2006-10-25 13:49:36 · 6 answers · asked by wondering... 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Mythology & Folklore
This is the most widely used form of "White Magic". It is a banishment magic. In the old days it was believe that minor evil spirits i.e. Imps, would take the fears of man to the devil to make them come true. So the belief was that trees and thus wood were a holy/pure part of nature. Thus by knocking on it you would temporarily banish the minor spirit ,hopefully until after the event took place, thus it could not take your fears back to the devil. Because of it temporary nature is why you do it every time to banish and not once for ever.
2006-10-25 15:23:09 · answer #1 · answered by st nich 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
From early mans beleif that every natural object contained a God a tree was inhabited by a particular God or spirit. The type of tree that was good luck changed from where you were in the world. So this morphed into the saying we have today, In holland you have to touch bare wood or the underside of the table. Knocking releases the Good spirit.
2006-10-25 14:07:06 · answer #2 · answered by Rich 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
actually, you don't knock on wood to make good luck happen; you knock on wood to keep something bad from happening. That's why people usually do it after they say something like, "Well, at least I still have my health...knock on wood." Because saying that something good is happening, or is GOING to happen, might jinx it. People started with the wood-knocking because they believed spirits in trees would take offense at their good fortune and cause bad things to happen. Knocking apparently scared them off.
2006-10-25 14:25:32 · answer #3 · answered by Sarah 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I'm not sure. But I think in came about in the Dark ages, The thought was that if you knocked on wood it would release good spirits.
2006-10-25 14:08:25 · answer #4 · answered by whataboutme 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Well, way back in the disco era, a young lady who was thought of as America's "Confucious", had an epiphany.
She wrote down all of the thoughts that flooded her mind and set them to music.
The result, was the chart-topping hit "Knock on Wood". It has been a staple in American music ever since and has impacted many of lives.
Her name was Amii Stewart.
2006-10-25 14:00:30 · answer #5 · answered by Agent99 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
jack and the bean stalk lol i dont know
2006-10-25 13:53:17 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋