By Shala Howell,
In her book,Reading Like a Writer, Francine Prose casually states that having peaco*ck feathers in the house is bad luck. I had never heard that before, so of course I wanted to know–do peaco*ck feathers really bring bad luck?
The answer, as you might expect, depends on where you’re from.
If you’re a superstitious Westerner, yes. Peaco*ck feathers are thought to be unlucky.
In the article, Bird Superstitions, British Bird Lovers explains that having peaco*ck feathers in the house is thought to both bring bad luck and doom any unmarried women living in that house to spinsterhood.
It’s also considered a bad idea to use peaco*ck feathers as a prop or part of a costume in a theatrical production. Apparently, many a veteran stage director and actor has at least one sordid tale to tell of stages that fell apart when peaco*ck feathers were included in theperformance.
The Western prejudice against peaco*ck feathers might have originated in the early Mediterranean. According to British Bird Lovers, the eye markings on the feathers reminded early Mediterranean people of the evil eye of Lilith, the she-devil they blamed for any child’s unexplained death. Bringing peaco*ck feathers into your home was tantamount to inviting Lilith into your family to wreak her havoc. Why would you do that?
Or maybe it started because Mongol warriors wore peaco*ck feathers into battle, which made the Eastern Europeans who encountered those Mongols associate peaco*ck feathers with bad luck.
Over time, the original reason for the superstition has faded, leaving Westerners with the general sense that having peaco*ck feathers around is unlucky.
On the other hand, in India, China, and Japan, peaco*ck feathers bring good luck.
According to the Chinese Buddhist Encyclopedia, Hindus associate the peaco*ck with Lakshmi, a benevolent deity who represents patience, kindness, compassion, and good luck. Peaco*cks (and their feathers) are thought to symbolize those positive qualities as well.
Peaco*cks are also sacred in Buddhism.For Buddhists, the peaco*ck symbolizes purity and openness. White peaco*cks symbolize nirvana.
As a result, instead of being afraid of the eyes on peaco*ck tail feathers, folks in India, China, and Japan are much more likely to welcome them as an extra set of eyes protecting their homes from danger.
Update:
Since writing this, we had occasion to stay in the home of a woman who falls very much on the “NO!” side of this question. She had a wonderfully colorful and decorative peaco*ck theme running throughout the common areas of her home, including this corner display in her living room.
Her home felt warm, welcoming, and comfortable, and she herself was healthy and in good spirits despite having had those peaco*ck feathers for years. Since I didn’t have a strong opinion on this topic before I encountered Francine Prose’s casual comment, I’m inclined to go back to not worrying about it one way or the other. As long as no birds are harmed in the process, I am officially pro-feather.
And no, I did not tell her about this post or Francine Prose’s opinions. My parents raised me better than that.
Related Links:
- Bird Superstitions (British Bird Lovers)
- What does a peaco*ck feather symbolize? (Chinese Buddhist Encyclopedia)
5 Responses to ““Is it really unlucky to have peaco*ck feathers in thehouse?””
rayworth1973Certainly unlucky for the peaco*ck!
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- Shala Howell
Yes. I suppose it’s too much to hope that all those feathers were shed voluntarily. 🙂 Happy Friday, Fred.
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Kathy Keveney TurnerPeaco*cks shed their feathers every year after mating!
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- Shala Howell
I didn’t know that! Thanks for sharing.
I’m sorry for being so slow to respond, by the way… I spent November working on NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month where you work to write 50K words on a book of some sort in a month), and this was a year where I didn’t have any extra words to think about blogging. I hope you and yours had a pleasant a month as can be expected.
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