Day 65 - Lucky 13

My birthday falls on the 13th every year!  But is it really lucky?  Tok Thompson states in the "STUDIA MYTHOLOGICA SLAVICA" that "The number thirteen has several strong connotations in a number of diverse cultures." He goes on to say that there are "surprising, and puzzling...similarities of associations (the moon, women’s magic, omens, etc)." (Thompson, 2002) His "paper attempts a cross-cultural view of the number thirteen, and arrives at a hypothetical explanation to account for the widespread occurrences of the phenomena." (Thompson, 2002)

"Several cultures have been investigated, but the ones in which thirteen is an “ominous” number are revealed to use, or have used, lunar-solar calendars. My hypothesis is that the number thirteen’s connotations derive ultimately from a natural, and naturally observable regularity-- the 12.41 lunations per solar year. Hence, cultures with a lunar-solar calendar are forced to reckon with an odd thirteenth month every year, and this month is, in this hypothesis, what has given the number thirteen its unique and widespread cultural properties." (Thompson, 2002)

So, why do we think that the number 13 is so unlucky?  I for one believe in the unlucky part of the number as every birthday that I have had that fell on the 13th did not turn out well.  Maybe it was all in my mind, or maybe there is another side to the number!

This is Day 65's ATCs that I submitted in the 2010 Project ATC 365.

Reference:

Thompson, T. (2002). The Thirteenth Number: then, there/ here and now. Retrieved March 6, 2010, from STUDIA MYTHOLOGICA SLAVICA: http://sms.zrc-sazu.si/En/SMS5/Thompson5.html