Have you ever rubbed a frog on your freckles? Trivia fans and fun fact fanatics will adore this fascinating, flickable encyclopedia of superstitions! Richard Webster presents over five hundred of the most obscure, curious, and just-plain-freaky superstitions of the Western world. Discover batty beliefs about baldness, beans, and the Bermuda Triangle, and peculiar practices regarding hiccups, hearses, and hunchbacks. From modern myths to centuries-old lore, The Encyclopedia of Superstitions offers a wealth of wonderfully weird beliefs on just about every topic you can imagine: Holidays Birth Death Weddings Colors Gemstones Trees Flowers Fairies Weather Numbers Animals Birds Insects Household Items Zodiac Signs Gambling The Human Body Food Praise: "[T]his reference makes for compulsive browsing."—Publishers Weekly

“For the expert investigation of the human will to believe, we recommend The Encyclopedia of Superstitions.”—The New York Times Why is it said that breaking a mirror or walking under ladders will bring bad luck and misfortunate? Ever wonder why so many people throw salt over their shoulders after spilling it, or wish on shooting stars? The Encyclopedia of Superstitions holds the answers to these questions and more. This classic and captivating reference book catalogs the origins of hundreds of superstitious beliefs and includes a rich history of charms, spells, folklore, and rural remedies drawn from cultures around the world used to commemorate births, marriages, deaths, to ward off evil, or invite good fortune. Edwin and Mona A. Radford uncover why catching a falling leaf in autumn is believed to stave off colds all winter and explain the traditional Norse mythological roots of kissing under the mistletoe at Christmas. They explore the myriad of beliefs surrounding the moon or what spotting a rainbow portends and why. This thought-provoking collection provides a wealth of entertaining entries—stories that have the power to thrill, intrigue, and perhaps send a chill down the spine of even the most skeptical of readers.

Explains the meanings of thousands of signs, omens, spells, charms, cures, rituals, and taboos; arranged alphabetically by topic.

Broken up into categories such as Animals, Astrology, Dreams, and Flowers, this fascinating dictionary will alert you to thousands of beliefs, omens, and proverbs that you may never have known. Many other subjects range from Clothing to Food to Marriage numbers.

From the curse of the lottery winners to the good feng shui of a local restaurant, this quirky, wacky, weird, and wonderful collection of superstitions uncovers the truth about some of our most familiar beliefs, as well as others that are much stranger. It turns out that everywhere in the world, people still put their trust in luck, magic, and mystery. By the end of this look at the bizarre world of illogic it’s clear: superstition is alive and well...and really spellbinding!

Jewish esotericism is the oldest and most influential continuous occult tradition in the West. Presenting lore that can spiritually enrich your life, this one-of-a-kind encyclopedia is devoted to the esoteric in Judaism—the miraculous and the mysterious. In this second edition, Rabbi Geoffrey W. Dennis has added over thirty new entries and significantly expanded over one hundred other entries, incorporating more knowledge and passages from primary sources. This comprehensive treasury of Jewish teachings, drawn from sources spanning Jewish scripture, the Talmud, the Midrash, the Kabbalah, and other esoteric branches of Judaism, is exhaustively researched yet easy to use. It includes over one thousand alphabetical entries, from Aaron to Zohar Chadesh, with extensive cross-references to related topics and new illustrations throughout. Drawn from the well of a great spiritual tradition, the secret wisdom within these pages will enlighten and empower you. Praise: "An erudite and lively compendium of Jewish magical beliefs, practices, texts, and individuals...This superb, comprehensive encyclopedia belongs in every serious library."—Richard M. Golden, Director of the Jewish Studies Program, University of North Texas, and editor of The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft: The Western Tradition "Rabbi Dennis has performed a tremendously important service for both the scholar and the novice in composing a work of concise information about aspects of Judaism unbeknownst to most, and intriguing to all."—Rabbi Gershon Winkler, author of Magic of the Ordinary: Recovering the Shamanic in Judaism