Why, when you spill some salt, do you have to throw some over your shoulder?

Question

I spilled salt today and my friend said quick throw some over your shoulder....huh? i said why, she said i dont' know i just heard that somewhere, so is this true?..if so, why do that?...any reason for it or was this just something she made up and it's not true.

Answer 1

It's a well-known superstition which supposedly prevents bad luck, and has both a cultural and religious base for existance.

------

Salt was once considered a very precious commodity; as important as money has grown to be. Because it was so valued within ancient societies and was very expensive to buy and also very difficult to extract, it has had quite a lot of symbolism and superstition attached to it over the course of human history. Salt was used as a preservative and, in this sense, began to symbolize life and the avoidance of decay. It became a sign of hospitality, trust and friendship because of its high price. Soldiers in Rome were often paid in salt and, in this way, it was also a form of currency. This latter use of salt is the source of the expression that a person was "not worth his salt."

To spill salt then was an extraordinary waste and the superstition that claimed bad luck would visit anyone who spilt salt was invented specifically to deter this behavior.

- If salt was spilt in a particular person's direction, bad luck was coming to that person.
- Spilt salt should not be cleaned up but should instead by tossed over the left shoulder, into the face of the Devil.
- Enough tears must be cried to dissolve the spilt salt in order to reverse the bad luck that was coming your way.

Other superstitions for salt:

- Wearing a small bag of salt around your neck protected you from the Evil Eye.
- A pinch of salt was left in a baby's crib until it was christened.
Salt was an unlucky word for sailors and should never be mentioned at sea.
- Salt was thrown on the threshold of a new house for good luck.

------

Answer 2

You throw the salt over your LEFT shoulder, because that is where the devil sits. Ever see those bits in a cartoons where a character has a dilemma, and an angel and a devil appear on the characters shoulders and have it out? The devil is traditionally on the left. The following is from the Morton Salt Website:

" The widespread superstition that spilling salt brings bad luck is believed to have originated with the overturned salt cellar in front of Judas Iscariot at the Last Supper, an incident immortalized in Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous painting.

According to an old Norwegian superstition, a person will shed as many tears as will be necessary to dissolve the salt spilled. An old English belief has it that every grain of salt spilled represents future tears. The Germans believe that whoever spills salt arouses enmity, because it is thought to be the direct act of the devil, the peace disturber. The French throw a little spilled salt behind them in order to hit the devil in the eye, to temporarily prevent further mischief."

Answer 3

From: Trivia Library (link in the sources)
(I love this Library!)

About the origin of the superstition that you shuold throw a pinch of salt over your shoulder after spilling it, religious history.

SPILLING SALT


If you fall victim to this dilemma, simply take a pinch of salt and toss it over your left shoulder, "right into the Devil's face."


Origin. Salt was once a rare and costly commodity. As such, it was economic waste to spill any. Also, salt is a purifier, a preservative, and it symbolizes the good and lasting qualities of life. It was mixed into the foods used in the religious ceremonies of both the Greeks and Romans. One source of this superstition is Leonardo da Vinci's painting of the Last Supper--the betrayer Judas has accidentally spilled salt onto the table.

Answer 4

Salt is a compound between 2 poisons. You will have bad luck for a long time if you don't throw it over your shoulder and chant "salt salt as you fly hit the devil in the eye" after knocking it over. It's been like that since the beginning of time, when the angelic hosts of the high heavens and the demonic hordes of the burning hells have been locked in a struggle for the fate of all creation.

Answer 5

if you spill salt you throw some over the left shoulder to counteract the bad luck. It goes into the eye of the evil spirit that is sitting on your left shoulder that mde you spill the salt in the first place. It comes from roman times when salt (latin sal) was used to pay wages, This is where we get the word salary from.

Answer 6

It's just a form of being superstitious it's bad luck to spill the salt but if you throw it over your shoulder it's supposed to reverse it and make it good luck. It's not true and no she didn't make it up.

Answer 7

In the old days people use to believe that the left side of your body (the shoulder you throw salt behind) was your evil side. So they say when you spill salt the devil appears over your left shoulder so you take the salt and thow it in his face and it will make him go away.

Answer 8

I doubt the validity of this. I never do bother to throw it over my shoulder, it makes a mess. Nothing bad seems to come of it. It's an old superstition. It's like avoiding black cats. Actually, I have a black cat, lovely thing. Nothing bad comes of that either. I walk under ladders every channce I get, I open umbrellas in the house, I do dangerous things on Friday the 13th, I summon the spirits of murderers with a ouji board, I tempt God to strike me down with lightening, I stare at spoons for hours on end, and yet they don't bend.... Here I am, fine, alive, breathing -- did I mention I break mirrors? -- and with a lot of unbent cuttlery (except that which I bend with both hands using my muscles...). Nothing to worry about....

Answer 9

Yes, every time I spill a little salt I through it over my left shoulder. It's the left shoulder right or does it matter when it's just a superstiton? In fact, I did yesterday.

Answer 10

It's Superstition...Take those OUT of YOUR brain if YOU have any doubts....Because Superstitions are a Hindrance to Progress!!!

So better watch OUT! So the next time YOU spill some salt!
Don't even think abt it just clean it!

Cheers!