Superstition - Tumblr Posts
Secret (Sketchtember 2024 - Day 4)
[The Judge]
Ismaire: The trio sleep soundly in their most recent safe house, charms and wards hung, painted and strewn around to hopefully keep any wandering monsters from taking an interest in their spot.
Eden and Bradie share a handful of secrets by this point in the story, but the most important one is Matthew. When they first met Matt, he was a huge and terrifying monster… that acted like a human. He learned from them, imprinted on them, and even put himself in harm's way to save them - an act of sacrifice they thought had ended him at first.
Matt survived, though he now has to regenerate from the very small piece of himself that was left. He will devote himself to being their big, fierce guardian again someday, but for now they're the ones guarding him, teaching him to be a human, and keeping him a precious secret.
Their world might be ready someday to accept a good-hearted man like Matt who just happens to look like a beast. But for now…
Sure, why not.
reblog and make a wish! this was removed from tumbrl due to “violating one or more of Tumblr’s Community Guidelines”, but since my wish came true the first time, I’m putting it back. :)
sorry but if your bed isn’t against at least one wall you’re not valid
🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿
I hope this will protect me & my blog from negative energy 🤞🤞
🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿
🧿 to keep you safe from people who want to do you harm.<3 🧿
As a Latine and someone diagnosed with OCD, I want to talk about Bruno and how he is presented in the film.
A lot of Latinos, specifically Colombians, have argued that Bruno can’t have OCD because he performs standard superstitious rituals like knocking on wood, crossing his fingers, etc.
It is important to note that superstition is incredibly common in Latino communities. I have family and friends who partake in superstitious rituals in overt ways without being diagnosed with OCD. I believe the heightened spirituality and expression in Latino communities compared to gringo communities in the US is why so many Latinos are defending his rituals and are pushing back against Bruno being seen as OCD since he is performing standard rituals within the community. This post is not to argue that these rituals aren’t common superstitions, nor that it’s wrong to interpret him as not having OCD. This is more to discuss why people interpret him as having OCD and to clarify some misconceptions about the relationship of OCD and superstitious rituals.
Let’s discuss how OCD works and then why it might apply to Bruno Madrigal.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a subset of other anxiety disorders. People with said disorder frequently have intrusive thoughts or urges that force them to perform a certain action to ease this anxiety (compulsions). These compulsions can literally be anything. It can be repeating a certain phrase, walking a certain way, or even self destructive. These actions are designed as a preventative measure to ease anxiety, but ironically they have the opposite effect by producing more anxiety if the action is performed and only produce temporary relief.
These actions might be things that lots of neurotypical people do (ex. sorting books by color). What matters for the diagnosis is that the person in question feels like they have to perform the action and feel immense distress when they don’t.
So, how does that compare to superstitions? Superstitions are rituals that people perform also to prevent bad things from happening. The difference here is context. When people perform superstitious rituals, they do not experience immense distress at not performing the action correctly or at all. For example: “I’m hoping it doesn’t rain on my wedding day. Knock on wood.” The person in question is specifically performing this action to prevent rain from occurring on their wedding day. They do not feel like they have to perform the ritual and do not experience extreme distress as a consequence for not performing the action.
For someone with OCD, the ritual is far more specific, repetitive, and includes a deep sense of dread when not performed. For example: “I just thought that I might have rain on my wedding day, so I must knock exactly three times and if I don’t do the pattern exactly right, I will have to re-perform this action until it is. I will also have to do this ritual every single time I think of rain on my wedding day because then I jinxed it by thinking about it.” The repetition, sense of dread, and how long the ritual is present all indicate that this is a compulsion rather than just warding off bad luck.
OCD and superstitious rituals are often extremely difficult to distinguish from one another which is why it is difficult to divorce them when interpreting text. In fact, the two are often tied together because they follow the same, “If I don’t do X, then Y will happen, so I must do X,” logic.
Let’s look at Bruno now. He has a few ritualized activities. He knocks on wood while saying, “Knock, knock, knock on wood,” ending with knocking on his head.
[GIf Description: Bruno Madrigal is walking down a hallway. He begins by holding his breath and crossing his fingers. He releases his breath and begins knocking on wooden planks as he passes them ending with him knocking himself on the head.There is text at the bottom of the gif that says, “knock knock knock knock knock! knock on wood!” /end ID]
He avoids stepping on cracks while singing, “Sana, sana, colita de rana. Si no sana hoy sanara mañana.”
[Image Description: A screenshot of page 62 of the official Encanto script. The script says, “Tio Bruno: ‘Sugar.’ (he tosses sugar on her)/ And keeps walking past rows of Hanging Aloe Plants, then does a hop skip and a jump over a series of cracks on the ground. / Tio Bruno (continued): ‘Sana sana, colita de rana.’ “/end ID]
He throws salt and sugar over his shoulders.
[Gif Description: Bruno Madrigal is sitting in a rainforest clearing. He is closing his eyes and holding a pile of salt in his right hand. He flings the salt over his left shoulder and lights a match. There is text that says, “swoosh,” as he performs the ritual. /end ID]
He holds his breath and crosses his fingers when walking through entrances/exits or sometimes down hallways.
[Gif Description: Bruno Madrigal is crossing his fingers and holding his breath as he walks down a hallway. /end ID]
All of these are pretty standard rituals for superstition and bringing on good luck. I’ve certainly known people who openly knock on wood and throw sugar over their left shoulder, particularly in Latino communities. However, what matters is how it is presented and whether it is compulsory. So, let’s look at how it is presented in the film.
He performs these rituals at very specific times in the story. His knocking on wood and holding his breath are the most common so we’ll look at those first. He knocks on wood in three separate instances. The first and second instance is when he first meets Mirabel just before and after he enters the area of the house with the cracks he has patched. The third time is when he is entering the secret entrance into the walls of the house. As for holding his breath and crossing his fingers, he first performs it when entering the hallway with all of the cracks. The second time is when he is entering the portrait into the walls.
In the first instance of both rituals, he stops the conversation he is having with Mirabel to perform these rituals and then resumes acting as if nothing happened. The final instance is at the end of a conversation with Mirabel. Superstitious behaviors don’t tend to be disruptive or distracting. Usually people knock on wood after ending a sentence whereas Bruno performs this ritual while Mirabel is speaking to him, disrupting the flow of conversation. It is also important to note that Bruno is unique for performing them, further othering his character.
OCD, is usually single-minded. Individuals can avoid performing the ritual, but doing so causes immense distress. The obtrusiveness of the action indicates that it is more likely OCD than superstition.
Looking at how it is presented in the text, it appears that these rituals are supposed to be strange and unique to Bruno. Nobody else performs them and Mirabel is confused by them.
Let’s look at what this might mean thematically.
In the film, Bruno is clearly presented as awkward and socially anxious. We can easily interpret this as a consequence of him living in the walls for a decade with Mirabel asking, “How long have you been down here?” when Bruno introduces her to Hernando and Jorge. While she doesn’t necessarily react the same way to his various rituals, these superstitious actions can be seen as a consequence of his isolation. He is clearly supposed to be considered the weird uncle, so incorporating heightened superstition plays into that role and adds to his stigmatization as being “Bad Luck Bruno.” Having OCD would make sense as an interpretation merely to add to his othering in the film and clear instability after being isolated for so long. What’s more, Bruno can be interpreted as the “Identified Patient” in the family with how he was treated like there was something wrong with him. This constant blame and othering from his family would likely push him to want to prevent further isolation because of his bad luck. Furthermore, it feeds into a common experience in Latino households to diminish the neurodivergence/ other disabilities of members in the household. It is not that uncommon for Latino households to ignore neurodivergence because “everyone is like that.”
Personally as someone with OCD and a Latine, I read Bruno as having OCD because he performs rituals to, what appears to be, a compulsory level. He may have reasons for these compulsions and common superstition might be part of it, but this is true for my own compulsions as well. I also have to avoid stepping on cracks. I learned about the superstition of stepping on a crack and thus had to perform precise rituals in order to avoid stepping on them. I experienced and continue to experience major distress because of this superstitious ritual. Yes, it is a common superstition, but it became a compulsion for me because the bad luck became an anxiety trigger.
Looking at how Bruno is presented, it’s entirely possible that this is what happened to him based on what we know. He is related to Bad Luck and ostracized for it. He performs common rituals to ward off bad luck. He is further ostracized for said strange behavior.
Now, there is evidence online for him being OCD outside of the text by the writers.
[Image Description: A screenshot of page 61 of the Encanto script. The script says, “Tio Bruno: (tapping a wall, OCD) Knock, knock, knock. Knock on wood.” /end ID]
Clearly, he was intended to have OCD by the writers. Now, most people are not going to pull up the script to see that he is intended to have OCD explicitly by the text, but there is still evidence in the film to support it as I laid out above.
A lot of Latinos don’t want to acknowledge the possibility of him having OCD because it feels like normal aspects of our culture are being erased. The fact Bruno has OCD does not negate his latin culture, nor does it negate how superstition is tied to Latinos. Just because I relate to Bruno and his OCD doesn’t mean he’s no longer Latino and it doesn’t suddenly mean you and/or your family have OCD. We’re all part of the same community and we’re all going to relate to certain characters in different ways. This is more just to state that superstitious rituals can be OCD rituals as well.
TL;DR: Bruno Madrigal was intended to be OCD by the text, but many Latinos are hesitant to agree because they feel it erases common Latino superstition. It is not uncommon for superstitions to become OCD compulsions and it is often difficult to distinguish the two in general which is why people interpret Bruno in different ways.
Well... First episode of Superstition Season 3 was certainly something
Superstition
Noun // so͞opərˈstiSH(ə)n// a widely held but unjustified belief in supernatural causation leading to certain consequences of an action or event, or a practice based on such a belief
I carry an odd sense of superstition. That is to say, I do not believe open umbrellas inside or shattered hand mirrors will bring me bad luck. Soulmates and miracles are nothing more to me than fairy tale endings but I do carry an odd sense of superstition.
That is to say that I believe magic eight balls hold fate’s voice, and that fate is the universe’s cruel sense of humour. My superstition entails wishing on stars and birthday candle flames. Wishing on fallen eyelashes and blowing them into the wind hoping an angel which catch them and hear my prayer. I carry an odd sense of superstition, which is to say I believe in love and all other impossible things.
Rosca Day- Now It's All about Cake.
Three Kings Day remains an important holiday for the people of Mexico. In addition to the gift-giving aspect of the day there is also a culinary treat that is specific to the holiday. Known as 'Rosca de Reyes' (King's Cake), this holiday dessert offers much in the way of symbolism. Shaped in the round to signify a king's crown, this sweet bread holds a special surprise. Baked inside is a small plastic figurine representing the baby Jesus. Whoever finds this token is obligated to host an upcoming party for the occasion of 'Dia de la Candelaria' (Candlemas Day) which occurs each year on February 2nd. The effigy of the baby Jesus, hidden inside the cake, represents another aspect of the
holiday. The reason Jesus is 'hidden' inside the bread is to symbolize how in life, the Christ child's birth location also needed to remain secret, in order that his life be spared.
(taken from mexonline.com/history-lostresreyes.htm) January 6th 2013. Some time after 2pm.
I had a D&D buddy who had an interesting solution to "unlucky" dice. He would line several die on his dad's workbench, and put the offending dice into a vice. He would then crush the unlucky dice into powder, while explaining to the others why he was destroying that one. it seemed to work, as he rarely had bad streaks of rolls.
How do you remove a dice curse? Asking for a friend
You don't. You learn to live with it and share it with as many people as you can.
The Opera ghost really existed. He was not, as was long believed, a creature of the imagination of the artists, the superstition of the managers, or the absurd and impressionable brains of the young ladies of the ballet, their mothers, the box- keepers, the cloak-room attendants, or the concierge. No, he existed in flesh and blood, though he assumed all the outward characteristics of a real phantom, that is to say, of a shade.
Gaston Leroux, The Phantom of the Opera
Appalachian Folklore, Wives Tales, and Superstitions
Brought to you mostly by my grandparents, but also by my family at large. These are all things I heard growing up in the northern region of Appalachia and wanted to share with y'all. The lore and sayings may vary based on location, family tradition, and other factors, but this is just what I’m sharing from my experiences!
• Give the first pinch of a freshly baked loaf of bread to the Good Men to keep them happy. • Deaths and births always come in threes. • Spin around in a circle three times before you walk in the front door to confuse any spirits that are following you. • Don’t throw your hair out! If a bird builds a nest with it, you’ll have migraines. • “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky at morning, sailor’s warning.” • If the leaves on trees are flipped over with their backsides showing, rain’s coming. • If you hear a dog howl at night, death is coming. • If you’re giving someone a wallet or purse as a present, put money in it to ensure they’ll never financially struggle. • Spirits can’t cross running water. • Cats and dogs won’t enter a room where spirits are present. • Carry an acorn in your pocket for good luck, a penny for prosperity, and a nail for protection. • If you’re having nightmares, put a Bible under your pillow. They’ll go away. • Take a spoonful of honey to keep your words sweet. • Keeping a pot of coffee on ensures a happy home. • It’s bad luck to walk over a grave. • A horseshoe hung above a door ensures good luck. • A horseshoe in the bedroom staves away nightmares. • If your right hand itches, you’ll soon be receiving money. If the left itches, you’ll be paying it. • Wishing on a star works. “Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.” • When you have a random shiver, someone just walked over your grave. • If smoke from a fire rises, expect clear skies. If it rolls along the ground, expect storms. • Rosemary near the door provides protection. Lavender provides peace. • “A ring around the sun or moon, rain or snow is coming soon.” • Wind chimes and bells keep spirits away. • Seeing a cardinal means unexpected company. • For that matter, so does dropping silverware. • Rubbing a bit of potato on a wart helps it to go away. • If the soles of your feet itch, you will soon walk on strange grounds. • Black eyed peas, greens, and/or pork and sauerkraut should be eaten on New Year’s Day to welcome good luck and good fortune. • Driving a nail into a bedframe or crib will drive away curses. • If your ears are burning, someone’s talking about you. • If you dream of fish, you are or will soon be pregnant. • Listen to the wisdom of children, they see and know more than we think. • To dream of death means birth, to dream of birth means death. • To cure a headache, crush some mint leaves in your hands, cup them over your mouth and nose, and breathe in a few times. It should help. • Placing a fern or ivy on the front porch protects against curses. • In a vegetable garden, never plant the same plants in the same spot two years in a row. Rotate where they are, and you’ll save your soil. (Note: this is a real thing called crop rotation, and is actually kind of important) • A black bird (Raven or crow, doesn’t matter) on the roof or a windowsill is an omen for death. To avoid it, you have to scare it away without using your voice before it caws. • Say a prayer when you pass a coal mine for the lost souls still in the mine. • Thank the land and the Lord with every successful hunt or harvest you have, for nothing is guaranteed.
These are a few of the folklores, wives’ tales, superstitions, and sayings that I’ve heard growing up (and still living in) in Appalachia! I encourage other Appalachian witches, cunning folk, and general inhabitants of the Appalachian region (and just the mountain range at large) to share whatever bits you’ve heard over the years! I just wanted to share a bit with y'all to give you an insight into some Appalachian lore, my own practice, and maybe give you some things to research and incorporate into your own practice! 🌿✨
Me:*watching ID channel*
Episode:*lady opens umbrella in the house*
Me: no,no,no,NO! Ah! Fucking. Come on. No wonder why you ended up with bad luck.