A year for magical thinking
Jan. 1st, 2009 02:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cleolindaSomething you've probably noticed about me is that I'm a bit superstitious. I was talking with someone yesterday about that--Yeats, for example, was supposedly asked if he really believed in fairies, and he (allegedly) replied, "No, but don't tell them I said that." That's kind of how I am with superstition; I'm not crazy-go-nuts about it, but I feel like taking certain precautionary measures can't hurt. And I suspect that there's a sharp increase in superstitious activity when things aren't going well. Like, you know, THE WHOLE WORLD RIGHT NOW. That's the thing about magical thinking, I guess--it's an attempt to regain control where none can be had. The year 2008 sucked in many different ways for many different people, so I imagine a lot of us are taking "magical" precautions now--maybe they won't do any good, but good God, they can't hurt.
I have my own weird little superstitions--I don't know where I got this from or what it's even supposed to do, but I feel like you must change the calendar on the first day of the month, no sooner and definitely no later. But 2008 was such a pernicious beast that I made sure to take both my calendars down before midnight--I didn't want 2008 to get its dirty fingerprints on 2009, if that makes any sense. (Whereas if I'd had a really good year, I would have left it up until morning, to make a little good fortune rub off on the new year.) And then I put up my new 2009 calendar today.
I'm also trying to make sure I only listen to fun, happy music (nothing about broken hearts or endless longing) and do fun, happy things. FUN AND HAPPY, OKAY? I've also heard that red is a good color to wear on New Year's Day, so I have a kind of deep raspberry pink sweater to wear, and also that you should wear gold to bring prosperity (this is an example of sympathetic "magic," I think? "Like brings like," basically?), so I'm going to wear the locket and bracelet I got for Christmas. I mean, I'm just going to be hanging out around the house, but I DON'T CARE, THESE THINGS ARE IMPORTANT. I can't intimidate any of the appliances into behaving this year, but I can control what I wear, dammit.
Despite my not being able to control the weather, it's bright and sunny, though. That seems like a good sign.
I have my own weird little superstitions--I don't know where I got this from or what it's even supposed to do, but I feel like you must change the calendar on the first day of the month, no sooner and definitely no later. But 2008 was such a pernicious beast that I made sure to take both my calendars down before midnight--I didn't want 2008 to get its dirty fingerprints on 2009, if that makes any sense. (Whereas if I'd had a really good year, I would have left it up until morning, to make a little good fortune rub off on the new year.) And then I put up my new 2009 calendar today.
I'm also trying to make sure I only listen to fun, happy music (nothing about broken hearts or endless longing) and do fun, happy things. FUN AND HAPPY, OKAY? I've also heard that red is a good color to wear on New Year's Day, so I have a kind of deep raspberry pink sweater to wear, and also that you should wear gold to bring prosperity (this is an example of sympathetic "magic," I think? "Like brings like," basically?), so I'm going to wear the locket and bracelet I got for Christmas. I mean, I'm just going to be hanging out around the house, but I DON'T CARE, THESE THINGS ARE IMPORTANT. I can't intimidate any of the appliances into behaving this year, but I can control what I wear, dammit.
Despite my not being able to control the weather, it's bright and sunny, though. That seems like a good sign.
