Luck
Bad
The number 13 is considered an unlucky number in some countries. [11] The end of the Mayan calendar's 13th Baktun was superstitiously feared as a harbinger of the apocalyptic 2012 phenomenon. [12] Fear of the number 13 has a specifically recognized phobia, triskaidekaphobia, a word first recorded in 1911. [13] The superstitious sufferers of triskaidekaphobia try to avoid bad luck by keeping away from anything numbered or labelled thirteen. As a result, companies and manufacturers use another way of numbering or labelling to avoid the number, with hotels and tall buildings being conspicuous examples (thirteenth floor). [14] It is also considered unlucky to have thirteen guests at a table. Friday the 13th has been considered an unlucky day. [11]
There are a number of theories as to why the number thirteen became associated with bad luck, but none of them have been accepted as likely. [11]
- The Last Supper
- At Jesus Christ's Last Supper, there were thirteen people around the table, counting Christ and the twelve apostles. Some believe this is unlucky because one of those thirteen, Judas Iscariot, was the betrayer of Jesus Christ. From the 1890s, a number of English language sources relate the "unlucky" thirteen to an idea that at the Last Supper, Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th to sit at the table. [15]
- Knights Templar
- On Friday, 13 October 1307, King Philip IV of France ordered the arrest of the Knights Templar, [11] and most of the knights were tortured and killed.
- Full moons
- A year with 13 full moons instead of 12 posed problems for the monks in charge of the calendars. "This was considered a very unfortunate circumstance, especially by the monks who had charge of the calendar of thirteen months for that year, and it upset the regular arrangement of church festivals. For this reason, thirteen came to be considered an unlucky number." [16] However, a typical century has about 37 years that have 13 full moons, compared to 63 years with 12 full moons, and typically every third or fourth year has 13 full moons. [17]
- A suppressed lunar cult
- In ancient cultures, the number 13 represented femininity, because it corresponded to the number of lunar (menstrual) cycles in a year (13 × 28 = 364 days). The theory is that, as the solar calendar triumphed over the lunar, the number thirteen became anathema. [11] [18]
- Hammurabi's code
- There is a myth that the earliest reference to thirteen being unlucky or evil is in the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi (circa 1780 BC), where the thirteenth law is said to be omitted. In fact, the original Code of Hammurabi has no numeration. The translation by L.W. King (1910), edited by Richard Hooker, omitted one article: If the seller have gone to (his) fate (i. e., have died), the purchaser shall recover damages in said case fivefold from the estate of the seller. Other translations of the Code of Hammurabi, for example the translation by Robert Francis Harper, include the 13th article. [19]
Good
- France: 13 was traditionally considered a lucky number in France prior to the First World War, and was used in numerical form as a good luck symbol on postcards and charms. [21]
- Italy: 13 was the lucky number in the Italian football pools (Totocalcio). The Italian expression "fare tredici" (literally, "make thirteen") means to hit the jackpot. [22]
- United States: Colgate University also considers 13 a lucky number. They were founded in 1819 by 13 men with 13 dollars, 13 prayers and 13 articles. [23] (To this day, members of the Colgate community consider the number 13 a good omen.) In fact, the campus address is 13 Oak Drive in Hamilton, New York, and the male a cappella group is called the Colgate 13.
Other
In the Mayan Tzolk'in calendar, trecenas mark cycles of 13-day periods. The pyramids are also set up in 9 steps divided into 7 days and 6 nights, 13 days total.
In the standard 52-card deck of playing cards there are four suits, each of 13 ranks.
A baker's dozen, devil's dozen, [24] long dozen, or long measure is 13, one more than a standard dozen. The thirteenth loaf is called the vantage loaf because it is considered advantageous overall to get 13 loaves for the price of 12. [25]
In Arthurian legend, which was recorded in Medieval texts, King Arthur is resting in Avalon with the twelve greatest knights of the Round Table, totalling 13, and will return when his country is in peril. [26]
The Thirteen Treasures of Britain are a series of magical items listed in late Medieval texts.
The Thirteen Postures of Tai Chi are thirteen postures (consisting of Eight Gates and Five Steps) which are considered to be of fundamental importance in the practice of tai chi. [27]
In astronomy there are 13 star constellations in the zodiac (including Ophiuchus); this can be compared with astrology where there are 12 signs of the zodiac.
In Judaism, 13 signifies the age at which a boy matures and becomes a Bar Mitzvah, i.e., a full member of the Jewish faith (counts as a member of Minyan). The number of principles of Jewish faith according to Maimonides. According to Rabbinic commentary on the Torah, God has 13 Attributes of Mercy.
In a tarot card deck, XIII is the card of Death, usually picturing the Pale Horse with its rider.
