Italy’s best-known unlucky date is Friday the 17th, while the red cornicello of Naples remains one of the country’s most recognizable protective objects. This page documents 100 widely reported Italian superstitions, omens, and folk beliefs, with attention to regional differences and the fact that many Italians treat them as jokes, family habits, or cultural memories rather than literal rules.
Italian folklore is not a single national system. Beliefs recorded in Campania, Sicily, Sardinia, Basilicata, or rural Alpine communities may be unknown elsewhere, while urban customs often mix older local ideas with wider European habits. Religious devotion, household etiquette, seasonal observation, and superstition also overlap, so each item is described as a belief rather than a verified cause or prediction.
Unlucky Numbers, Dates, and Seasonal Omens
Friday the 17th
In Italy, Friday the 17th is the date most often linked with bad luck. Some people avoid travel, contracts, weddings, or risky decisions on that day, although the custom is far from universal.
The Number 17
Seventeen may be skipped in hotel rooms, seating plans, or personal choices. Its unlucky reputation is often connected with the Roman numeral XVII, which can be rearranged as VIXI, Latin for “I have lived.”
The First New Year Visitor
In some regional households, the character or appearance of the first person entering after midnight is read as an omen for the year ahead. Interpretations differ, and the custom is less common in urban life.
Thirteen People at the Table
Dining in a group of thirteen is avoided by some families because the number is associated with the Last Supper and the death that followed. Hosts may add another guest or set a separate place.
Thirteen as a Lucky Number
Unlike seventeen, thirteen can also carry good fortune in Italy. The old phrase fare tredici, linked with winning the football pools, helped give the number a positive meaning in games and betting.
A Leap Year Brings Trouble
The saying anno bisesto, anno funesto presents a leap year as troublesome or unlucky. It is a traditional rhyme rather than a prediction, yet it still appears in conversation when an unusual year goes badly.
Neither Tuesday nor Friday
The proverb di Venere e di Marte non si sposa, non si parte warns against marrying, beginning a journey, or starting major work on Friday or Tuesday. Mars gave Tuesday a martial tone, while Friday carried religious associations.
Following the Moon for Farm Work
Traditional rural calendars may assign sowing, pruning, bottling wine, or cutting hair to waxing or waning phases of the moon. Some timing rules reflect inherited farm practice, while supernatural claims remain unverified.
Saint John’s Dew
In parts of Italy, dew gathered on the night of 23–24 June is said to bring beauty, health, or protection. The custom belongs to a wider cluster of midsummer beliefs associated with herbs, water, and renewal.
Wishes on Saint Lawrence Night
Around 10 August, falling stars are popularly linked with wishes. The night of San Lorenzo gives the custom an Italian calendar setting, even though meteors are a natural astronomical event rather than a response to wishes.
The Evil Eye, Protective Gestures, and Amulets
The Malocchio
The malocchio is the feared harm of an envious or admiring gaze. In southern regions and the islands especially, sudden fatigue, headaches, or repeated misfortune may be interpreted through this folk belief.
Oil Drops in Water
A traditional test for the evil eye places drops of olive oil in water and reads the way they spread. Procedures and prayers vary by family; the rite is cultural and cannot diagnose illness or explain medical symptoms.
The Red Cornicello
The curved red cornicello is strongly associated with Naples and southern Italy. Worn as jewelry or kept in a home, shop, or vehicle, it is meant to deflect envy and attract luck.
The Horn-Hand Gesture
Pointing the index and little finger downward forms the mano cornuta, a gesture used to ward off bad luck or the evil eye. Pointing it at a person can be insulting, so meaning depends on direction and context.
Touching Iron
Where English speakers may touch wood, Italians often say toccare ferro and touch iron after mentioning a feared possibility. The act is a quick way of distancing oneself from tempting fate.
A Horseshoe Above the Door
A horseshoe fixed near an entrance is treated as a protective object in some homes and rural buildings. One version keeps the open ends upward to hold luck; another turns them down so luck pours over visitors.
The Cimaruta
The cimaruta is a branching southern Italian amulet, especially linked with Campania. Older examples combine rue-like branches with small protective symbols, showing how plant lore, religion, and household magic could overlap.
The Mano Fica Amulet
The clenched hand with the thumb between two fingers appears in older Italian amulets. Its provocative shape was believed to distract or repel hostile forces, much like ancient Mediterranean apotropaic objects.
Red Coral for Protection
Red coral jewelry has long been used in parts of southern Italy and Sardinia as protection, especially for children. Its color, organic origin, and branching form helped connect it with life and defense against envy.
A Red Ribbon Against Envy
A small red ribbon may be tied to a cradle, garment, bag, or domestic object to guard against the evil eye. The practice varies widely and is often performed quietly within the family.
Garlic and Rue Near the Entrance
Garlic, rue, or mixed herb bundles have been placed near doors, kitchens, or stables in regional folk practice. Their strong smell and old medicinal associations helped them acquire a protective reputation.
Blessed Olive or Palm at Home
Branches received during Palm Sunday may be kept near a doorway, religious image, or field. For some families this is devotion; for others it also carries a folk hope of protection from storms, envy, or household danger.
Household Objects and Everyday Actions
Breaking a Mirror
A broken mirror is commonly said to bring seven years of bad luck. The belief is shared with many European cultures, but it remains familiar in Italian households and popular speech.
Opening an Umbrella Indoors
Opening an umbrella inside the house is treated as an invitation to misfortune. Practical risks in cramped rooms may have helped preserve the warning, but the bad-luck claim has no proven basis.
Walking Under a Ladder
Passing beneath a ladder is avoided both for safety and because the triangular space may be read as symbolically dangerous. The practical reason is stronger: tools or the ladder itself can fall.
Putting a Hat on the Bed
A hat placed on a bed is considered unlucky in many Italian families. One explanation recalls priests or doctors setting hats near the bed of a dying person, giving the gesture an association with illness or death.
Shoes on the Table
Shoes placed on a table are linked with bad luck, disrespect, or death. The taboo also has an obvious hygiene basis, which helps explain why it remains strong even among people who reject superstition.
A Handbag on the Floor
Putting a purse or handbag on the floor is said to make money disappear. The belief is often expressed as a warning to lift the bag onto a chair or hook and protect one’s finances.
Leaving Scissors Open
Open scissors may be seen as cutting harmony in the home or inviting an argument. Closing them after use also reduces the risk of accidental injury.
Giving a Knife Without a Coin
A knife given as a present is believed to cut the relationship between giver and receiver. The recipient may return a small coin, turning the exchange into a symbolic purchase.
Sweeping Over Someone’s Feet
When a broom brushes an unmarried person’s feet, the person is said to risk never marrying. The belief appears in several regions and is usually treated playfully today.
Sweeping After Dark
Some households avoid sweeping at night because it is said to remove luck or prosperity from the home. The custom may also reflect older conditions when poor lighting made small valuables easier to lose.
Three People Making a Bed
A regional household warning says that three people should not make a bed together. Versions differ, but the act may be linked with future quarrels, illness, or bad luck for the person who sleeps there.
Rocking an Empty Chair
Moving an empty rocking chair is sometimes said to invite a spirit or disturb the peace of the house. This is a wider European motif that survives in some Italian family stories.
Sleeping With Feet Toward the Door
Positioning a bed so the sleeper’s feet point directly toward the door may be avoided because the dead were traditionally carried out feet first. The association is symbolic, not a safety rule.
Bread, Wine, Salt, and Money Omens
Spilling Salt
Spilled salt is one of Italy’s best-known bad-luck signs. Salt was once valuable, and its religious and preservative roles helped make waste feel ominous as well as careless.
Passing Salt Hand to Hand
In some families, the salt cellar is placed on the table rather than handed directly to another person. Direct passing is said to cause a quarrel or transfer bad luck.
Spilling Olive Oil
Where spilled wine may be welcomed, spilled olive oil is often treated as a bad omen. Its historic cost and household value offer a practical reason for the negative meaning.
Spilling Wine
Accidentally spilling wine can be greeted as a sign of abundance or coming joy. Some people dab a little behind the ear or touch the spill, turning the accident into a lucky moment.
Placing Bread Upside Down
A loaf set upside down is considered disrespectful and unlucky in many Italian homes. Bread carries religious, economic, and family meaning, so its position at the table may be treated carefully.
Marking the Loaf Before Cutting
Some older household customs make a small cross on the underside of a loaf before slicing it. The gesture is devotional for some families and a protective habit for others.
Toasting With Water
A toast made only with water is said to bring bad luck or deny the celebratory purpose of the gesture. The belief is social rather than medical; no one should feel pressured to drink alcohol.
Crossing Arms During a Toast
When several people clink glasses, crossing arms is sometimes avoided because it is believed to cause bad luck or a quarrel. The rule also prevents awkward collisions at crowded tables.
Lentils on New Year’s Eve
Lentils are eaten at the turn of the year because their coin-like shape symbolizes money and abundance. Cotechino or zampone often accompanies them, especially in northern and central Italy.
Red Underwear for the New Year
Wearing red underwear on New Year’s Eve is meant to attract luck, love, or fertility. A popular version says the garment should be new, received as a gift, and discarded afterward.
Pomegranate for Prosperity
Pomegranate seeds may symbolize fertility and abundance in southern and Mediterranean households. Serving or displaying the fruit at a festive meal can carry a wish for a productive year.
Never Give an Empty Wallet
A wallet or purse should contain at least one coin when given as a present. The small amount represents money that will continue to grow rather than an empty financial future.
Dropped Cutlery Announces a Visitor
A fallen spoon, fork, or knife may be read as a sign that a visitor is coming. Which utensil predicts which visitor changes from one family or region to another.
Animals, Birds, and Weather Signs
A Black Cat Crossing the Road
A black cat crossing one’s path is often treated as unlucky, though not every Italian shares the belief. The direction of travel and whether the cat turns back can change the interpretation.
A Cat Sneezing Near a Bride
A cat sneezing close to a bride on her wedding day is sometimes called a lucky sign for the marriage. This charming belief is reported more often in popular custom than formal ritual.
A Cat Washing Its Face
When a cat repeatedly washes its face or ears, some households say rain or visitors are coming. The observation may reflect normal grooming behavior rather than prediction.
An Owl Calling Near the House
The call of an owl or screech owl near a home can be read as a warning of illness, loss, or unwelcome news. The bird should not be harmed; its calls are natural behavior.
A Dog Howling at Night
A dog howling without an obvious cause may be interpreted as sensing death or a spirit. In reality, dogs howl for communication, anxiety, sounds, or other ordinary reasons.
A Bird Flying Indoors
A wild bird entering the house is sometimes viewed as a bearer of news or an omen of loss. The humane response is to reduce noise, open an exit, and let the bird leave safely.
A Swallow’s Nest Brings Luck
Swallows nesting under a roof or eave are welcomed in many rural traditions. Their return signals spring, and the nest may be treated as a blessing on the household.
A Ladybird Is Good Fortune
A ladybird landing on a person is read as a lucky event. Some versions count its spots or wait for it to fly away before making a wish.
A Cricket in the House
A cricket heard indoors may represent prosperity or household protection. Killing it is discouraged in folk belief, though the insect can simply be guided outside.
The Time of Day Changes a Spider’s Meaning
An old rhyme gives different meanings to a spider seen in the morning, afternoon, or evening. Regional wording varies, showing how the same animal can signal worry, money, or hope.
Butterflies and Moths as Visitors
A butterfly or moth entering a room may be linked with news, a guest, or the soul of someone remembered. Color and time of appearance can alter the story told about it.
Coins in the Pocket at the First Cuckoo
Hearing the first cuckoo of spring while carrying coins is said to promise money for the year. Finding one’s pocket empty may be read as the opposite.
Frogs Croaking Before Rain
Loud frog activity is often taken as a sign that rain is near. Frogs respond to humidity and breeding conditions, so the observation can have an environmental basis without being supernatural.
Ants Moving Eggs Predict Rain
When ants move brood or build higher mounds, rural observers may expect wet weather. Changes in moisture and soil conditions can influence insect behavior, but the sign does not provide a certain forecast.
Dreams and Signs From the Body
An Itchy Palm Means Money
An itching palm is associated with money arriving or leaving. Which hand receives and which hand pays differs between families, so two Italians may give opposite readings.
Ringing or Burning Ears
Ringing, warmth, or redness in an ear may be interpreted as someone talking about you. The left and right sides are sometimes assigned praise or criticism in different ways.
An Itchy Nose Predicts a Quarrel
An unexplained itch on the nose is said in some households to announce an argument, a kiss, or an unexpected visitor. The interpretation depends on local sayings.
Hiccups Mean Someone Is Thinking of You
Persistent hiccups are sometimes blamed on another person thinking or speaking about you. Hiccups are involuntary muscle spasms and usually have an ordinary physical cause.
A Twitching Eyelid as an Omen
An eyelid twitch may be read as good or bad news depending on the eye and region. Fatigue, stress, caffeine, or eye strain are more useful explanations when it recurs.
Sneezing Before Departure
Sneezing just as a journey begins may prompt a brief pause, a blessing, or a restart. The interruption is treated as a warning in some older family traditions.
Biting the Tongue
Accidentally biting one’s tongue is sometimes said to mean that someone is speaking badly about you or that you have narrowly avoided saying something harmful.
Dreaming of Teeth
Dreams in which teeth fall out or break are often linked with fear of loss, illness, or news about relatives. Meanings vary, and dreams do not predict medical events.
Dreaming of Fish
A dream about fish may be interpreted as a sign of pregnancy or fertility, especially in family conversations. It is a symbolic reading, not a pregnancy test.
The Dead Bring Messages in Dreams
Dreams of deceased relatives may be treated as visits, warnings, or requests for remembrance. In Naples and parts of the south, the dead may also be asked for lottery numbers.
The Neapolitan Smorfia
The Smorfia assigns numbers to dream images, people, events, and everyday scenes for play in the Lotto. It turns dreams into a shared symbolic vocabulary strongly associated with Naples.
Dreaming of Excrement Means Money
Within popular dream-number traditions, excrement can symbolize money or an unexpected gain. The reversal of something unpleasant into fortune is a common feature of folk dream interpretation.
Love, Weddings, Pregnancy, and Children
Rain Makes a Lucky Bride
The saying sposa bagnata, sposa fortunata turns wedding rain into a promise of good fortune. It also helps families reinterpret disappointing weather in a cheerful way.
The Groom Must Not See the Dress
A groom seeing the bride in her wedding dress before the ceremony is considered unlucky. The custom is now common beyond Italy, but many Italian couples still observe it.
The Bride Avoids a Complete Mirror Image
One wedding belief says the bride should not view herself fully dressed before leaving for the ceremony. She may remove a glove, shoe, or earring while looking in the mirror.
The Bride Should Not Sew Her Own Dress
Making or repairing one’s own wedding dress may be said to bring tears or hardship into the marriage. A relative or dressmaker traditionally completes the final stitches.
Pearls Represent Tears
Pearl jewelry is avoided by some brides because each pearl is said to represent a future tear. Other families value pearls, showing that wedding symbolism is never uniform.
A Coin in the Bride’s Shoe
A small coin placed in a bride’s shoe is intended to attract prosperity and protect the household from financial hardship. The practice is usually symbolic and discreet.
Carrying the Bride Over the Threshold
A groom may carry the bride into the new home so she does not stumble at the threshold, a space once treated as spiritually vulnerable. Today it is often a playful wedding gesture.
Throwing Rice
Rice thrown after the ceremony symbolizes fertility, food, and abundance. Venues may restrict it because grains can create mess or slipping hazards, so petals or paper alternatives are sometimes used.
Who Picks Up a Dropped Wedding Ring
If a ring falls during the ceremony, some families say the bride or groom should not retrieve it. The officiant or witness picks it up to keep the accident from becoming a bad omen.
Sitting at the Corner of a Table
An unmarried person seated at the sharp corner of a table may be told that marriage will be delayed for seven years. The warning is usually delivered jokingly.
Unsatisfied Cravings Cause Birthmarks
A traditional pregnancy belief says an unfulfilled food craving can leave a mark on the baby. Medical evidence does not support this connection.
Touching the Body Fixes the Birthmark’s Place
Another version says that if a pregnant woman touches her face or body during a craving or fright, the baby’s mark will appear in the same place. This is folklore, not biology.
Necklaces and the Umbilical Cord
Some older advice tells pregnant women to avoid necklaces, ropes, or raised arms for fear of wrapping the umbilical cord around the baby. These actions do not control cord position.
Stepping Over a Child Stops Growth
Stepping across a child lying or sitting on the floor is sometimes said to stop growth. A playful remedy is to step back over the child in the opposite direction.
Death, Spirits, Travel, Sea, Stage, School, and Sport
Covering Mirrors After a Death
In some regional mourning customs, mirrors are covered so the deceased is not trapped, reflected, or distracted. The practice also creates a subdued household atmosphere.
Opening a Window for the Soul
A window may be opened shortly after death to allow the soul to leave. This belief appears in various European traditions and survives in parts of Italy.
Stopping the Clock
A household clock may be stopped at the time of death as an act of remembrance or to mark the moment. Later generations may preserve the story even when the practice disappears.
Do Not Sweep While the Dead Are Present
Some families avoid sweeping until the deceased has left the house, fearing that the soul or the household’s luck might be swept away. Funeral customs differ sharply by region.
A Flickering Candle Signals a Presence
A candle that flickers without an obvious draft may be interpreted as a spirit or deceased relative nearby. Air currents, wick length, and melted wax usually explain the movement.
Purple Is Unlucky in the Theatre
Italian performers have traditionally regarded purple as an unlucky stage color. The association is often traced to Lent, when older theatre schedules were restricted and performers lost income.
Say In Bocca al Lupo
Before an exam, performance, or difficult task, Italians commonly say in bocca al lupo rather than direct good luck. The formula reflects the old idea that words can influence fortune.
Lucky Pens and Repeated Clothing
Students may use the same pen, shirt, or routine after a successful exam. Athletes and supporters likewise repeat clothing, seats, or gestures that became associated with a win.
Entering With the Right Foot
Stepping onto a stage, field, boat, or new premises with the right foot first is treated as a favorable beginning. The left foot may be avoided because of older negative symbolism.
Turning Back After Setting Out
Returning home immediately after beginning a journey may be viewed as bad luck. Some people sit down briefly, look in a mirror, or restart the departure to break the omen.
Renaming a Boat
Changing a vessel’s name is widely considered unlucky among sailors, including in Italian maritime culture. Owners who rename a boat may hold a ceremony to mark the change.
Whistling on a Boat
Whistling aboard a boat is said to call up dangerous winds or offend the sea. The belief belongs to a broad seafaring tradition and should not replace attention to real weather forecasts.
Regional Variations Across Italy
Southern Italy has the strongest public association with the malocchio, the red horn, protective hand gestures, and dream numbers, but these practices are not identical across Campania, Calabria, Puglia, Basilicata, and Sicily. A rite known in one village may use different words, herbs, prayers, or objects only a short distance away. Naples is especially linked with the cornicello and the Smorfia, while older Sicilian collections preserve detailed accounts of the evil eye, household protection, and omens.
Sardinian traditions include distinctive jewelry, stones, coral, prayers, and amulets connected with protection of children and livestock. Northern and central regions share many household taboos about salt, bread, mirrors, ladders, beds, and unlucky dates, yet local farm calendars add their own rules for the moon, weather, animals, and seasonal work. Alpine, coastal, island, and inland communities developed different signs because daily risks and livelihoods differed.
Modern Italian cities often preserve these beliefs through language rather than ritual. Someone may say tocchiamo ferro, avoid purple before a performance, or wear a lucky shirt without accepting a supernatural explanation. Family memory, humor, sport, theatre, and celebrations keep old motifs in circulation even when belief is weak.
Historical Roots and Cultural Transmission
Protective Italian objects have roots reaching into the ancient Mediterranean. Roman amulets, bells, hand shapes, horns, and phallic symbols were used to divert the hostile gaze known as fascinum. Later communities reinterpreted older shapes through local craft, Christian symbols, household plants, and regional jewelry. The modern Neapolitan horn is therefore not a simple survival from one period; it is the result of repeated changes in form and meaning.
Many customs passed through speech rather than written instruction. Grandparents taught short warnings about bread, brooms, wedding clothes, animals, dreams, and unlucky days. Farmers connected moon phases and animal behavior with seasonal work. Sailors, actors, students, and athletes formed occupational rituals around uncertainty, where a repeated gesture or object offered a sense of order before an unpredictable event.
Italy’s linguistic and regional variety also shaped transmission. A belief may be remembered in dialect, attached to a proverb, or embedded in a prayer known only within a family. Museums, sound archives, ethnographic collections, and university research preserve many of these materials without treating every reported custom as a rule followed by all Italians.
Observation, Memory, and Coincidence
Superstitions often persist because memorable matches stand out. A person remembers the black cat seen before a bad day but forgets the many black cats followed by nothing unusual. This selective memory can strengthen a perceived link even when events are unrelated. Repeating a lucky pen, gesture, or shirt may also reduce anxiety, which makes the ritual feel useful even though it does not control the outcome.
Some folk signs began with real observation. Frogs respond to moisture, insects react to changing soil conditions, and household rules about ladders, open scissors, indoor umbrellas, or shoes on tables reduce practical risks. The useful observation should be separated from the supernatural claim: an animal’s behavior may reflect its environment, but it does not provide a certain forecast of death, money, marriage, or luck.
Health and Safety Notes
Pregnancy cravings, jewelry, raised arms, and ordinary household actions do not determine birthmarks or the position of the umbilical cord. Dreams and evil-eye rituals cannot diagnose headaches, fatigue, pregnancy, skin changes, or other medical conditions. Persistent or worrying symptoms should be assessed by a qualified health professional.
Protective customs should never delay medical care or involve unsafe herbs, smoke, fire, sharp objects, or substances given to a child. Animals connected with omens should not be frightened, trapped, or harmed. On roads, at sea, and during severe weather, practical safety guidance and official forecasts matter more than ritual signs.
Countries With Related Folk Beliefs
Italian beliefs share motifs with other Mediterranean and European cultures because of trade, migration, religion, seafaring, and older classical traditions. The forms are comparable, not identical.
| Shared Motif | Italian Form | Comparable Forms |
|---|---|---|
| Protection from the evil eye | Malocchio rites, cornicello, hand gestures, coral, and red ribbons | Eye amulets and protective gestures in Greece, Malta, Türkiye, Spain, and parts of the Balkans |
| Unlucky calendar dates | Friday the 17th and general caution around the number 17 | Friday the 13th in many Western countries and Tuesday the 13th in Spain and Greece |
| New Year prosperity food | Lentils, pork, pomegranate, and red clothing | Legumes, grapes, pomegranate, and special first meals in Spain, Portugal, Greece, and the Balkans |
| Wedding protection | Rain as luck, rice throwing, coins, mirror rules, and avoidance of pearls | Threshold, fertility, clothing, and jewelry omens across southern Europe |
| Dreams converted into numbers | The Neapolitan Smorfia and Lotto play | Dream books and number divination in Greece, Spain, Malta, and other lottery cultures |
| Maritime taboos | Avoiding boat renaming, whistling, and an unlucky first step | Related sailor beliefs in Portugal, Spain, Croatia, Greece, and northern Europe |
📚 Roots of Belief
- Treccani: Superstizione — Defines superstition and places ritual beliefs within broader cultural history. (Treccani is Italy’s national encyclopedia institute.)
- Treccani: Malocchio — Explains the Italian term for the evil eye and its supposed harmful gaze. (Treccani provides edited linguistic and encyclopedic reference works.)
- Treccani: Scaramanzia — Discusses protective gestures and the development of amulets, including the horn form. (The entry is part of an edited scholarly encyclopedia.)
- Accademia della Crusca: Sull’origine della formula “in bocca al lupo” — Examines the history and language of the Italian good-luck expression. (The Accademia della Crusca is Italy’s leading institution for the study of Italian.)
- Istituto Centrale per il Patrimonio Immateriale: Archivio Sonoro — Describes national recordings of oral culture, ritual, magic-religious practice, work, and festive life. (The institute operates under Italy’s Ministry of Culture.)
- Istituto Centrale per il Patrimonio Immateriale: Italia delle Tradizioni — Presents regional festivals and traditions through state cultural archives. (It is an official Italian heritage resource.)
- Museo delle Civiltà: Loria Collections Guide — Introduces Italian ethnographic collections that include jewelry and amulets. (The museum is a national institution of Italy’s Ministry of Culture.)
- Soprintendenza Archeologia della Lombardia: Progresso e Passato — Documents Roman protective objects, bells, and amuletic forms used against the hostile gaze. (The publication comes from a regional office of Italy’s Ministry of Culture.)
- University of Sassari: Varietà e complessità del magico in Sardegna — Studies Sardinian magic, the evil eye, and local protective practice. (It is hosted in the university’s research repository.)
- University of Basilicata: Archivio di Etnografia — Provides research on southern Italian oral traditions, beliefs, and historical folklore collections. (The journal is produced within a university department devoted to cultural research.)
- UNESCO: What Is Intangible Cultural Heritage? — Explains how living customs, oral expressions, and social practices are transmitted and changed by communities. (UNESCO is the United Nations agency responsible for international cultural heritage programs.)
- PubMed: Superstitious Beliefs and the Associative Mind — Summarizes research on causal illusion, cognition, and superstitious belief. (PubMed is maintained by the U.S. National Library of Medicine.)
- MedlinePlus: Birthmarks — Gives medical information on birthmarks and their biological forms, separate from pregnancy folklore. (MedlinePlus is a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.)
- World Health Organization: Traditional Medicine — Explains the need for evidence, safety, quality, and appropriate integration of traditional practices. (WHO is the United Nations health agency.)