Why Is Throwing Salt Over Your Shoulder Good Luck?

By: Debra Ronca  | 
Woman throwing salt over her left shoulder.
Salt used to be such a hot commodity that spilling it was akin to losing money. Now we toss it over our shoulders because — wait, we do we throw salt over our shoulders? Allison Achauer / Getty Images

Lots of chefs do it on television. Your grandma does it while she's cooking. You see the guy at the pizzeria do it. One time you saw a woman at a restaurant do it. You might even do it yourself. So many people do it without understanding why, but throwing salt over your shoulder is an old tradition.

Advertisement

Why Is Throwing Salt Over Your Shoulder Good Luck?

According to superstition, spilling salt is bad luck, and throwing a pinch over your shoulder reverses that bad luck. Typically, it's thrown over the left shoulder. We don't know exactly when this tradition began, but there are a few explanations about why spilled salt is bad luck.

Advertisement

Salt and Christianity

Take a close look at Leonardo da Vinci's painting The Last Supper, and you'll see that Judas Iscariot knocked the salt onto the table with his elbow. Because Judas betrayed Jesus Christ in the Bible, people began associating salt with lies and disloyalty. Throwing salt over the left shoulder blinds the devil, who was waiting there to force you into acts of bad behavior as well.

Why toss it over the left side? Some Christian beliefs hold that the devil hangs around behind your left shoulder, waiting to take advantage of you. If you spill salt, the devil sees it as an invitation to step in and do evil. Throwing it over your shoulder into his face blinds him and renders him helpless.

Advertisement

The Value of Salt

One theory of the origin of not upsetting the salt cellar has more to do with etiquette than warding off bad luck. In ancient times, salt was expensive — so precious that, in some civilizations, it was currency [source: Pettit]. Spilling salt was tantamount to throwing away money, and only the devil would cause someone to act with such foolishness. Tossing a pinch over your shoulder would blind the devil and make him think twice about trying to trick you again.

If you spill the salt, you must be the one to throw it over your shoulder, or you won't thwart the bad luck. If you're the superstitious type, or just like to play it safe, it probably won’t hurt to toss a little pinch of that sodium chloride over your left shoulder should you accidentally spill some. You never know what might be lurking behind you!

Advertisement

Throwing Salt Over Your Shoulder FAQ

Why do people throw salt over their shoulders?
The tradition of throwing salt over your shoulder comes from the idea that the salt will blind the devil and stop him from performing mischief and evil deeds.
What shoulder do you throw salt over for good luck?
To reverse the bad luck of spilling salt, you’re supposed to throw salt over your left shoulder.
Where did throwing salt over the shoulder come from?
The tradition of throwing salt on the left shoulder originates from France, but not much more is known about its origins. However, other credible sources believe it may date back to ancient Rome.
Is spilling salt bad luck?
There is a superstition that spilling salt causes bad luck and that you can reverse that bad luck by immediately throwing salt over your left shoulder.

Lots More Information

Related Articles

  • Hedley-Dent, Ticky. "So why DO we throw salt over our shoulder? Answers to the strangest superstitions." Mail Online. May 10, 2011. (Dec. 10, 2014) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1385380/Why-throw-salt-shoulder-superstitions-answered.html
  • Pettit, Carl. "Why Do We Throw Salt Over Our Shoulders for Good Luck?" TSM Interactive. Jan. 4, 2012. (Dec. 10, 2014) http://tsminteractive.com/salt-shoulders-good-luck/
  • Welsh, Chris. "Spilling Salt." Timeless Myths. Dec. 3, 2012. (Dec. 10, 2014) http://www.timelessmyths.co.uk/spilling-salt.html

Advertisement

Loading...