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.
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.
Interesting! I have an itchy right hand and as soon as I went to scratch it my friend said I had money coming! She told me to put my hand in my pocket until it stopped itching, but couldn’t explain why. Did you find anything on why I should put it in my pocket in your research?
BTW thanks for the info!
Hey thanks for commenting Mercedes, I love to hear life experiences.
As far as putting your hand in your pocket goes, there is something to that part of the superstition. But it involves both hands. The superstition states, that if “both” of your palms are itching, then you should put them in your pockets and then scratch them, this is supposed to reward you with pockets full of money.
I would imagine this to be some sort of a remedy for having both palms itch at the same time. Simply because by definition, they are opposites of one another. So in order to find neutral territory, inserting them into your pockets before scratching will cancel out the bad and fill your pockets with dough.
Hope this helps to explain it a little better for you. Thanks again for stopping by!
What an interesting post, I love reading weird posts like this and interesting facts but I have never heard of any myths associated with body parts itching. Really interesting, thanks for sharing!
Oh yes, there are many more myths associated with itching body parts as well. These are just some of the more common associations. Thanks a bunch for commenting.
I know there is a saying about your nose itching that someone is coming to see you I don’t remember what the left side or the right side meant one side meant a boy and the other side girl, both sides meant you are going to have company
Well I like your interpretation much better Laura…Everything I’ve ever read about an itching nose was nothing but bad news…lol
Thanks for sharing.
Your right Laura my mom said that also and she said right side was a man and left side was a woman both sides at same time or the middle if you like was you will have company or meet someone new.. 🙂
I loved for this site.
I never heard about other parts itching. Only palm. Same here in our country. Local folks believe that itching palms means there is a money coming your way. It should be left palm. Sometimes this is true for me. But not always. Perhaps it was just coincidence. Itching feet? I think you need personal hygiene. ^_^
Yes it’s true that some parts of the world the myths are reversed, meaning the left hand is money coming, and right is money going away.
I guess it’s similar to how a toilet flows the other direction on opposite ends of the world. 😀
I heard that if your nose itched it meant you was in for a surprise. Not sure if it was the inside or the out side of the nose. My great nan told me two different meanings for the nose. one was for the outside and one for the inside. Unfortunately i can’t ask her now as she is no longer with us. Do you know the answer please.
I’m sorry Natasha, I’m not familiar with the differences between the inside or outside itching. Although I’m sure there is a superstition which involves such aspects of itching, but I’m not familiar with it. Sorry I couldn’t help with your question.
It means you need to start using lotion on a daily basis.
lol, good one Theresa. That’s probably the more likely meaning for the non-superstitious folk. 😉
Superb post
Thank you very much Dennis.
So when the left ear itches, it means someone’s saying good things, right? Because I’m confused; due to some people, websites, etc. saying that it’s bad if your left ear itches. I honestly don’t know what to believe! Help!
Yes that’s correct Mark, at least that’s one of the meanings my research has produced.
But we must keep in mind, that a lot of these superstitions will change depending on cultural and geological location differences. Some countries believe that the right ear itching can be a good sign. This is probably where any confusion you have is coming from.
The explanations I’ve described here are popular beliefs in the United States and probably some neighboring areas as well. Only the people know how far certain beliefs reach, so others may disagree with my findings. 🙂
I just want to know the most commonly one believed one in the USA. That way I can know which ear is the good itch and the bad itch. Could you please re-remind me of which is the good ear and bad ear in the USA? Thanks!
Well Mark, remember these are only superstitions and are not to be taken to heart.
But that being said, there are tons of different variations of these myths and superstitions and during my research the more common saying was, “Left for Love, Right for Spite”. But there is an article I found that goes into even more detail which suggest that depending on what hour of the day the itching occurs can change the meaning of the superstitions.
Check out When Your Eyes Twitch Or Your Ears Itch it may help explain some of this in a little more detail.
I would go over these differences myself, but there are too many to post in a comment. Hope this helps.
your article is very nice bro, thanks you so much
Excellent, I’m glad you’ve enjoyed it! Hope you stop by regularly to see what’s new and interesting.
good post you have shared here
Thanks, I’m glad you stopped by. Hope to see you around more often 🙂
Robert,
Have you heard of what some teenage girls do if they have sweaty palms? I know of at least one case where she went online and found a remedy. The google result said to take a 9V battery and shock herself. So she did (on her thigh) for a period of time to get rid of sweaty palms.
This didn’t “cure” her sweaty palms and she noticed that the area of her leg started to get numb.
Your post on Itchy palms reminded me of this incident.
Oh Wow Zeke, that really sounds intense. It kind of reminds me of that commercial where the girl is saying, “They can’t put anything on the internet that isn’t true” Just like her French boyfriend she found online, not everything you read on the internet works out so great…lol