in Korean society.

On a personal note, for many Koreans, whether they live in Korea or are part of the diaspora, miyeok-guk can evoke a strong emotional pull for family, home, and heritage–many have grown up eating it together with their families–serving as a cultural anchor and linking personal identity with tradition.

Hongsam (Red Ginseng)

Text:

Hongsam is an herbal tea made from the root of a red ginseng plant. It is supposed to raise your body temperature, giving you energy and improving blood circulation, and getting rid of infections/illnesses and boosting natural immunity.

Context:

The informant grew up with their own mother giving hongsam to them. As Korea began to modernize, they began to see hongsam change from a medicinal herbal tea to more widespread consumption types(tea, capsule, powder, and even candies)

Interpretation:

Hongsam is very popular among today’s generation in Korea. I personally think this is an interesting phenomenon, as many other traditional medicinal practices are usually met with skepticism and a growing mistrust, or are simply dismissed as pseudo-medicine/treatment. However, unlike some traditional remedies that have declined in popularity, hongsam has sustained and even increased its status due to both cultural trust and the Korean government investing heavily in researching and standardizing ginseng products, showing a blending of traditional knowledge with modern science. The industry is both a point of national pride and a strategic economic sector. Its success reflects Korea’s broader tendency to commercialize and globalize cultural assets—turning tradition into a competitive modern product, much like K-pop or Korean cosmetics. It also shows how wellness has been integrated into consumer behavior.