Since today is Friday the 13th, I decided to do a little investigating and found a couple interesting occurrences on this unlucky day that may have led to the modern day wide-spread fear. Interestingly, 2009 has a totally of three Friday the 13th: February, March, and November. The next time this will occur is in 2012, another year deemed unlucky for completely different reasons (if you're interested in finding out more about the 2012 prophecies, just Google '2012 END OF THE WORLD' and it will provide you with enough information for your head to explode).
One theory comes from Norse mythology:
Friday was named after the Norse goddess Frigga (aka Frigg, wife of Odin, queen of Asgard, goddess of women, birth and children, love, fertility etc..). When Christianity took over in the Norse and Germanic tribes, Frigga was labeled a witch and banished to a mountain top as punishment. Norse folklore states that every Friday Frigga, eleven witches and the devil gathered on her mountaintop to plot ill events for the people below. This gathering of 13 beings on a Friday was deemed very unlucky and has stuck with us to modern times.
Another interesting possibility was the mass arrest of the Knights Templar, ordered by King Phillip IV, that occurred in France on Friday, October 13th, 1307. Many of the Knights were arrested, tortured, and charged with heresy and blasphemy all because the King thought they had too much power and may one day rise against him. When the pope tried to step in and demand a fair trial for all those involved, King Phillip had many of the Knight burned at the stake as heretics. This event (among others) is attributed with leading to the disbandment of the Order of the Knights Templar on March 22nd 1312.
There are undoubtedly, several other events that led to this day being deemed unlucky, but these were just two that I found most interesting and plausible as the origin of the Friday the 13th superstition as well as triskaidekaphobia (fear of the number 13).
One theory comes from Norse mythology:
Friday was named after the Norse goddess Frigga (aka Frigg, wife of Odin, queen of Asgard, goddess of women, birth and children, love, fertility etc..). When Christianity took over in the Norse and Germanic tribes, Frigga was labeled a witch and banished to a mountain top as punishment. Norse folklore states that every Friday Frigga, eleven witches and the devil gathered on her mountaintop to plot ill events for the people below. This gathering of 13 beings on a Friday was deemed very unlucky and has stuck with us to modern times.
Another interesting possibility was the mass arrest of the Knights Templar, ordered by King Phillip IV, that occurred in France on Friday, October 13th, 1307. Many of the Knights were arrested, tortured, and charged with heresy and blasphemy all because the King thought they had too much power and may one day rise against him. When the pope tried to step in and demand a fair trial for all those involved, King Phillip had many of the Knight burned at the stake as heretics. This event (among others) is attributed with leading to the disbandment of the Order of the Knights Templar on March 22nd 1312.
There are undoubtedly, several other events that led to this day being deemed unlucky, but these were just two that I found most interesting and plausible as the origin of the Friday the 13th superstition as well as triskaidekaphobia (fear of the number 13).
)O( Blessed Be )O(
Alorelith Rose
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