Belief and Knowledge the #13

Belief and Knowledge the #13 is Bad Luck

Significance of the Number

Feelings behind the number 13 are so significant there are those who suffer from triskaidekaphobia: the fear of the number 13. Superstitions are present in nearly every culture around the world, and affect the behaviors of the individuals who believe them. Western cultures regard the number 13 as a mark of bad luck and trace its roots to Jesus Christ and the Last Supper (Scanlon, Luben, Scanlon & Singleton, 1993). The number 13 has also held importance in cultures predating the time of Jesus Christ, and its origin has been attributed to the ancient Greeks and Greek mythology. While Western cultures view the number 13 as a sign of bad luck and misfortune, other cultures revere the number 13 as sacred. Whether one believes the number 13 to be either evil or sacred, the number 13 often notes superstitious, religious, or holy significance.

Several Christians attribute the number 13 superstition in Western culture to the misfortune experienced by Jesus Christ following the Last Supper (Lachenmeyer, 2004). The dining of 13 and its subsequent bad luck is exemplified by Christ and his 12 disciples. The 13 individuals were seated together during the Last Supper, and the next day, Christ was crucified. Judas, the betrayer of Christ, also died. From these events, the interpretation of the superstition varies. There are those that believe the number 13 and its bad luck mirrors the fate of Christ, while others believe it reflects the misfortune of Judas (Lachenmeyer, 2004). Dining as a party of 13 is a bad omen, and according to superstition, is an indication that one member of the party will die within one year. Friday the 13th is another superstition with predominate Christian origins. Friday alone is considered unlucky to Christians; Good Friday was the day on which Christ was crucified (Scanlon et al., 1993). Friday the 13th is deemed exceptionally unfortunate. On Friday the 13th, 1307, King Philip IV ordered the arrest of the Knights Templar in France, which eventually led to their torture and death (Number 13, 2010).

The number 13 and its imposed superstition on dining, however, predates Christianity. The Romans also loathed the number 13, and regarded it as a symbol of death, misfortune, and destruction (Scanlon et al., 1993). Roman attitudes about the number 13 are believed to have originated in Greek and Roman mythology, long before the appearance of Christ. Greek mythology refers to the Valhalla banquet, to which twelve of the gods were invited. Loki, the spirit of strife and mischief, intruded and interrupted their party. Loki became the thirteenth guests, and Baldur, the favorite of the gods who attended the party, was killed (Radford & Radford, 1949). The number 13 and its significance to dining is so extreme, restaurants have been known to refuse setting a table for 13 guests. For example, if someone makes a dinner reservation for thirteen guests at the Savoy Hotel in London, the table will be set for fourteen. At the fourteenth place setting, Kasper, a three foot sculpture of a cat, will be seated. Kasper will be served all the courses of the meal to legitimately establish the sculpture as the fourteenth guest (Number 13, 2010).

Although the number 13 is widely avoided in Western cultures due to its superstitions, the number 13 is held in a positive light, or carries great significance, in other cultures. The Aztecs believed 13 to be a sacred number. The Aztec week was thirteen days long and the number was respected as a measure of time and completion (Number 13, 2010). The Aztec calendar year was 260 days long, which was calculated as 20, thirteen day periods, called Trecenas. The goddess Tlazolteotl was the ruler of the 13th Trecena, who was the goddess of sin and could forgive sins (Number 13, 2010). In Hinduism, the thirteenth night of the waning moon in the month of Maagha is sacred to Shiva, and notes a cause for celebration of creation and preservation (Number 13, 2010). For those reading tarot cards, the tarot 13 is the card of death. In Scandinavia, the day of the Saint Lucia celebration is December 13th (Number 13, 2010). Regarding United States currency, the number 13 is seemingly glorified. On the one dollar bill, there are 13 leaves on the olive branch, 13 fruits, 13 arrows, 13 stars above the eagle, 13 steps on the pyramid, 13 feathers on each of the eagle's wings, and there are 13 letters in "E pluribus unum" (Number 13, 2010).

The origins of the number 13 superstition appear to expand millennia. However, the prevalence of the superstition and its overall awareness in Western cultures seems to be as recent as the 19th century. It wasn't until the 19th century that newspapers began to print stories and anecdotes about dinner parties being interrupted by a 13th guest and later one of the guests would be met with misfortune (Lachenmeyer, 2004). Magazines of the time were also featuring ghost stories that included the negative effects of the number 13. By the middle of the 19th century, there was a profound awareness of the number 13 and its inherent ill fortune (Lachenmeyer, 2004). Over the decades, hotels were built without 13th floors, dining parties of 13 were not seated, and history has been scoured for the number 13 and any disaster that followed (Number 13, 2010).