Lucky For Some: An Ode To The Number 13
- Emily
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Hello My Freaky Darlings!
It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I could make excuses about missed months and tangled time, but instead—let’s blame the calendar goblins and move on, yeah? (see this post for reasons)
Because today, I’m here to celebrate something that’s always been close to my spooky little heart: the number 13. Maligned, mistrusted, and mysteriously avoided by hotels and cowards alike, this poor digit gets a bad rap—and I, for one, think that’s gloriously unfair.
So, to make up for my lack of blog posts from January through April (oops), I’ve put together a feast of five curious, creepy, or quietly rebellious facts about the number 13 and its folklore… because nothing says “spring awakening” like a little triskaidekaphiliac mischief.
1. The Thirteen Club
In the late 1800s, a bunch of rebellious rationalists got together and decided to give superstition the middle finger (with a gloved Victorian hand, I assume). They called themselves The Thirteen Club, met on the 13th of every month, dined in rooms festooned with spilled salt and shattered mirrors, and made a point of walking under ladders on purpose. Apparently five U.S. Presidents were members 😮
2. Hotels Hate Her
So widespread is the superstition that many buildings — especially hotels — skip the 13th floor altogether.
Elevators jump straight from 12 to 14, like no one will notice the missing stair in reality’s attic.
But we know the truth, don’t we? The 13th floor is still there. It’s just hiding.
Probably full of ghosts, forgotten secrets, and a tea party with skeletons in feather boas. 💀
3. Baker's Dozen (aka Delicious Rebellion)
Once upon a ye olde time, bakers who shorted customers on bread faced severe punishments.
So they started tossing in an extra bun, just in case. Thus was born the baker’s dozen: 13.
What started as a hedge against trouble became a strange little gesture of generosity — proof that sometimes, going a little over the top is a good thing.
Especially when carbs are involved.
4. Lunar Witchery
There are typically 13 full moons in a year. Coincidence? Not to the witches, weirdos, and moon-gazers among us.
Thirteen is tied to the divine feminine, the lunar cycle, and the tides. It’s the rhythm of nature and mystery, not malaise.
5. The Tarot Says: Transformation, Baby
In the Major Arcana of the Tarot, card XIII is none other than Death.
But hold your gasps, darlings — it’s not about doom and gloom (well, not entirely). The Death card is about transformation, endings, and glorious rebirth. The caterpillar becoming goo so it can sprout wings and cause a scandal at the garden party.
It’s a reminder that sometimes, things must die so better things can grow. Like self-doubt. Or skinny jeans.
So there you go, my weird and wonderful kin: five odd, eerie, and possibly empowering facts to honour the gloriously misunderstood number 13 — and to make up for four months of my own mysterious silence.
I’m still here. Still scribbling. Still stirring the cauldron.
And still absolutely besotted with the beauty of being a bit… odd.
Much Love and Blessed Be
Emily xxx
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