BLACK CAT DOOM

Here on the Moon, we "flew under the radar" on yesterdays dreadful "day of doom". Yes, Friday the 13th, was just another typical uneventful day, with no reign of terror encroaching our humble domain. Actually, my first thought of the day was, "thank God it's Friday"!! But, I guess for some, the superstitious side of life, gets the best of them.

A Friday occuring on the 13th day of any month is considered to be a day of bad luck in many superstitions around the globe. The superstitious fear of Friday the 13th has been named, "paraskavedekatriaphobia". THAT is a mouthful, for any of us!

The fear of Friday the 13th stems from two separate fears...the fear of the number 13 and the fear of Fridays. Both fears have deep roots in Western culture, most notably in Christian theology.

Thirteen is significant to Christians because it is the number of people who were present at the Last Supper. Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th member of the party to arrive.

Christians have traditionally been wary of Fridays because Jesus was crucified on a Friday. Some theologians hold that Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden fruit on a Friday and that even the Great Flood began on a Friday. In the past, many Christians would never begin a new project or plan a trip on a Friday, fearing they would be "doomed" from the start.

Some historians suggest that the Christian distrust of Fridays is actually linked to the early Catholic Church's overall supression of pagan religion and women. In the Roman calendar, Friday was devoted to Venus, the goddess of love. When Norsemen adapted the calendar, they named the day after Frigg and Freya, the Norse goddesses connected to love and sex. Both of these "strong" female figures posed a threat to the male-dominated Christianity, so therefore the Christian church defamed the "day" which was named after them.

The Christian perspective on Fridays and the number 13 is the most relevent today, but it's only one part of the Friday the 13th tradition. Strangely enough, there is evidence to suggest that Friday the 13th is actually unlucky for some. Psychologists have found that some people are especially likely to have accidents or fall ill on Friday the 13th. This has been attributed to people feeling a heightened state of anxiety on that day. The Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Ashville, North Carolina estimates that, in the United States alone, millions of dollars are lost in business each Friday the 13th, because some people refuse to travel or even go to work on that day.

So, I hope that you had an uneventful "day of doom" yesterday. I'm sure there were plenty of wonderful things that happened for many of us......I mean, heck......yesterday was payday!!! It can't get much better than that.

Until we meet again.....Greetings and Salutations from the Moon...........Lj