Did you know that Friday 13th used to be considered an auspicious day, a really lucky day. One to be celebrated and revered.
A combination of Friday - named for the goddess Freya in Norse mythology, and the number 13 - considered to be a lucky number, one that is rooted in focus, pragmatism and creativity.
13 is also linked to the number of lunar cycles in a year, the average number of menstrual cycles a woman has in a year and it is considered to be a powerful angel number.
Friday is also associated with Venus - the epitome of female energy - and so it’s not surprising that Friday 13 was considered a day to honour the Divine Feminine. A day to celebrate and revere female power in all of its forms.
Fun fact: Fear of Friday 13th is called paraskevidekatriaphobia
Not surprisingly over the years, the patriarchy decided that this message was unacceptable and so began a long process of rebranding Friday 13th as something to be feared, denounced and generally avoided in polite society. Now it is much more widely associated with bad luck or general misfortune, it has become a day to fear or mock.
In much the same way as older, wiser women - who in days gone by would have been marked as witches for speaking their minds - are similarly subject to fear and mockery.
If you are interested in exploring this further or you simply want a darned good read I can heartily recommend Hags: The demonsation of middle-aged women, by Victoria Smith. It is a really insightful and powerful look at how middle-aged women have come to be portrayed and perceived in modern society.
It does come with a health warning though - it may rocket your blood pressure as you read.
Although now that I come to think of it I think a little bit of well placed middle-aged fury is long overdue.
Paid members: if you would like a free one-card reading to celebrate this changing of the seasons please do DM me.
Hags is on my reading list! I didn't know that about Friday 13th. My birthday is the 13th so sometimes falls on a Friday and I have been known to purposefully walk under ladders and engage in other superstitions to see what happens. And what does? Nothing :)
My maternal nan always said 13 was her lucky number. She brought up my mum as a single mother in the 1930s (she was 35 when she had her) so I think nan was definitely more about holding female power! ❤️