Friday the 13th
- Niamh Aoibhe
- Oct 13, 2023
- 3 min read
Origins, Myths, and Superstitions That Explain Friday the 13th
From Ancient Rome to mediaeval witches.
Friday the 13th is definitely up there with walking under ladders and opening an umbrella indoors: we’ve known about these so-called bad luck situations our whole lives, but most of us have no idea where they came from or why they’re bad. Plus, they’re all rare enough that you’re not super likely to be bringing on whatever bad omens they bring anyway. Unless you just landed a summer job at the worst possible location, you’re probably not too concerned with the dangers of a Friday that happens to fall on the 13th day of the month.
But there’s way more to Friday the 13th than slasher films. A long, ominous history helped turned this otherwise harmless day into a maybe less harmless day, depending on how superstitious you are.
People may have started worrying about it in the Middle Ages
Like most traditions that make no sense and are kind of terrifying, the ominousness of Friday the 13th most likely started in the Medieval era, when bored Europeans with very little light invented tons of terrifying ideas to scare each other into forgetting how awful the Middle Ages were.
But it was sort of a thing in Roman times, too
In Ancient Rome, the number 13 was the issue. The irrational fear of the number 13 is now called triskaidekaphobia. But the Roman logic was more sound than a random fear: allegedly, witches in those times gathered in groups of 12, and a 13th member was believed to be the devil. Which, if you’ve ever thrown a dinner party for a specific number of guests only to find one person just decided to bring an uninvited plus one, you’ll agree is accurate.
It has its own phobia name, too
Paraskevidekatriaphobia is the official word for fear of Friday the 13th. Now say it backwards.
The origins are vaguely Biblical
It sort of has to do with Jesus’s crucifixion, and the dinner he had beforehand. According to the Bible, there were 13 disciples present at the Last Supper — but the 13th guest was Judas, who is, according to the Bible, responsible for Jesus’s death. That death then happened on a Friday (the next day), so the two together resulted in the superstition. If you’re worried about it from this perspective, we recommend not hosting any dinner parties on Friday the 13th, and also not having any rude friends who would totally betray you for literally no reason.
It’s maybe the reason weddings usually happen on the weekend
Because of all the bad luck, weddings in the Middle Ages were generally held on any other day but Friday, and people were less likely to start a journey on a Friday. Actual weekends weren’t really introduced until around 1879, but the bad luck, plus the days for worship that follow, might have had something to do with shaping them.
People definitely still associate it with horror
People think of horror when it comes to Friday the 13th. If horror films are your thing, this is a great excuse to take a night off, pull back all the curtains, and absolutely terrify yourself. Not so into movies that leave you trembling for a full 90 minutes but still want to join in? We feel you. Mask your total and complete cowardice by suggesting a movie that “flips the genre on its side,” or whatever you need to say, like Cabin in the Woods. The comedy-satire-horror genre was definitely made for people who can’t sit through real slashers, and it’s our job to keep the industry booming as long as we’re still going to be scared.
It's also a day to celebrate the Great Goddess
The secret power of Friday 13th. A 14th century cover up.
Friday the 13th is actually good luck as it is associated with the 13 cycles of the moon in a lunar year, this is why a woman has 13 cycles a year and ovulates on the 13th day. In 1487 free thinking and Divine Female Energy was suppressed and labeled witchcraft by Heinrich Kramer who went forth to burn many healers on the stake due to forced ignorance and a hatred for powerful female leaders. This is why Friday the 13th is actually a spiritual day of enlightenment divine feminine energy and healing that should be sacred instead of hated.
Friday the 13th was considered a very powerful day to manifest, honor creativity and to celebrate beauty, wisdom and nourishment of the soul.
The Number 13 also holds an extremely potent feminine energy and is considered to be the number of death and rebirth, creation, fertility and blood.
This is because we have 13 Moon cycles every year and the average female also experiences 13 periods per year.
For Pagans 13 is the perfect number. It represents good luck and moving with the flow of Divine energy Going with the flow is an important part of Pagan perspectives.
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