Calling all students! When taking tests, if you use the same pencil to take the test that you used when studying, you will remember the answers to the questions. When it comes to herbs and spices, some are luckier than others. If you spill salt on the floor, you will experience bad luck unless you toss a pinch of salt over your left shoulder. It is said that the face of the devil is resting upon this shoulder. Spilling pepper is believed to lead to an argument between you and a friend, which may turn quite serious. If you plant rosemary at your doorstep, witches will think twice before bothering you.

If you are in need of good luck, you can hang a horseshoe above the doorway of your residence. Different customs surround this good luck charm. In Europe, horseshoes are tacked on the wall facing downward, where inhabitants of Ireland and Britain believe that the horseshoe should be placed in the upward position. This is to keep the luck from running out.

Have you ever heard the superstition where if you stand within a circle, evil cannot touch or harm you? When it comes to coins, it is considered bad luck to pick up a coin from the ground if it is on tails side up. Good luck can be found in coins that are heads side up.

Feeling as if you have been stabbed in the back? Perhaps you have crossed a superstition regarding the sharp-ended tool used to cut our meat and potatoes at the dinner table. For example, if you receive one of these cutting implements as a gift from a lover, it is a sign that your love will not last very long. For expecting mothers, you should know that some believe that a knife placed under the bed while giving birth may help to ease the pain. Remember that this is a superstition and not sound medical advice. Arguments may arise if you have knives at the table that are crossing one another. Another sign of bad luck involves the opening and closing of a pocketknife. Bad luck comes to those who allow someone else to close a pocketknife that they have opened. When it comes to friends, if one of yours gives you a knife, it is customary to give them a coin to keep your friendship intact.

When a child who has suffered a recent illness, some believe that if you place a red ribbon on them, this will keep the illness from returning. When cooking soup for dinner, if the end product seems a bit salty, it is a sign that you are in love. Speaking of salt again, if it is put on the doorstep of a new residence, it is believed that no evil can enter the home.