Full Moon Superstitions Ireland

There is a few myths and superstitions regarding the full moon in Ireland. One of the most unusual is that Irish people did not see a mans face or a crab on the moon, but they saw a Hare, a Hare carrying an egg. To see the hare turn your head to the left and use your imagination to see the two ears at the top.

It was considered lucky to see the full moon over your right shoulder and it was bad luck to see it over your left. It is also considered lucky to get a haircut on a full moon, better luck still to get it cut in the light of the full moon. But the worst luck of all was the for light of the full moon to land on your face as you slept, as you would not see the year out,

Another superstition was for people to go outside an look at the full moon reflected through a mirror, if you stared long and hard enough then you would see someone that will be connected with your future.

The Celtic Goddess of the moon was Rhiannon she was a beautiful woman who rode a white horse through the sky's.

Itchy noses, ears, elbows and itchy palms, Irish superstitions

There is an a lot of strange superstitions in Ireland, one is itchy noses, if your nose gets itchy it is a sure sign that  you are going to have an argument with someone. If you don't want to argue with someone, to counteract the itchy nose you have to gently punch them and then shake hands with them.

If you get a burning itch on your right earlobe then someone is saying something nasty about you. If your left earlobe is itchy then someone is saying something nice about you. If you want to shut the person that is being nasty to you behind your back then lick your thumb and for finger and rub your earlobe with them, it will make them bite their tongue. 

If you Elbow gets itchy then you will be sleeping in a different bed.

Lastly itchy Palms, if your right hand is itchy then you are going have to pay out money that day, alas there is nothing to counteract this. If you left palm is itchy then you are going to get some money, but you will only get this money if spit in your palm.

Moving house superstition.

There is a tradition in the west of Ireland of moving house only on a Friday, it is considered very unlucky to move into a house on any other day. I know of situations where someone who has bought a house, and only gets the keys on a Saturday will wait until the next Friday to move. Obviously Friday the 13th is not a good day to move in either.

Also it if you are building a new house you are only supposed to break ground on a Friday and in the foundation of the building of the building some money must be buried to make sure that the owners will never run out of money.

I moved house last weekend and even though I am not a superstitious person I followed tradition and moved in on a Friday. The picture is not my home but was part of the apartments I lived before my move. These were old horse stables that were restored and turned into apartments, none of the stonework was altered and the front doors to the apartments were about 1.6m or 5.5 feet, which meant that you would bang your head if you were not careful.

The Banshee, the harbinger of death

The Banshee from the  Irish, Bean (woman, pronounced ban) Sidhe (faerie,),  is  an ancient spirit who is said to foretell the death of certain Irish families, the O'Neills, O'Briens, O'Connors, O'Gradys and the Kavanaghs, through intermarriage the list of families has been greatly extended over the centuries. She can take many forms from that of a beautiful woman to a withered old hag and can be seen wearing a cloak or rotted funereal clothing. She is sometimes compared to the Morrigan the Goddess of death and war, as she can sometimes be seen washing the blood from the the armour of those about to die.

Mostly she is not seen but rather heard, her keening warning a family that someone is about to die. This keening takes different forms, from beautiful faerie singing to a piercing mournful wailing that is carried on the wind. In different parts of the country the Banshee can appear in different locations from a bridge or the cover of a wooded area. In my part of Galway I was told that the Banshee appears on a bridge when someone from the village is about to die. Before the death of someone of greatness, it has been writen that several Banshees often gather together.