Dragon Zodiac Leo+ Various Superstitions!

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Hello guys! I've finally come back to the Zodiac dragons series that I started around 5 months ago! The last zodiac I drew was Cancer around 3 months ago. I look forward to completing this series and then moving on to Inktober and Octobit :D

I'll keep the art process short, instead I'll focus on some interesting superstitions from across the world. If you'd like to know more details about my drawing process I highly recommend checking out my older posts that I will link at the end of this post.

Zodiacs and horoscopes are quite often associated with divination and paganism, so some find it discomforting. This association also makes me think superstitions, which are surprisingly quite prevalent whether it be about black cats or broken mirrors.

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I grew up in a relatively superstitious and very religious household. Personally I'm not superstitious (or religious), but I do find it fascinating and some superstitions are simply funny to me.

For example, I was forbidden to whistle at home as a kid, because whistling "brings bad financial misfortune". So I actually learned to whistle only when I was 20 years old and I'm still pretty terrible at it :D

A fun superstition that I kind of like is: if a fork falls on the ground then a female guest will arrive soon and if a knife a male one. So as a kid whenever that happened we would have a guessing game of who would come and visit us.

I was always wondering why some superstitions exist at all, so I took this opportunity to discover why. The following is the explanation for the most common superstition I experienced: knocking on the wood after saying something negative. And it's usually accompanied with a funny "pfu, pfu, pfu" sound.

Knocking on the wood

Ukrainians usually knock on wood in order to get rid of the evil eye. This superstition has reached such an absurdity that some people in Ukraine even knock on their head if there is no wood nearby. In ancient times people believed that if you touch the wooden surface, you touch the Christ, who was crucified on a wooden cross. Thus, asking for protection from evil forces.
Source: https://theculturetrip.com/europe/ukraine/articles/9-superstitions-that-only-ukrainians-will-understand/

Some other cultures also have knocking on wood, but they believed that good spirits lived in trees and that by knocking on anything made from wood we could call upon these spirits for protection against misfortune.

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Superstitions by culture:

Greece: Sneezing: According to an old superstition, sneezing is thought to mean that someone is talking or thinking about you.

Germany: Toasting someone with water is to wish death upon them.

Middle- East: Being next to a cat will make you infertile.

Italy: Starting the year with lentils, as their coin-like shape serve as a reminder of money and they help ensure that the coming year will be prosperous. Also according to this tradition, the more you eat, the richer you’ll be.

China: Hearing a crow cawing between 3 and 7 am means the hearer will receive gifts; hearing a crow caw between 7 and 11am means rain and wind; and between 11am and 1pm means quarrels.

UK: Opening an umbrella indoors brings bad luck.

Japan: The first dream one has on the a new year will become true. (Hatsuyume)

Thailand: Bad luck will come to a house if you enter through the window.

Other interesting superstitions:

Odd vs even number of flowers: odd is for joyous events while even is for funerals. Some cultures have even more meanings based on specific numbers.
Don't gift an empty wallet as "empty wallet will attract poverty". This belief is common in Russia and Italy

Info Sources:

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/11/23/gift-superstitions_a_23286561/

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2017-01-13/13-superstitions-from-around-the-world

dazeinfo.com/2010/06/22/superstitions-across-different-countries-an-overview/

theculturetrip.com/middle-east/united-arab-emirates/articles/9-superstitions-arabs-still-believe/

theculturetrip.com/europe/italy/articles/the-superstitions-in-italy-people-still-believe/

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About Leo Zodiac:

July 22 – August 23

People born under the sign of Leo are natural born leaders. Leo's element is fire and they are dramatic, creative, self-confident, humorous and dominant. Leo often has many friends for they are generous and loyal. Leo is capable of uniting different groups of people and leading them as one towards a shared cause. It's most compatible with Aquarius and Gemini.

If you're Leo, does this describe you well?

Info Source: http://www.astrology-zodiac-signs.com/zodiac-signs/leo/

Does that Leo beard look like a tongue? xD