I feel bad about “Always throw salt over your left shoulder…” since somebody made a poster out of it (attributed to Shakespeare) and is selling it on Etsy. There are probably more than one; I just happened to have spotted one.
I can see where everybody went wrong. Google it.
The first hit (which for me is “The Herb Gardener”) lists it like this:
There’s a few things I’ve learned in life: always throw salt over your left shoulder, keep rosemary by your garden gate, plant lavender for good luck, and fall in love whenever you can.
Lavender and Shakespeare
(Winter’s Tale, iv. 4)
Aha, you think when you look quickly – that’s by Shakespeare! The Winter’s Tale! No, poor googler. Look closer at the rest of the page:
Lavender and Alice Hoffman
(Practical Magic )
There’s a few things I’ve learned in life: always throw salt over your left shoulder, keep rosemary by your garden gate, plant lavender for good luck, and fall in love whenever you can.
Lavender and Shakespeare
(Winter’s Tale, iv. 4)
Hot lavender, mints, savory, marjoram;
The marigold, that goes to bed wi’ th’ sun,
And with him rises weeping; these are flow’rs
Of middle summer, and I think they are given
To men of middle age.
This particular site provides the source line before the quote. So, yes, Shakespeare did speak of lavender in The Winter’s Tale – that whole bit about “Hot lavender, mints, savory, etc etc etc…” The quote above? That’s apparently from Alice Hoffman.
Unfortunately, all the other hits that attribute this quote to Shakespeare seem to associate it with The Winter’s Tale, so I wonder if they all came from the one I cite above.
Why Do We Always Throw Salt Over A Shoulder?
Ancient Rome: The Romans highly valued salt, using it for preserving food and as a currency. Spilling salt was seen as wasteful and unlucky. To counteract the bad luck, they would throw a pinch of the spilled salt over their left shoulder.
Christian Tradition: In Christian tradition, spilling salt was considered bad luck because Judas Iscariot, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, is depicted in Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” knocking over a salt cellar. Throwing salt over the left shoulder was believed to blind the devil lurking there.
Medieval Europe: During the Middle Ages, salt was expensive and precious. Spilling it was considered an ill omen, potentially inviting evil spirits. Always throw salt over your left shoulder to protect yourself from these malevolent forces.
Superstition and Folklore: In various cultures, the idea persisted that spilling salt could bring bad luck or evil spirits. To negate this, people would always throw salt over their left shoulder as a protective measure.
So, always throw salt over your shoulder. Just don’t say Shakespeare told you to.
Explore more posts in the Not by Shakespeare category.
Just exactly how difficult is it to check for more than one source for a quotation? Especially when the Bard’s text is so readily available? Even when I feel certain is from Shakespeare I double check it.
How do you think I feel? If I end up making a mistake on these I look like a complete tool :).
Most of these “not by Shakespeares” are, unfortunately, quoted far and wide and attributed incorrectly. Except for the screamingly obvious ones I have to go hunting for a real source, and that only after I’ve satisfied myself that it is not in the works of Shakespeare. It is much easier for the folks who don’t care as much as we do to google it, spot a handful of sources that say Shakespeare, and then say “Ok, yup, I’ll call it Shakespeare too.” I expect that most folks don’t really care all that much, and are probably more offended at being corrected than anything else. But, I’m trying.
Don’t know about the garden gate thing concerning a Rosemary herb plant but I have one by my front door in the drip line facing a sort of west south west direction and it’s grown to a huge bush. I absolutely adore it and the beautiful blue flowers it produces. It has not only thrived but it’s literally taken over a good three to four foot area in the front near my door. Again it’s in the drip line so even when I’m not there in Florida it’s thriving.
Dont believe every quote you read on the internet. Some of the sources are sus fam – Abraham Lincoln.
I’m a fan of both “Practical Magic” and Shakespeare so maybe I’m biased but the Alice Hoffman quote could not sound any less like a Shakespeare quote. The verbiage is way too modern and the pacing is all off. Not to mention a quick google pulls up the source pretty fast.