FRIDAY THE 13TH.

Today is Friday the 13^th, supposedly one of the most unlucky days of the year. There will be three such days in 2012 and apparently, this is one of the most widespread superstitions in the United States today.

            So just why is the day considered to be unlucky?  I researched some possible explanations.  For one thing, in numerology, the number twelve is considered the number of completeness, as reflected in the twelve months of the year, twelve hours of the clock, twelve gods of Olympus, twelve tribes of Israel, twelve Apostles of Jesus, the 12 successors of Muhammad in Shia Islam, etc., whereas the number thirteen was considered irregular, transgressing this completeness. There is also a superstition, thought by some to derive from the Last Supper or a Norse myth that having thirteen people seated at a table will result in the death of one of the diners.

            In the past, some airlines skipped including the thirteenth row (probably fearing that many passengers wouldn’t book it.)  I recall years ago when I worked at Creative Artists Agency, we were situated on the fourteenth floor – there was no thirteenth floor. People working in the entertainment industry, by the way, are as superstitious as those in sports. (Try saying “Macbeth” in a theatre, or “good luck”.)

            As for Friday, it has often been regarded as an unlucky day to undertake journeys, begin new projects or deploy releases in production. Black Friday has been associated with stock market crashes and other disasters since the 1800s.

            In honor of the day (here comes some shameless promotion) – I am offering my newly released book, GROOMED FOR MURDER, free, for the next three days. Simply go to Amazon.com and look it up, or click here.

            Please help me spread the word by passing it along on Facebook.

Thanks for joining me on RHODES LESS TRAVELED, and be careful out there today.

Vivian