Friday the 13th is back!!!

Ah yes, the infamous Friday the 13th. Feared by many, it's also the title of a movie series... But I think I'll stick to the date rather than the movies. There have been quite a few Friday the 13s recently: June 13, 2003, then February 13, 2004, and now, August 13, 2004 is a Friday again – enough to send chills down your spine. Here's some info I found on Indiatimes.com



"So why do people fear Friday the 13th? What makes people so jittery, even stopping them from going to work on this day? Thirteen is an out and out occult number. Apparently, witches meet in groups of 13 to receive orders from their masters and this 13th being a Friday,its a deadly combination.But is this combination really dangerous? What is the mystery and rationale behind the fear of Friday the 13th?



The myth of the dread of 13: The number 13 is dreaded by most people the world over. Hotels do not have room number 13; even the opera houses in Italy avoid this number. One reason for the dread of 13 is because it is an occult symbol, in occult it signifies the skeleton with scythe (death) reaping down men (the picture of a crowned head of a man fallen at the point of the scythe). At its back, is a female head with flowing hair parted in the centre. This is a symbol of the conception of realisation. This number indicates death, transmutation, deception, destruction, hope, faith and rebirth. In the Kabala, at number 13, arises the Emperor, completely armed to gain his empire. In fact, the occult school says, 'He who understands 13 hath the keys of

power and Dominion.'



The ill-luck associated with the number 13 originated from the fate of Jesus as the 13th guest among his 12 apostles in the Biblical account of the Last Supper. The Bible tells us that one of the dinner guests – apostles – went on to betray Jesus Christ, setting the stage for the crucifixion of Jesus on the next day—a Friday! It was, for many years, designated the day for capital punishment and informally referred to as "hangman's day."



More Facts



• Number 10 Paraskevidekatriaphobics is the phenomenon which describes

those afflicted with a morbid fear of Friday the 13th.

• 8% of Americans won't go to work on Friday the 13th.

• Some won't eat in restaurants.

• Many wouldn't think of setting a wedding on the date.

• Chinese and Egyptians regarded the number as lucky.

• The Turks so disliked the number 13 that it was practically expunged

from their vocabulary (Brewer, 18 9! 4).

• Many cities do not have a 13th Street or a 13th Avenue.

• Many buildings don't have a 13th floor.

• If you have 13 letters in your name, you will have the devil's luck

(Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy and

Albert De Salvo all have 13 letters in their names).

• It was on a Friday, supposedly, that Eve tempted Adam with the

forbidden fruit.

• Tradition also holds that the Great Flood began on a Friday.



It is said

• Never change your bed on Friday; it will bring bad dreams.

• Don't embark on a trip on Friday or you will have misfortune.

• If you cut your nails on Friday, you cut them for sorrow.

• Ships that set sail on a Friday will have bad luck.



Friday The 13th Is Also Considered Unlucky Because...

• There are thirteen lunar months in a year, and the day Friday (named

after the Goddess Frigga) was sacred to many Goddesses, including

Aphrodite, Venus, and their African counterpart Yemaja.

• Friday is the day of the Goddess Freya and because Christian monks

considered everything associated with female divinity unlucky.

• Friday the 13th was especially unlucky since it combined Freya's

sacred day with her sacred number.

• Her number, 13, was drawn from the 13 months of the pagan, lunar

goddess-given menstrual calendar.

• When pagan votaries of Freya continued to celebrate her rites on

Friday, the Church designated her day as the day of "devil worship." "



So am I afraid? Of course not!!!!