Ironing Out Old Superstitions

So, in my last blog I touched briefly on the Christianization of fairy defense. Fairy beliefs, however, date from a period long before Christianity, and many anti-fairy techniques remain from that time.

Most of us have probably heard about the effect of iron on fae creatures. A few holdouts may even still hang horseshoes over their doors to bring good luck, a tradition stemming from the belief that elves, fairies, and the like cannot bear the touch of iron, and will not enter a doorway so protected. This idea carries throughout European fairy culture. Despite its popularity, I have always found it to be a rather random superstition. As a matter of fact, many believe it could be rooted in prehistoric conflicts between Stone Age Neolithic tribes and their Iron Age counterparts. For instance, when the Celtic peoples expanded into the British Isles, they would have encountered the Picts*, still using flint arrowheads to the Celt's iron axes. To the less technologically advanced culture, such unknown weaponry would have indeed seemed magical (Ashliman 32).

I hope I do not stray from the meat of the topic here, but I find the scientific and historical reasoning behind certain superstitions to be completely fascinating. I like to think that supernatural beings may exist, or at least that they may have existed at some point, but if they do not, I would like to know why we should ever think they did. Besides, if we can weed out the explainables, perhaps we can delve to the heart of things, if indeed there is a heart. With luck, still beating at the center of these superstitions is something which simply cannot be explained. And so we hope.

*Is "pixie" derived from "Pict"? I feel as though I read that somewhere. Now I need to look it up. Wikipedia, my love!

(Picture courtesy of http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en-commons/thumb/3/3f/180px-Horseshoe_lucky_on_door.jpg.)