Spilled salt: superstition explained

The belief

Spilling salt is said to bring bad luck or a quarrel, and throwing a pinch over the left shoulder is said to blind the devil who waits there or to undo the harm.

Where it comes from

Salt was valuable and used in sacred rites, so spilling it was a waste and an ill omen. The scene in Leonardo da Vinci's painting of the Last Supper where Judas knocks over the salt is often cited, though it has no direct link to the origin.

What is really going on

If you spill salt, wipe it up, and throw a pinch over your shoulder if it makes you feel better.

See also

• Broken mirror Breaking a mirror is said to bring seven years of bad luck, a belief traced to t
• Walking under a ladder Thought unlucky in much of the West; one explanation is that a ladder against a
• Opening an umbrella indoors Said to bring bad luck in Britain and the United States; the practical reason is
• A clock as a gift in China Giving a clock is avoided in Chinese culture, because the phrase for giving a cl
• Cutting nails at night Elders in India, Korea and elsewhere advise against it. Before electric light it
• Chopsticks upright in rice In Japan, China and Korea, chopsticks standing in a bowl of rice look like incen

Questions people ask

This page reports popular beliefs for interest. Superstitions do not predict or cause anything, and nothing here is advice.