Local superstitions
Like any other culture, Yuribans both native and immigrant often believe in a variety of local superstitions.
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Luck Superstitions
- Collecting Halcyon Feathers and then laying them in a trail from a Faerie Circle to your house is said to bring luck to the household.
- Kissing someone under a full moon while standing in the eastern wading pools will break a streak of bad luck in love.
- To bring bad luck to a rival, write her name on the back of an abalone shell and leave it with the shining side up in the tide on a new moon.
- Causing the death of a Lucent Swan bring three years bad luck.
- Hugging a statue of Little Sister is considered good luck. Leaving an offering of fish and/or honey will bring Little Sister's spirit to watch over one's household.
Love Superstitions
- Couples whose families disagree with their relationship often make vows of devotion in a grove of Yuriban Mangroves, to show how their love of different elements will manage as well.
- As for couples whose relationships have surpassed adversity, they often exchange devotions on the slops of Engetsu-san to honor Engetsu and Chikyuu.
- A single Great Widow Albatross landing on your home predicts some coming disaster in love; if it calls as well, there is no way to prevent that disaster.
- Drawing a spiral upon the face of a mirror and holding it up to catch the last rays of the setting sun on a summer day will show you a glimpse of your true love's face.
Household Superstitions
- Small children are widely told that pulling on other people's tails will cause you to be attacked by Tail-Snakes, which can pose as another creature's tail and bite any hands that come close. (Tail-Snakes do not, of course, /actually/ exist. But kids don't know that.)
- Fresh branches from Passionberry bushes are placed over the entryways to a home at the vernal equinox to help banish bad emotions and feelings from the house. Many families grow a small bush in a pot in the kitchen or elsewhere in the house for this purpose.
- For those especially concerned about negative emotion, sweeping the house clean with a broom made from passionberry bush branches, lavender, and long grass is believed to brush away any that linger.
- The first creature to enter a new home should, ideally, be a cat or at least a catgirl so that the wandering heart of Zansho will see it and bless it with laughter and joy.
- A spiral drawn on a worn or damaged item, starting from the outside and moving in, will help restore it and prolong its useful life.
- Many locals consider it a sign of bad luck to find a feather of the nighthawk on their house. To try and avoid this some will place some kind of illumination upon their roof in hopes of keeping the animal away. Whether this is actually helpful in doing so is often debated among those living on the island.
Travel Superstitions
- The traditional parting phrase for Yuribans is an exhortation to 'Be Well' - this is said in order to wish someone well on their travels and avoid the possible finality of saying 'Goodbye'.
Area Superstitions
- Many locals believe that the rock garden and forest behind the shrine known as Megami Temple are haunted by the ghost of a girl looking for true love.
- On certain mornings, someone standing on the Boardwalk can see a 'green flash' that precedes the rising sun; this supposedly appears as a vast but short lived column of green light. Those who see it are believed to be blessed with luck and health by Issui afterwards.
- Someone who sees the ghost of Yumi at Phantasm Harbor should turn out towards the ocean for five minutes and share in her vigil for her lost love, to keep her from wishing the same fate upon them.
Assorted Superstitons
- Black furred kitsune are considered to be even more adventurous and mischievous than their kin.
- A butterfly should be present at the birth of a child to carry the first sound it makes to a secret place, preserving it forever.
- Eating nothing but Gildedsides for a week will help bring a coveted or needed item to you.
- Three is a lucky number; nine is even luckier, being thrice three.
- Young children can see the goddess Harumeku out of the corners of their eyes.
- A solar eclipse is a sign of the goddess Kigaki trying to devour the sun and Kikoutei though she is ultimately defeated as the sun is seen again when the eclipse passes. Some natives still get a sense of misgiving when seeing a solar eclipse which is believed to be a hold over from this ancient superstition even if they don't know why.