Do you wave at magpies? Salute them? Flap your arms at them? Do you worry that if you don’t that day will be filled with doom? If the answer is yes, you’re not alone.
Serious superstitions have surrounded magpies in Ireland for hundreds of years. It’s not just here, Victorians were so afraid of magpies that they nearly hunted them to extinction at one stage.
It’s not just physical gestures that are shown to the magpies. Some people say “Hello, Jack – how’s your brother?” or “Hello, Mr Magpie – how’s your wife today?”. People even bless themselves and raise their hats when seeing magpies, and say: “Devil, Devil, I defy thee!”‘
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But why?
There are several rhymes about magpies, with one that reads: “One for sorrow, Two for joy, Three for a girl, Four for a boy, Five for silver, Six for gold, Seven for a story yet to be told.” An earlier version is: “One for sorrow, Two for joy, Three for a funeral, Four for birth, Five for heaven, Six for hell, Seven for the devil, his own self.”
There are religious superstitions that indicate the bird cannot be trusted. The magpie was apparently the only bird who didn’t comfort or mourn Jesus at the time of his crucifixion meaning the bird has been connected to bad fortune and negative traits. It’s also believed that it was the only bird not to go into the ark with Noah and stayed on Earth while it fell apart.
The bird is also associated with the devil, evil and bad fortune. Magpies are also known for stealing expensive objects like jewellery and can easily fool others.
The birds are omnivorous and eat dead animals which some believe is the reason why it has the devil’s blood and is connected with death.
Others say that the magpie will never bring bad luck if the person keeps the bird happy so they should salute or wave at a magpie to show respect and fend off bad luck.
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