Superstitions about appearances of shadow people in photographs, mirrors, and windows are rampant.
A majority of shadow superstitions center on the belief that seeing a shadow person is an omen of death.
Other shadow superstitions include the belief that a shadow person can steal your soul, and that if you come into contact with one, you will be possessed by a demon.
In this blog post, we will explore ten shadow superstitions from around the world that will make you scared.
1. Keep Your Shadow Out of Coffins
All over the world we see a persistent warning to keep one’s shadow out of the way of an open coffin left it gets buried with the dead.
In Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology we read:
A wealth of lore, legend and superstition surrounds both the reflection and the shadow the world over. The Zulu, for example, believe it dangerous to look into a dark pool lest he be captured by the in-dwelling spirit, while the shadow – that darker ‘other self’ which followed man everywhere – might be lost or injured by carelessness. At a Chinese funeral great care is taken to ensure that no mourner’s shadow is trapped inside the coffin; while it is the practice of children everywhere to stamp gleefully upon each other’s shadow, play-acting the ritual killing of the soul.
2. Shadow Archetype
Everyone possesses a shadow archetype.
For example, in Mysteries of the Unknown:
The shadow archetype, which is symbolized as the same sex as the dreamer, generally represents the darker, repressed side of one’s character – the part most people choose not to face in waking life because it is inconsistent with their self image… True to archetypal form, a shadow may have positive as well as negative aspects.
3. No Shadow, No Soul
Those who cast no shadow have sold their soul to the Devil.
Tradition states that the person who has sold his or her soul to the Devil loses his or her shadow. The meaning of this is that being without a shadow, the person no longer exists as a spiritual being or as a soul. The Devil ceases to create the shadow of that person because it no longer exists.
The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols.
4. Damage to Shadow
It is a widespread belief that you can cause injury to another person by stepping on or symbolically cutting his shadow.
5. Shadow Dancing
Since many people believe that the shadow belongs to the Devil, dancing with one’s shadow is to play with the Devil and gain his attention.
6. The Devil Gets Your Shadow
If the Devil can’t take over your body, he will go after your shadow.
There is an old superstition that when the devil cannot succeed in getting a man himself, he will sometimes steal his shadow. The German poet Chamisso embodies this superstition in his famous story of Peter Schlemihl, who sold his shadow.
Encyclopaedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World.
7. Shadows While Fishing
According to fisherman lore, you must keep your shadow out of the water or else you will scare the fish away.
8. Shadow of Future Husband
The following curious superstition is found in Superstitions: 10,000 You Really Need:
After you have made ready for bed, set a lighted candle on the floor in the center of the room and step over it; there, reflected on your nightgown, will be the shadow of your future husband.
9. Shadow of a Redhead
It is bad luck to step over the shadow of a redhead.
10. Your Shadow in the Mirror
If you accidentally spot your shadow while standing in front of a mirror, expect news of a death.
11. Shadow Reading
In The Word, Volume 13, we learn that a person can use their shadow to read their future.
…one may predict his future condition by gazing at his own shadow. It is believed that the person who looks steadily at his shadow when thrown on the ground by the light of the sun or the moon and then looks upward at the sky, will there see the outline of his figure or shadow from which, according to its color and the signs in it, he may learn what will befall him in the future. It is said that this should be attempted when there is a clear and cloudless sky. Of course the time of day would affect the size of the shadow, accordingly as the orb of light which projected it was near to or above the horizon, and it is said that one who would gaze at his shadow should do so when the sun or moon is rising.
Sources:
Encyclopaedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World. A Comprehensive Library of Human Belief and Practice in the Mysteries of Life. Volume 2. Cora Linn Morrison Daniels, Charles McClellan Stevens. 1903.
Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology. Hans Holzer.
Mysteries of the Unknown. From the editors of Time Life Books.
The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols. Jean Chevalier and Alain Gheerbrant. Translated by John Buchanan-Brown.
Publications of the Texas Folklore Society. Issue 1. 1916.
Superstitions: 10,000 You Really Need. 1998.
The Word. Volume 13. 1911.
