Superstitions XI – Itching Palms

Originally, this series was supposed to end with the New Year’s post. But as usually happens when holidays do not conveniently fall on a weekend, my days got kind of mixed up in my head. Yesterday I suddenly realized it was Tuesday and I needed a post for the next day. Oops!

When I did what I thought was going to be a little research, I was surprised at just how many superstitions about itchy palms there are.

Right to receive and left to leave
rub on wood and it's sure to be good,
rub on brass and it will come fast.

The ancient Saxons and Celts believed an itchy palm brought good luck, but if you scratched it the luck would go away. The only way to keep it is to scratch your palm on a piece of wood.

The roots of the superstition can be traced back to the pre-Christian era. The Saxons believed that rubbing silver on your skin was a cure for many diseases, so they would rub an itchy palm with silver. This eventually became the superstition that silver was coming your way. This belief was later adopted by Roman fortune tellers and turned into the version we know today.

If your left hand itches:
- you’re likely to become rich.
- indicates you’ll be on the receiving end of several opportunities.
- means you’ll be on the receiving end of a fight.
- quickly scratch it on wood and you’ll receive money.

If your right hand itches:
- don’t scratch it or you’ll lose money.
- you’ll meet someone new
- you’ll shake hands with a stranger.
- you should clean house – company’s coming.
- a friend you haven’t seen in a long time is coming to pay a call.
- it means you want to give someone a beating.
- news from afar or a letter is coming your way, but you’ll have to spit in your palm to receive it.
- money is coming, but to get it you’ll have to shove your hand in your pocket. If you don’t, the money will never come.

There is also the belief that itchy palms are an indication of some kind of internal energy. The right hand indicates active energy and the left hand is passive, or receptive. So if your right palm itches it means the energy is moving outward, and if the left one is itchy it means you are receiving energy.

Or an itchy palm might just mean you’ve got a bad case of eczema or you’ve touched something you’re allergic to. Better check with your doctor, just in case.