by Megan Stoddard

Created on: October 13, 2009

Travel is, literally, a time of transit. When we are traveling, we are neither here nor there.

In the past, when all travel was done on foot or on horse, elephant, camel, or another beast of burden, and there were no paved roads or written signs, going more than a few miles from your home was a great adventure, closer to a backpacking trip than to what we usually think of as travel. Going any great distance could well be a lifetime journey, from which you would never return.

It is no surprise, then, that there are many superstitions regarding travel. Superstition always arises around times of transition and situations where the outcome is clearly outside human control.

Even in our own time, when planes, trains, and automobiles take us farther in an hour than many of our ancestors went in a lifetime, some superstition and some fear of travel still exists. And it is not necessarily unfounded. We pay the price for fast and convenient travel in the regular occurrence of fatal car accidents, and the infrequent (but heavily reported) occurrence of plane crashes.

Today, as centuries ago, many travelers carry talismans to ensure safe journeys. A popular one, even with some non Catholics, is a St. Christopher medallion. The patron saint of safe journeys, Christopher (whose name means Christ bearer) is said to have carried the Christ child across a raging river. Objects generally held to bring good luck, such as rabbit feet, are safe journey talismans for some. Other people may choose their own travel talismans, perhaps a stone found in a special place or an object acquired on a personally meaningful trip. Hanging a small talisman from the rearview mirror of a car, or keeping one on the dashboard, is common practice.

The practice of placing a talisman on a vehicle predates cars. As long as there have been sailing ships, it has been customary to carve or mount a figurehead on the prow. The figurehead may represent an ocean god or goddess, or respect to the deity, or the spirit of the ship itself. Whatever it may have stood for, the figurehead was always so highly valued by sailors that no ship could sail without one. If the figurehead was damaged, that would spell doom for the ship.

The form of the figurehead varies greatly. Vikings and Phoenicians favored serpents; the Phoenicians also liked to use birds. In medieval Europe, a lion rampant was another common ship's figurehead. Not until the eighteenth century were any made in human form, and then a bare breasted woman

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