So one of the reasons for doing this project is to see what happens when you live by the rules of folklore, only this morning I forgot and cut my fingernails. And why is this important? Because there are rules for when one should and shouldn’t do such things. But my left thumb nail had chipped and there was a pair of scissors on my desk, and well, you can imagine the rest…
On realising my mistake, I lunged at my books to see what sort of trouble I’d brought down on myself, and spoiler alert, the apocalypse is scheduled for another day. While also mistaking today for Thursday for most of the morning (it was a late one last night), it is, in fact, Wednesday, which means luckily I’ve either cut for news, or cut for wealth, depending on what part of the country I’m paying attention to (East Anglia and Lancashire respectively). And I also get extra points, because I’ve cut them on a waning moon.
However, I also found out that if you cut your nails using scissors, the devil will claim you for his own.
I have a feeling it’s going to be one of those days…
Resources
Chainey, D. (2018) A Treasury of British Folklore: Maypoles, Mandrakes and Mistletoe, London, National Trust Books
Daniels, C.L. & Stevans, C.M (eds) (2003) Encyclopædia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World, Hawaii, University Press of the Pacific
Simpson, J. & Roud, S. (2001) Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore, Oxford, Oxford University Press
