Why, according to signs, you can’t whistle in a house, apartment, or room
In almost all nations, whistling at home is considered a bad omen. This can lead to tangible negative consequences - causing trouble or death to someone in the family.
Where did the sign not to whistle in the house come from?
The origin of the sign about the ban on whistling in the house is associated with different versions:
- This is the language of evil spirits. Whistling summons evil spirits. He can bring misfortune.
- Whistling sounds in the apartment scare away good spirits, including the brownie. He may become “offended” and leave his family forever. The brownie will take with him the family wealth, which he had diligently guarded before.
- Whistling at home is considered bad luck. Previously, sailors on sailing ships called on the wind in this way (when they were completely calm and could not sail). Whistling can cause trouble. A real storm will come to your home.
- Whistling sounds in the house carry negative energy. They can take away wealth and destroy family peace. This is where the superstition came from: “don’t whistle, there won’t be any money.”
- The negative meaning of whistling in the house is reflected in the present day. At public events, booing someone means expressing extreme disrespect and disgrace (for example, a sports match or a theater production).
The meaning of signs for people of different ages and genders
No one is allowed to whistle at people in the house. This is a bad sign, the interpretation of which depends on the gender and age of the person. Thus, whistling girls and women have always aroused suspicion and hostility. People believed that they brought misfortune or death. For example, in coastal areas, a whistling lady (indoors, outdoors) could trigger a storm.
In an apartment you should not whistle either with your lips or with the help of a special device.
There is a superstition: “a woman on a ship is unlucky.” According to the suspicions of the sailors, some ladies began to whistle in order to destroy the ship.
Children often play around in the apartment. They whistle their favorite tunes or compete to see who can make the loudest sound. But there are no “special” signs for children. There is only a general ban on these sounds in the house. There is a belief that whistling can lead to the death of the youngest member of the family.
As for men, there are no strict prohibitions for them. But sailors and miners may take this as a bad sign: each isolated male group still has its own beliefs and “rituals.” Sports fans also have certain rules. For example, you should not boo your team, even if it lost. Although a welcome whistle (for example, when hockey players enter the ice) is allowed and even encouraged.
Is whistling outside the home dangerous?
In addition to your own or someone else's home, there are other prohibitions on whistling. There are several places where such self-expression is categorically discouraged, and often even causes aggression from others.
- Everyone knows that there are no more superstitious people than actors. Therefore, if you start whistling your favorite tune in a theater dressing room or auditorium, you risk running into rude remarks addressed to you. After all, such sounds guarantee the complete failure of the entire performance or the unemployment of an individual servant of Melpomene.
- Our ancestors were sure that whoever whistles on the river risks displeasing the waterman. At best, angry underwater evil spirits will leave unlucky fishermen without a catch, and may even overturn the boat or drag a too noisy swimmer to the bottom.
- It was not worth whistling in the forest, so as not to disturb the devil. After all, the suddenly awakened owner of the thicket will not allow you to get out onto a familiar path for a long time, forcing you to wander among the dead wood until completely exhausted, and then while still in the house he will overtake you and break all the glass in the windows.
- In some countries, there is no worse omen than meeting a female whistling on the way. After all, it was once believed that it was with the help of whistling that witches summoned a strong wind that threatened various troubles such as a storm or a forest fire.
- Just a few decades ago, keys were very common, with the help of which it is very convenient to whistle different tunes. However, in Rus' it has long been known that those who are interested in such art can easily “whistle” their memory.
- Peasants in different areas were sure that whistling in a poultry house, cowshed or sheepfold could bring big trouble. The bird will stop laying eggs and breed healthy offspring, and the cattle will stop giving milk.
- In a dream, trills can have radically opposite meanings depending on their origin. If in your dream you hear whistling sounds, then you should prepare for sad events, but if you whistle yourself, very soon you will have a lot of fun.
Is it possible to whistle according to Islam?
Surah al-Anfal (verse 35) says that the prayer of the polytheists was like whistling and clapping their hands, i.e. as if desecrating the dwelling of Allah. Therefore, it was believed that such behavior belongs to forbidden matters (haram). If a person just wants to whistle indoors, it is better to refrain from doing so.
There is one interesting observation. Many Arab peoples believe that whistling is the music of the evil spirit. Therefore, if a person whistled, he had already defiled his mouth for 40 days. It doesn't matter where he did it: in the house or in other places.
Attention! The Orthodox Church frowns upon whistling sounds.
In answers to frequently asked questions, priests say that it is forbidden to whistle in the house. They refer both to the Bible (it states that whistling is an expression of contempt), and to folk wisdom, as well as secular literature (A.S. Pushkin, V.I. Dal).
Hieromonk Job Gumerov has repeatedly spoken out against whistling in the house
How to learn to whistle with a pipe
There is a simple and reliable way to learn to whistle by pursing your lips into a tube. The effect is amazing, it turns out just like the LP. First you need to take an ordinary pen cap with a small hole at the end. Place it on your lips and blow lightly. You will immediately hear a slight whistle. After some training, the lips will begin to fold themselves into the correct tube, and the melody will come out without a cap at all.
In any business, and in this too, motivation plays a huge role. Why do you want to learn to whistle? If you really need it, then the result will not take long to arrive. Of course, you can learn to make noise like a real robber nightingale very quickly, but artistic whistling will require patience. If you are ready for this, then the straw method is just for you.
How to learn to whistle with your mouth
Without any equipment, we learn to whistle in early childhood. Almost everyone mastered these skills in the yard among their peers. We tried to make sounds with our lips, singing along to the beat. Many even tried to whistle with their tongue, folding it into unimaginable shapes. Now everything is much simpler, just open the Internet and find suitable instructions.
Whistling is a very exciting activity that can also be very useful. For example, such training helps after operations on the tonsils, promoting their speedy healing. It’s not for nothing that the habit of whistling has been preserved among us for many centuries in a row, so immediately after reading the article we get down to business!
Bogdan asks, Vasily Yunak answers, 08/26/2010
Bogdan writes:
Hello! My mother says that you can’t whistle in the house if there are images there. But she can't explain why. Please tell me if it’s possible to whistle, and if it’s not, then how does it insult God? Thank you
Greetings, Brother Bogdan!
Here a mixture of two things is manifested: folk superstition and cultural behavior. I'll explain in more detail. Whistling is a special human ability, usually used for two purposes - to send a signal over a longer distance than can be done with a normal voice or even shouting, and to perform musical works without the use of musical instruments.
Due to the fact that a house is a small enclosed space where one can usually communicate by voice, calling someone by whistling is considered indecent and impolite. At the same time, whistling light songs while working or idle is also not considered decent for a well-mannered person in some cultures. In practice, whether to whistle or not to whistle in a public place is often a matter of culture and good manners, unless there really is a need to signal another person at a distance.
As for whistling in a house in which there are images, that is, icons, this superstition arises from the idea that God is supposedly present only in the place where some image of Him or some “holy” object is located. This is a superstition of the same kind as, say, the fear of turning around in a room so that your back is to an icon or other shrine. For this reason, for example, many people, leaving the temple, back away instead of turning around and calmly exiting with their faces facing the door. Moreover, I am not even talking about the fact that the very veneration of these images does not correspond to biblical teaching.
So, what we have here is a combination of superstition and cultural traditions accepted in your area. Probably the culture of your area condemns any whistling in the room, and the presence of images in the room is just an additional argument, saying that what is indecent to do in the presence of people, much less indecent to do in the presence of God.
Blessings!
Vasily Yunak
Why you can't whistle in a mine
There is a superstition that warns: you should not whistle not only in an apartment, but also in a mine. There is a saying that the roof “follows” this sound. There is a logical explanation for this: if methane or other natural gas escapes in the face, it comes out with a whistle, similar to how a strong wind blows through the cracks of doors and windows.
For safety reasons, it is prohibited to whistle at the mine face to avoid sending false signals.
The miners take this superstition seriously, because each of them wants to get to the surface alive.
Is it always necessary to scold a whistler?
Oddly enough, sometimes situations arise when whistling is not only not dangerous, but also very desirable.
How to neutralize negativity
Even if someone in the room began to whistle, this does not mean that trouble will inevitably come to the family. An unintentionally released sound is unlikely to lead to unpleasant events. If the event that occurred bothers you, in order to get rid of disturbing thoughts, you should do a simple ritual:
- I had to whistle during the day - you need to turn around yourself 3 times counterclockwise. This is a sign that a person is “returning” time, as if rewinding a movie. With such actions you can block the evil spirits.
- If you happen to whistle in the dark, it is recommended to immediately go outside. You need to walk around the house counterclockwise 3 times.
- The apartment became uncomfortable and creepy after the whistle - you can pick fresh wormwood and make an impromptu bouquet out of it. A vase with grass should be placed on a table in the front room, where family and guests most often visit.
- You can make a kind of amulet for your apartment. For example, put multi-colored beans, pearl barley, rice, millet, oats into a transparent bottle (you should get 12 alternating layers in total, you can repeat). This container is placed in the room.
- In the kitchen you can leave a wreath of green garlic, onions, and attach chili peppers to it.
Why you can’t whistle in the house and five more house bans 6
Each nation boasts its own set of superstitions, which will be alien and completely incomprehensible to foreigners. But this does not mean at all that these customs, signs and rituals do not work. Moreover, they do not arise out of the blue: people have been observing phenomena for a long time and analyzing their causes. Maybe not according to science, but as best they could. And our ancestors were not mistaken very often. So maybe some signs are still worth believing?
Whistling in the house - to lack of money
Ask any of us why you can’t whistle in the house, everyone will answer without hesitation: there will be no money. In the old days, it was believed that by whistling we summoned evil spirits that would steal the financial well-being of the family. Moreover, it steals from the present and even from the future. And the brownie is very offended by the whistling, leaves the house, and the whole household collapses. Whistling is essentially wind. To which the attitude was most ambiguous, because the wind can have destructive power. That's what they said about frivolous women: whistles.
“In ancient times they said that whistling can bring trouble to oneself or cause grief. In fact, the explanation is simple and without any mysticism - if a person just walks with his hands in his pockets and whistling, then there can be no talk of any money. To have money, you have to work,” explains psychic Tatyana Zhmakina .
Don't forget to sit on the path
A sign that invariably shocks foreigners. They simply cannot understand why the Russians, having packed their suitcases, suddenly sit down and sit silently for half a minute. There seems to be no reasonable explanation for this superstition. Our ancestors believed that if you suddenly set off on a journey, you could confuse the brownie and take him with you. The spirit of the hearth will follow the owner - and that’s it: the house will lose its soul. But this tradition looks obscurantist only at first glance.
In fact, you need to sit down on the path in order to take a little breath after getting ready, relax your head and understand if you have forgotten anything. Have you turned off the gas? Did you take the documents? Did you leave the keys with your neighbors so that they could water the flowers and create the appearance of the owners’ presence in the house - in case intruders become interested in your apartment? After all, in the chaos it is so easy to forget about something really important.
Don't sit on the table or windowsill
Actually, it's just uncivilized. You are a well-mannered, intelligent person, why do you need to place your butt on the table where you usually eat? And believers even call the table “the palm of God” - after all, before eating they read a prayer, thanking the Almighty for the food. Showing disrespect for the dinner table means inviting financial trouble on yourself: your table will be empty, and you yourself will be hungry.
By the way, you shouldn’t sit on your desk either, unless it’s your own. Few people like having their workplace used in this way. And if you also sit with your back to the owner of the table in order to talk with someone else in the office, you are simply admitting your own lack of culture and bad manners.
Another ban is on sitting on the windowsill. “Don’t sit on the windowsill, girl, you won’t get married,” says the sign. And all because since a girl sits by the window all day long, it means she has nothing to do. White-handed, she's not much of a housewife - in general, she has no time for suitors.
Don't sit on the corner
Another sign associated with marriage. They said that a girl who sits on the corner will never marry. In fact, this used to be the case, the girls who got this place lived out their lives as old maids. This is because the most uncomfortable seat at the table used to go to foster children. They were not entitled to a dowry, and a woman without a dowry had a very small chance of getting married.
Now the issue of dowry is no longer so pressing. But esotericists still believe that the corner is not the best place at the table. It directs an aggressive stream of negative energy straight to the solar plexus, thereby dooming the girl to loneliness.
However, many simply laugh at this sign, saying: “I sit on the corner - I will always be with my corner.”
Don't let guests wash dishes
This ban applied to families with unmarried daughters. Once the guest washes the dishes after himself, the girl - ta-dam! - will never marry. Because the one who is now splashing in the sink will take away all the suitors of the owner’s daughter. Well, or just wash them out of the house. In some areas it was even believed that they did this not out of a desire to help, but in order to harm the girl’s personal life, which was not going well anyway.
In addition, overly economical guests can harm the financial well-being of the family. While washing the dishes, the stranger will wash peace, harmony and wealth from the house in one fell swoop. Luck will turn away from the family, and if the guest was also in a bad mood, then he will damage the owners through the dishes - unintentionally, it’s just the way energies merge.
Don't spill the salt
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Salt crystals are still credited with truly mystical properties. According to esotericists, salt is capable of absorbing energy - both evil and good. It cannot be lent - this way you are giving away part of your own life energy. You can clean the energy of your apartment with salt: just sprinkle coarse salt over the rug and vacuum it up after half an hour.
“After this, be sure to remove the bag from the vacuum cleaner and throw it away from the house,” adds esotericist Igor Akhmedov .
As for the sign about spilled salt, it’s all because it used to be very expensive. It would have been a waste to wake her up. However, the negativity from such a mini-misfortune could be smoothed out very simply: draw a cross on the spilled salt with your little finger, and then throw a pinch over your shoulder, not forgetting to laugh.
Who lives on the threshold and does not allow anyone to step on it?
According to ancient beliefs, you should not talk or greet across the threshold, or pass anything through it. They say that if you break these rules, people can be separated by demons, and children in the house can get sick. Such terrible misfortunes were promised to violators, since the threshold was considered from ancient times to be a kind of border between the outside world and the world at home. And being between worlds is naturally dangerous. If a neighbor came in with some small question, he had to be let into the house or go outside to see him, since it is impossible to achieve mutual understanding while existing in different worlds.
The threshold is the boundary between worlds.
There is a theory that the threshold not only divided space, but was also considered a symbolic boundary between the living and the dead, since the ashes of the dead were often buried under it. The spirits of the ancestors tried to protect the inhabitants of the house from misfortunes, diseases and evil. Therefore, disturbing them by standing on the threshold, talking over it, and so on was considered impermissible.
