Touch Wood: An Encyclopaedia of Superstitions

by Carole Potter. Michael O'Mara Books. $39.95.

Reviewed by Denis Dutton

It would be pleasant to be able to say that while this catalogue of superstitions may not have induced belief, it was at least a charming entertainment. Alas, Carole Potter's scissors-and-paste compendium is one of the most tedious reads I've encountered.

Like religions, there is something self-cancelling about superstitions — there are just too many of them. There seems to be hardly a herb, animal, or action that won't bring bad luck, or good luck, or both, and from A to Z, they're all here.

So much of the material is oddly scholastic. Among "the meanings of plants," we find that mushrooms mean suspicion and rhubarb means advice. How we might use such information is left unexplained. If you have a mole on your hand you have a practical nature, but if the mole is on you temple you're sure to have happiness in love. Cloves denote dignity, and saffron means, according to Potter, "Don't overdo." Many cooks would agree.

If you hear an owl hoot, it may foretell death in the family, so to counteract this, wear your clothes backwards and pull out your pockets. Make a wish before you cut a banana. If you find a Y-shaped mark at the end of the fruit, your wish will come true.

The book is badly written, with an uncertain tone that slides between light-hearted irony and half-acceptance. But I suspect a careful reading of it would be an excellent cure for superstition. Seeing the whole motley mess all together makes it hard to accept our own pet superstitions.

There is one claim here I can fully endorse. While I'm not sure if, as Potter reports, it foretells good luck if a bee flies into your house, at least we can all agree with her that it means bad luck to be attacked by a swarm of bees.