SUPERSTITIONS.BIZ
Superstitions from around the world . . . what brings good luck . . . what brings bad luck?
SUPERSTITION: SPITTING
Description: Spitting can protect against bad luck or the Evil Eye.
Origin: Ancient
Spitting has been employed as a protection against evil since ancient times. Sailors spit on their ships for luck. Fishermen spit over the edge of their boats to guarantee a good catch. Bare-knuckle boxers once spat on their knuckles to increase the power of their blows.
A Christian myth said that the devil himself could be banished if you could manage to spit between his horns. Spitting was also said to give protection against the Evil Eye - in a Jewish tradition a brief 'spitting' prayer was substituted for the physical act of spitting.