🌿 Guernsey Folk-Lore: The Itching Nose and Other Curious Omens
If your nose starts to itch today, take care — for in old Guernsey tradition, it might mean you’ll either be thoroughly vexed or end up shaking hands with a fool before the day is done.
This curious belief is just one of many found in the island’s rich collection of 19th-century folk wisdom, recorded by The Antiquary and passed down through generations. Everyday life in Guernsey once shimmered with superstition — every itch, tingle, dream, and household habit carried its own message from fate.
✋ Signs from the Body
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Itching feet meant a journey was ahead — you were soon to tread on “strange ground.”
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Tingling ears carried news: the right for love, the left for spite.
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An itching right hand foretold receiving money, while the left meant it would soon slip away — though, as the storyteller warned, the order was often reversed!
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Even the eyes had their secrets: if the right eye ached, laughter and merriment were near; if the left, sorrow and tears would soon follow.
The islanders knew these signs not as mere sayings, but as the quiet whispers of the unseen world guiding daily life.
🥚 The Mystery of the Egg
Eggs, too, held special meaning. A gift of eggs to a newborn promised that the child would live a life of “unsullied happiness and prosperity.”
But to dream of eggs — especially broken ones — was another matter entirely. One Guernsey woman told of dreaming of her neighbour with a lap full of eggs, only for a dog to attack that very neighbour the next day, tearing her dress and scratching her face. Coincidence, perhaps — or a warning?
🔪 Bread, Knives, and Household Luck
Every kitchen bore its own omens. Two knives crossed upon a plate brought bad fortune, and it was unlucky to rest a loaf of bread on the side from which a slice had just been cut.
And then there was the charming custom for unmarried women: before death, old maids were said to ensure everlasting happiness by jumping over a broomstick and singing “God Save the Queen” three times.
It seems humour and superstition were never far apart in Guernsey homes.
🧦 Stockings, Shoes, and Farewells
If you found you’d put on your stockings or clothes inside out, don’t change them! That accident was considered a sure token of good luck — though if you did it on purpose, the charm was broken.
When someone left home for a long journey, an old shoe was thrown after them to bring happiness and safety. One islander swore her mother’s tossed shoe was the reason her travels were blessed with prosperity for years to come.
🌙 The New Moon Charm
When the new moon rose, special care was required. You must never look at her through a window or through trees, for that would break the spell.
Instead, one had to turn and look over the right shoulder at the new moon and tap the pocket — if there was money inside, it promised good fortune through the moon’s reign. Empty pockets, however, foretold a lean month ahead.
🌕 A Glimpse into Guernsey’s Superstitious Past
These old beliefs may raise smiles today, yet they reveal something timeless about island life — a deep respect for mystery, fate, and the rhythms of nature.
Each itch, dream, or moonrise offered a way to make sense of uncertainty — a quiet reminder that life on a small island has always balanced between the practical and the magical.
Sources:
Guernsey Folk-Lore, collected in The Antiquary (19th century)
Local oral traditions and island folklore accounts
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