20th May: Shoe Superstitions

My research threw up two footwear related anniversaries for today. In 1310 Shoes were first made for both right and left feet, and Moccasins were patented in 1825. Looking for information related to shoes, I came across any number of superstitions related to shoes, many of which even seemed to contradict each other.  Here are 10 shoe related superstitions:

1. A common superstition regarding shoes is the one about not putting shoes on the table, not even brand new ones still in their box. The type of misfortune this can attract includes death by hanging, family feuds, quarrels with your partner, loss of your job, or your soul falling off the table and into hell when it climbs onto the table to get the shoes. If you forget and put shoes on the table you can ward off the bad luck by putting the shoes back on the floor before putting them on.
2. Burning old shoes in some cultures brings bad luck - in others burning your shoes brings good fortune, especially if you put salt and pepper in them first. If you're unlucky enough to have had a Voodoo curse put on you then burning your shoes will break the spell. Wafting the smoke through your house will get rid of evil spirits. Breathing in the smoke is said to cure toothache; smoking the ashes in a pipe cures asthma; putting the ashes in water and drinking it cures backache; mix the ash with lard to make salve for sores.
3. You can use your shoes to find out who you will marry. Put a four leaf clover in the heel of your left shoe and you will marry the first man (or woman) you meet. If you can't find a four leafed clover a piece of fern in the toe works just as well. Or, before you go to bed, put the heel of one shoe against the instep of the other, and make the last thing you say before going to sleep, "Hoping this night, my true love to see, I place my shoe in the form of a T" and you will dream about your future spouse.
4. Once you've met the person of your dreams, and have had sex with them, taking a piece of sheet from the bed you did it in, wash yourself with it, and wear it in the toe of your shoe and they will stay faithful to you. Or, you can take a lock of their hair, put it in a piece of cloth, fold it towards you and put that in your shoe, to ensure that they will follow you anywhere.
5. Practitioners of Voodoo use shoes to solve murders, specifically shoes belonging to a baby who is less than a year old; a little girl if the victim was a woman, and a boy if it was a man. After the burial, they would dig down into the grave, close to the heart of the victim, but without touching the coffin. A handful of dirt from the bottom of the hole would be placed in the baby shoe, which would be burned at midnight. with an invocation to the spirit of the victim. They would then dig another hole at the grave and bury the ashes. Within days, the murderer would supposedly reveal him or herself.
6. Throwing shoes at people who are setting out on a journey is supposed to be lucky. A less painful way of ensuring nothing bad happens on your trip is to drop an old shoe outside your front door as as you leave.
7. Wear old shoes for luck on Friday 13th.
8. If your shoelaces come undone while you are walking around it means someone is thinking or talking about you. If it's the right shoe, they are saying nice things; if it is the left, they are speaking evil of you.
9. It is unlucky to give shoes as a gift, because it means that person will walk out of your life.
10. If a groom buckles his bride's left shoe on their wedding day, she will be in control of the marriage.