Superstitions

Itching Palms and Other Body Parts, What Does it Mean?

Scratching Palm with Money
This photo was taken by me, Robert Tuttle, of my hands Dec. 2012

Me and a girl I work with were talking about this today. She was standing there scratching her hands and I said, “Oh, you must be coming into some money.” Funny thing is, today is payday, so there was a little truth to that. Anyway, she said, “hey, that would be a cool topic for your blog”, so I went with it.  I’ve done some research on a few of these myths and wanted to share what I’ve come up with. There are many other body parts that have associated itching myths. Some are pretty cool, some not so cool, either way the research was a lot of fun! Let’s go over just a few of the more popular ones…

The Myth of Itching Palms

There are many superstitions and myths about scratching different areas of your body. I believe the one about your palms itching says, “if your right palm is itching then you’ll be receiving some money.” Part of that myth also states that you shouldn’t scratch your palm if it’s itching or you may keep the money from coming. But on the other side of that, if your left palm is itching, that means you’ll be paying someone else some money. So you may want to scratch the heck out of that one!

Now I’ve had several occasions where my hands or palms were itching and I’ve never had any money come of it. But of course it never says how long you have to wait for your prize, maybe I just haven’t gotten it yet. But if you look at it that way, then that kind of defeats the purpose of the superstition, don’t ya think?

The Myth of Itching Feet

There is a similar superstition that has to do with your feet. They say if your feet are itching that means you can’t sit still. Others say it’s a sign that you’ll be traveling soon, or taking a great journey. It seems to have a similar meaning as the hands in relation to the left foot versus the right foot. According to legend if your right foot is itching then your journey will lead you to a place in which you’ll be welcomed. In contrast the left foot would lead you on a journey that wouldn’t have a very good ending.

It’s also said that itching feet may have something to do with sorrow. Some believe that it’s a sign you’re going to get new shoes, and breaking in those shoes may cause you some sorrow. There seems to be more confusion about the itching feet than anything, as I’ve found several different meanings. One even says that it could either be a sign someone in your family is going to die or that someone may be talking about you while your walking. Those are some pretty unrelated thoughts on the subject. I’m thinking it may have something to do with where people are in the world. As different cultures always find different meanings in stuff like this.

The Myth of Itching Ears

Here’s one most of us have probably heard of, the itching ears. One pretty cool saying I found for this was “an itching left ear is a sign of love, while an itching right ear is for spite.” Supposedly if your ears are itching, no matter which one, it means someone is talking about you. I’ve also heard it put as, if your ears are burning, then someone’s talking about you.

But I’ve researched this further to find that if your left ear is itching it means either someone you love is talking about you, or who ever is talking about you is saying something nice. Then the right ear itching is just the opposite. This means someone your feuding with is talking about you, or they’re saying something bad about you. If your right ear is itching, you should lick your finger and wipe it on your ear lobe. Then who ever is talking bad about you will bite their own tongue! Now that’s pretty cool, this one gives you a way to back fire it on who ever is talking trash.

The Myth of an Itching Nose

Now this one really has no good side to it as far as I can tell. They say if your nose is itching then that means you’re going to kiss a fool. I’ve also heard that this could be a sign you are going to get into a fight with someone. Other legends say, if your nose is itching you may be annoyed or cursed soon.

Small Child Scratching Her Nose
Photo by [David Castillo Dominici] FreeDigitalPhotos.net

One extremely odd thing I’ve read about is, an itchy nose means you will come in contact with someone that has a hole in their britches. Now what in the world is this all about? These days the way all the kids are running around with those beat up blue jeans with holes all in them, you’ll be lucky if your nose ever stops itching.

I don’t really know why the nose would get such a bad rap. But that poor ole thing can’t catch a break. Every superstition I’ve found has something to do with an itchy nose being a bad thing. So I’m thinking it’s best to ignore your nose all together. Maybe keep it blown out real good and keep some lotion on it. What ever it takes to keep that dude from itching! Apparently nothing good can come of it. Personally I think if your nose is itching, then the best reaction should be to grab a tissue!

So as you can see by reading this post, you may want to pay a little closer attention to your goodies if they’re itching. You may miss out on a good thing if you’re not careful. There’s actually a ton of different superstitions for this type of thing. Pretty much a scratch for every itch. There’s a pretty cool list of The Meaning of Itches and their Omens that I found, it’s quite interesting if you wanna check it out.

I live in the United States, but I believe to some people these superstitions may be reversed. For instance the itching palm, where the right is paying money and the left is receiving. So for any of you from other countries, if you could clarify this for me that would be great. Also, if any of you have heard any other meanings for some of these or have some other superstitions that you find interesting, then share them with us by leaving a comment below. I can’t wait to check out what y’all come up with.

Oh, and by the way, if superstitions are your thing, then we’ve got a bunch of other great superstitions you may want to check out.


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273 thoughts on “Itching Palms and Other Body Parts, What Does it Mean?
  1. I really liked the article and find a lot of that to be true. I have had a lot of itching parts lately and some not so good, and it seems to all add up. I also blame my itchy ears for the wax buildup in my ears that I have to flush out now and then. LOL

    1. Well Sindi, according to superstition, the ears itching mean that someone is talking about you. Further, if it’s your left ear, then someone you love may be talking about you, or they are saying something nice about you.

  2. My dad always said that if your nose itches you’re going to have company. He grew up in the southern united states and that is what his grandmother told him.

    1. Thank you for reading Erin and I appreciate your addition to the knowledge of this subject! 🙂

  3. My right and left foot s rr itching moreover right is a lot from 8days so what should i expect

  4. I find your research true true from my research I live in the south and my great aunt says right Plame itching you’re getting money left palm itch you owe someone money OR FOR children you’re gonna get in trouble as far as the nose it’s right side a female wants to visit left a man wants to visit and in between a couple

    1. Great information on the itching nose Tiara. Thanks a bunch for sharing that with us. I too am from the South and I think a lot of the superstitious beliefs we research all differ from region to region. It’s very interesting to hear other folks heritage and what they believe.

  5. I’ve always heard that if your nose is itching then someone is coming to see you. If it’s the left side it’s someone of the opposite sex and the right is just somebody.

    1. Definitely an interesting take on this superstition Tonya. Thanks so much for sharing your insight with us.

  6. my daughter had a horrbiel dream about her brother and some childrean and a guy he was with at the end she got a call from a lady she know the face but cant rembear her name she also saw the cop befor but dont know him that her brother was killed from gun shots please help im also getting the itching on the right bottom foot

    1. Possibly this dream being coupled with the itching of you right foot may signify you’re going to embark on a great journey that may lead to good things. Perhaps the answers you seek will be revealed during this journey. I know that may not be very helpful, but sometimes these things we have to piece together by finding how they relate to our current life events. I wish you the best in your journey and thanks for stopping by.

  7. I’ve heard that if the middle of your right foot itches someone is thinking about you and misses you and opposite on the left foot, and if the back of your foot itches someone is talking bad about you same as your bottom when it itches they said somebody is talking about you

    1. That’s excellent Emma! Thanks so much for sharing some more insight into this very well known superstition. There’s so many ins and outs to all these it’s hard to keep current.

  8. My grandmother and my mother always told me about the itchy palms. And they say the same exact thing between left and right. But they said for it to come true you have to scratch your Palm with wood, or something made of wood. Best not forget which palm is for which before you go scratching it on wood!

    1. Very interesting twist to this superstition Sonia! Thanks for sharing this tid bit with us. Where may I ask is your family from? This may be one of those geographical variations that is not widely known.

      Thanks again for the input and thanks for stopping by!

  9. we heard our drill sergeant at basic training talk about all these and we had one guy ask “what does it mean if my nuts are itching?” and he said “it means you didn’t wash them good enough now hit the showers!”

    1. LOL, That was a A+ response from the drill sergeant James!

      Thanks for leaving the comment and hope to have you visit again…

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