Walk Under The Ladder Superstition Good Luck Or Bad Luck?

Walk under a ladder superstition is very popular these days in the year 2024. Do you know anything about it? Don’t worry, this article is for you that uncovers this myth.

It is similar to the Friday the 13th superstition, which is also related to bad luck. But we will explore it in detail here.

People around the world always assume Indians to be superstitious people, but you will be surprised to know that believing in superstitions is not an Indian thing at all but rather a ‘world‘ thing. Since people all around the world believe in them.

One of the superstitions that tops the list is that of a cat crossing your path and didn’t we all at some point in our lives wait to let other people pass before us so we could be saved from the bad luck that a cat crossing our path brings? Yes, we did!

In our lives, we all have heard about some of the other superstitions from our granny, mother, father, cousins, neighbors, or friends. We even find superstitions on social media, like seeing an owl on our roof can be a bad omen or ominous, Or 3 as a bad number and a pair of three ruining good work, and many more.

Today, in our blog we are going to discuss one such superstition, which is ‘walking under a ladder’.

Do you like these mythical blogs? If so, read Friday the 13th Superstition Meaning.

walk under a ladder

My Story And Experience About “Walk Under The Ladder Superstition”

walk under the ladder superstition

I still remember the day vividly when I discovered this superstition. It was a mid-December morning and my friend and I were hurrying down the road to catch our school bus. Some minor construction work was going on in our neighborhood, therefore, there was a ladder that kept slantly touching the wall. Since we had a shortage of space in that lane, the only option left was walking under the ladder!

I was the first one to pass from beneath the ladder. As I looked behind to tell my friend to hurry up, I noticed she was chanting something with her fingers crossed. I rolled my eyes believing that she wanted our physics test to go well and therefore, was praying in the middle of the road.

But after we reached school, I told her to relax as our physics paper always went bad, but I was the one who was surprised by her reply!

She told me that she was not worried about the physics paper at all but started chanting in the lane because of the ladder. On my questioning, she answered that she was told by her grandmother who in turn was also told by her grandmother that walking under a ladder is ominous and brings bad luck.

I was surprised at hearing this and decided to do some research about it.

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Origins Of The Superstition Related To Walk Under The Ladder

origins of the superstition

Some believe that the superstition of walking under a ladder originated way back in Egypt. Egyptians used to keep a ladder in tombs so that the deceased people could climb toward heaven with the help of a ladder.

It was also believed that if someone walks under a ladder, then he/she may disturb God or Goddesses by climbing the ladder or descending from the ladder.

Therefore, people walking under a ladder were thought to have bad luck by angering the Gods. The Egyptians also believed that the space between a house wall and a ladder was the place where good and evil spirits resided and someone walking under a ladder would disturb the balance, thus. angering the spirits.

The ladder kept vertically in contact with a wall forms a triangle which is again an important shape for Egyptians (like the pyramids).

Some believe that superstition also has its roots in Christianity due to its triangular shape. The triangle represents the Holy Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in Christianity. Walking underneath a ladder for that reason is thought to be sacrilegious.

In fact, in the early 1600s, criminals had to walk under a ladder before going to the gallows to be hanged. Definitely not good luck!

How To Reverse It?

how to reverse it

Already passed under a ladder? No worries, we got you covered with these tricks. 

Richard Webster in his book, ‘Encyclopedia of Superstitions’ discussed five tricks to reverse your bad luck brought by walking under a ladder.

  1. Make a wish while walking under a ladder.
  2. Walking backward through the ladder again.
  3. Crossing your finger while walking beneath a ladder and not uncrossing it until you see a dog.
  4. Saying ‘bread and butter‘ while walking under a ladder. 
  5. Putting your thumb finger between your index finger and middle finger and making a ‘fig sign‘.

We also recommend reading our latest article – Butterfly symbolism, which talks about the spiritual meaning of seeing a butterfly.

The Logical View Behind Walking Under A Ladder

Believe it or not, many superstitions have some scientific reasoning behind them. In the same way, the logical reasoning behind not walking under a ladder is to simply prevent things from falling on our heads

Someone or something can be placed high up on the ladder, and walking under it can place you at a high risk of it landing on your head!

Also read about left vs right foot itching superstition.

Should You Believe In This Myth?

Walking under a ladder and receiving bad luck through it is a myth. But being cautious while walking under a ladder is a fact. 

Imagine walking carefreely under a ladder and a whole bucket of paint landing on your new shirt or your favorite blouse! Wouldn’t that be just a mess? and what a mess it would be!

Now, imagine hurrying under a ladder and mistakenly jostling it, resulting in a person landing directly on your head! Jokes apart, that would be terrible for both you and the person landing on you.

FAQs

What does it mean when you walk under a ladder?

Walking under a ladder is considered as bad luck. This superstition is over 5000 years old and it started in Egypt. When a ladder is leaning on a wall, it creates a triangle or a pyramid shape, which is a sacred sign in Egypt. So Egyptians consider walking under the pyramid as bad luck.

How to reverse the walking under a ladder superstition?

There are a few things you can do to reverse the walking under a ladder superstition –
1- Walk backward through the ladder again
2- Cross your finger while beneath the ladder
3- Make a wish
4- Say bread and butter while beneath the ladder.

Final Words: Our Opinion On Walk Under The Ladder Myth

Whether you believe in superstitions or not, please be careful while walking under a ladder for your benefit. Also, if you can avoid walking under a ladder altogether, then please do so.

There are many myths and superstitions told to us by our elders. Sometimes we make a mockery of them and don’t see the logical and scientific reasoning behind them. But there are some superstitions with deep scientific views behind them.

Try finding a scientific view behind every superstition that you come across. If you do find a scientific and logical view behind it, then you can choose to believe it. But if you don’t find a scientific view, then forget about it and move on!

Last but not least, our physics paper didn’t go well that day. But that’s because we never tried understanding physics. It had no connection to us walking under a ladder, nada.

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