Omens
Threw out history man has had omens that have spiritual connections to the things around them. The superstitions of mankind, in many cases, have a direct relation to history. By writing this I hope to inform readers of the omens within history. I will also include many modern beliefs as well. Omens are anything perceived or happening that is believed to portend a good or evil event or circumstance in the future.
Roman Omens
In roman society superstitions controlled many daily activities. Romans believed that objects and animals around them had a divine spirit within them. The romans performed many strange rituals. In one of them they would cut open an animal, and depending on the alignment of the insides it would predict the future events. The romans had these superstitions to help to explain the world around them. Some of the roman’s superstitions are still around today.
Elizabethan Omens
During the Elizabethan Era people had many superstitions. They believed in things like walking under a ladder or a black cat crossing your path was bad luck. Many people of the Elizabethan Era believed in witches. They used the witches as a scapegoat to make sense of the all the troubles during the dark ages. They believed that anyone with a boil or wart was a witch and was burned.
Shakespeare’s use of omens
Shakespeare utilized the superstitions of the romans with his play, “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar”. During the play Caesar had a priest make a sacrifice. He cut the animal open to find the animal had no heart witch was a very bad omen. The priest told Caesar that he should not leave his house for the day because of it. In the play, it creates suspense through foreshadowing.
Present Day Beliefs
Now there are still tons of beliefs and strange superstitions. Some people are very serious about superstitions, yet most people don’t take much notice to them. Some people believe a broken mirror is a bad omen. This omen came from our ancient ancestors. They believed that the image you saw in the mirror was actually your soul. When the mirror broke it symbolized your soul straying away from your body. To fix this you had to wait seven hours before burying the peices.