Tag Archives: knock on wood

Knock on Wood

Text

“Whenever predicting something positive to come or making a simple statement, I often say “knock on wood” after and knock on a surface such as a wooden desk. This practice ensures I do not put bad luck into existence and cause the exact opposite of what was said to happen, also known as jinxing something. One example is when I tell my friends something like “the Lakers are definitely going to win the playoff series” I would follow with saying knock on wood and knocking on a surface to ensure good luck. Sometimes when I am not near a table I will knock on anything such as my own thigh or head because the knock following the phrase is crucial to this folk ritual.”

Context

“I first heard this from my dad who would often say “knock on wood” to avoid jinxing a good thing he was talking about. I didn’t directly ask him what it meant but instead picked up the context clues of its usage as I heard more people around me also performing the ritual. While some of them believe it completely ensures good luck, most of the friends and family I know feel it is more for personal security to prevent any karma or bad luck. They described this action as a habitual part of their daily lives.”

Analysis:

This is a strong example of a folk ritual that acts as a form of American folk belief. Its usage is varied based on how different individuals came to learn about the practice. Some knock on physical wood, others any object, and others who simply say the phrase. This folk ritual is a form of comfort for folk to alleviate stress from uncertain outcomes and bad luck in day to day life. While some believe in it completely, others like to habitually do it to feel like they are in control of their lives. This ritual reveals that in American culture, simple traditions can hold strong cultural value through causing positive outcomes and passing down to other generations. It is a form of homeopathic magic because the action is meant to create good outcomes and prevent bad ones. By the idea that like affects like, the actions is positively performed to ensure positive results.

Knock on Wood

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Language: English

Knock on Wood

“If I say something I think will be jinxed or bring bad luck, I’ll run over to the nearest wood thing and knock on it frantically”

Context: Informant remembers starting this behavior around the start of high school, at about age 14. There is no pattern to the number of times the informant knocks, but they will leave conversations at any point to complete the gesture. The informant does not remember who passed this gesture on to them and does not know of many people who use the same gesture, but hypothesizes the initial knowledge may have been passed unknowingly by interviewer.

Analysis: The folk behavior of ‘knocking on wood’ is meant to ward off bad luck or jinxes brought on by the verbal mention of such knowledge. It acts as a measure of protection for the informant, and requires immediacy. It is implied that if one does not complete this action, they might be accidentally inviting bad things to happen to them. Additionally, whether the practice does ward off jinxes or not, its belief has significance to the perception of subsequent events and may be used as reasoning for good/bad luck following the gesture. Notably, this gesture is in response to a specific statement, not a broad gesture to ward off evil. The individual must speak the opportunity for jinxes into existence, and this gesture is not useful before a statement has been theorized.

Knock on Wood

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

Context

The informant is a freshman at USC from Barrington, Illinois. During a call, I recorded an interview with them about rituals, superstitions, and festivals. When asked if they perform any superstitions, this is what they said. Important context to know is that their childhood home is a small ranch that has horses and other animals. They often go riding along trails near their home.

Text

PL: The biggest superstition slash ritual that I practice is knocking on wood. So whenever I say a thing that I–Okay, so like, scenario, potential scenario, I’m on a trail ride. I ride horses, and I’m with like a parent, with my mother, and we’re riding and I’m like, wow, it’s such a sunny day. Or like, I’ll say knock on wood because I don’t want to incur like, the bad luck of like, it’s gonna start raining because I immediately noticed that it was a sunny day or like it’s raining. And I’ll be like, I’ll notice it stopped raining. And if–if I say, “Oh, wow, it finally let up” or something like that, I will say “Knock on wood” and I will literally turn my horse to the side of the trail, find a–find a tree, knock on it, and continue.

PL: In the same way, I will say knock on wood and find a piece of wood to knock on. If I say like, “Hope you don’t die” or things like that were, like, I say a thing, but I don’t want it to happen. Or I say a thing and I don’t want the opposite to happen. And I will say, “Knock on wood,” and then I will find the nearest piece of wood and take my hand and put my knuckles against it a couple times in a knock. Yeah.

Analysis

“Knock on Wood” is a very common superstition in the United States, so it was not surprising to hear that this informant practiced this superstition. As the informant describes, the act of knocking on wood is meant to solidify a blessing or ensure that the opposite of a desired result does not happen. In this way, I feel that the practice is linked to the idea of a “jinx”–the idea being that if you vocalize a desired result, the opposite may happen as a direct result of that vocalization. “Knocking on wood” is thus intended to negate the effects of this jinx.

Superstition: Knock on Wood

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: San Francisco
Performance Date: 04/29/23

Text

“Oh yeah, I always knock on wood whenever someone says they’ve never had something bad happen to them. It’s just a little precaution, you know? Like, I don’t want to jinx anything by tempting fate. Plus, it’s a habit that I’ve had for so long that it’s just become second nature at this point.”

Context

My informant, who is white and from San Francisco, picked this superstition up from his parents as a child, and is a reluctant believer in it today. He interprets it as a method of negating the potential bad luck that could come with a jinx. 

Analysis

My informant’s superstition is an example of conversion superstition, as he takes action to negate a curse. Essentially, the jinx, for example something like “I have never broken a bone” curses an individual to break a bone, but knocking on wood can negate that outcome. The curse aspect of this superstition shares some similarities with the Evil Eye, where direct compliments actually function as curses, similar to how my informant’s statements of positive wellbeing can doom one to negative outcomes. This belief could be a derivative of historical pagan beliefs in the sacredness of trees and forests, where knocking on wood provided a method through which people could communicate with deities. 

My informant’s reluctance in believing this superstition suggests his desire to depart from his commitment to the belief, perhaps a symptom of his maturing process. This in turn suggests that he views this superstition as a child’s belief. However, one might add that this superstition provides a method by which one can keep his or her self-positive thoughts in check and avoid resting on laurels or boasting. 

Thoughts Superstition

Nationality: Chinese American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Pasadena, CA
Primary Language: English

Text/Interview:

DS: “Here’s a superstition I live by. Every time I think of something negative, I knock on wood three times. If I don’t see any wood, then I knock on my head. It’s all about the transfer of energy. I’m literally trying to knock the bad energy out so it can be replaced with positive energy.”

Context:

DS does not define himself as a spiritual person; however, he does believe in good and bad energy. He wholeheartedly believes in this superstition. DS’s mother first told him this superstition when he was a child and he has lived by it ever since. He is unsure of its origins; however, he does not believe it has to do with his Chinese roots. Instead, it is simply a personal superstition that everyone in his family performs daily.

My Interpretation:

This appears to be a case of Sympathetic Magic. In knocking on wood or his head, DS is expelling the bad energy and leaving room for the good energy to flow. This falls under the Law of Contact, as the action being performed is creating the magical effect. Personally, I think this is a very interesting superstition. I always knew the superstition ‘knock on wood’ but had never heard of someone doing the same with their head. I feel like this helps to illuminate the meaning of the superstition and why it still holds weight to this day.

Annotation:

As this is a famous superstition, there are many variations of it within the popular culture. For further research, be sure to check out this Ted-Ed article:

LaBrascio, Lisa, and Stuart Vyse. “Why Do We Knock on Wood?” TED, May 19, 2017. https://blog.ed.ted.com/2017/05/18/why-do-we-knock-on-wood/.