Superstitions

I was training in the dojo tonight when another student pointed out a very large praying mantis hanging on the window of the school. Growing up, my mother always told me that the praying mantis was a sign, a bad omen, bringers of evil and the such. The female praying mantis kills the male mantis after breeding, usually by biting off its head and this was supposed to be an omen of possible death or cursing of some nature. I have also heard the opposite side of the coin, saying that a praying mantis is lucky, and a mantis will kneel when Angels are near. Very unlucky to kill one. I have also read that the mantis is a symbol of stillness, it never makes a move unless it is absolutely sure it is the right move to make. So, one thinks where did these superstitions originate and which one is correct, if either?

The first thing that you have to look at is possible origins to the superstition. My grandfather has Native American ancestry and as a result he picked up many of the Native American superstitions and passed them to my mom, who in turn passed them to me. Could these superstitions be a result of prairie life?

Secondly, does the superstition have any basis in our modern day life? Meaning do omens exist in modern life?

Let us define "superstitions" My dear friend Mr. Webster defines "superstition" as

1. A belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, false conception of causation.

2. Irrational attitude of mind towards the supernatural, nature, or God

3. A notion maintained despite evidence to the contrary.

Looking at the first definition, one word stands out, "ignorance." I don't consider myself "ignorant" per say. I do live with the fact that I don't know everything there is to know about everything and I am ok with that. But to call myself ignorant because I believe in a superstition seems a little far fetched to me. So, I will strike that definition off the list for the time being.

The second definition I think is getting warmer. The word "irrational" rings a bell. Phobias are irrational. Many superstitions are made from phobias, so following this logic, superstitions must be an irrational product of an event that happened to one person many hundreds or thousands of years ago, that was so severe that he or she passed it along causing mass phobias of said cause of event, eventually giving birth to a new superstition.

The last definition supports my theory. A notion maintained despite the evidence to the contrary. Is there any evidence that a praying mantis brings bad luck? I haven't seen any hard, concrete evidence suggesting that it does. As a matter of fact, the mantis folds its hands as in prayer. Just observing the mantis in its normal habitat, following its normal daily routine, one would most likely observe patience almost to the point of meditation. Could this be a sign saying we need to slow down, observe our surroundings, practice patience in our every day life and to be more mindful of the choices we make?

I would venture to say that maybe the praying mantis isn't a bad omen after all. Maybe they do have bad "qualities" to them, but what animal doesn't? So, this leads me back to my original quam, "Should I follow in tradition and pass along the superstitions as my family did to me?" I think that I will pass the superstitions along, however, I don't think it's something that I want to enstill into my son. It's a part of my heritage, history, and daily life but I'm not sure that I want my son to feel as confined and trapped as I do when I come head to head with a known superstition. I think it's fun to learn new things, and to him superstitions will be nothing more than stories as I finally have had time to work through a few of them rationally.