A Modern Guide to Superstition This is A Modern Guide to Superstition, a column by Dorothy Bendel on folk belief and ritual in chaotic times.

Cover Photo: photograph of a row of five broom heads in a line, bristles down, sitting on a purple wooden bench against a white wall
What Moving During a Pandemic Taught Me About the Meaning of Home

My grandmother once told me that bringing bread into a home means that its residents will never go hungry.

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Dorothy Bendel
Apr 27, 2021
Columns | A Modern Guide To Superstition
Cover Photo: closeup photograph of a bird with red, white, and brown markings sitting on a ledge, with strands of hair in its beak
Can a Bird and Its Nest Really Bring Bad Luck?

Some think good luck or bad luck is with us from birth—though our luck might change if a winged creature steals a strand of our hair.

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Dorothy Bendel
Mar 24, 2021
Columns | A Modern Guide To Superstition
Cover Photo: illustration of a mother and son, both masked, walking through fog around pillars on a city street
Say “Bread and Butter” and Stick Together

If a pair, walking together, is forced to pass on opposite sides of some obstacle, they should say “bread and butter” or risk a permanent separation.

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Dorothy Bendel
Feb 22, 2021
Columns | A Modern Guide To Superstition