It has come round again. Expect your day to be filled with the pessimistic types out there bemoaning their bad luck and blaming the difficulties on Friday the 13th.
This type thought process can become even more pronounced in some people and can develop into Triskaidekaphobia – a fear of Friday 13th. For some people this leads to them not doing anything ‘risky’ on that day.
Risky things can include walking under ladders, seeing one magpie or not saying “touch wood” when appropriate. For some Triskaidekaphobia sufferers they just say indoors all day and don’t leave the house for fear of what might happen.
The vast majority of these Triskaidekaphobia sufferers don’t know all the facts though. They have this Halloween-type association with Friday 13th. The Friday 13th horror films that began in the 1980′s have further amplified this mistaken belief.
13 Being An Unlucky Number Has A Long History
The idea of 13 being an unlucky number goes way back in history. There was once a fear that if 13 people gathered then one of the thirteen would die within 12 months. This ‘tradition’ doesn’t seem to have a definite beginning, it just seems to be one of those things that people used to think.
A more ‘recent’ development in the idea of Friday 13th being bad or evil or unlucky was begun by the Christian church in 1307. The Pope did not like how the Knights Templar had gained so much power and influence as a result of their trips to the Holy Land. It was a result of the Templar’s knowledge regarding numbers and ciphers that they were the original bankers. A pilgrim could pay a Templar their money in England and be given a code and using this code they could claim back their money (minus a commission of course) from a Templar in the Holy Land.
The Templars Were The Original Bankers
The Templars made a huge amount of money and owned a lot of land and influence and were giving the Church a run for their money so the Pope ordered them to be slaughtered and their assets seized. The church’s killers arrived in the middle of the night and murdered many of the knights while they slept.
Although it is said that some of the Templars escaped with their lives and a stash of their wealth and sailed away on a boat, never to be seen again.
So you can see that Friday the 13th isn’t REALLY something to be afraid of…unless you were a Templar and were alive nearly 700 years ago.
If after this logical and rational explanation you are still afraid of Friday the 13th then it is possible that hypnotherapy could help you to chage your feelings. Give me a call on 0114 383 0123 to discuss how Focused Hypnosis could help you beat your Triskaidekaphobia
Richard Hennessy Dip NLP, HPD, Dip H, Cert DE
