Friday The 13th - Reclaiming a Misunderstood Day
If you are feeling slightly discombobulated or uneasy today, you could always blame it on Friday the 13th — the most feared and superstitious day in the Western calendar.
Over time this date has become synonymous with bad luck, and it has even been estimated that millions of people in the United States alter their behaviour on this day due to anxiety around the superstition.
But how did Friday the 13th come to carry such negative associations?
There are many explanations, but one interesting perspective lies in the historical shift from older nature-based belief systems toward patriarchal and monotheistic religions, where both the day Friday and the number thirteen gradually became associated with misfortune or taboo.
The Sacred Number Thirteen
In many ancient cultures that honoured the Goddess and the rhythms of nature, the number thirteen was considered sacred. It corresponds to the thirteen lunar cycles that occur within a solar year and was closely associated with the cycles of the moon and the rhythms of the female body.
One of the oldest known depictions of goddess worship — a carving known as the Venus of Laussel, discovered in France and estimated to be around 25,000–27,000 years old — shows a female figure holding a crescent-shaped horn marked with thirteen notches. Many scholars believe these markings symbolise the lunar cycle and its connection to fertility and menstruation.
The number thirteen also appears in traditional folklore surrounding witches’ circles or covens, further linking it to older spiritual traditions connected with nature and feminine wisdom.
However, as patriarchal systems and monotheistic religions rose to dominance, many of these earlier traditions were suppressed or reframed. In this new symbolic framework, twelve came to represent order and divine authority — twelve apostles, twelve tribes, twelve months — while thirteen was increasingly associated with disorder, witchcraft or misfortune.
The Goddess Behind Friday
The day Friday itself also has roots in goddess traditions.
It is the only day of the week in English named after a female deity — Frigg or Freya, the Norse goddess associated with love, fertility, sexuality and marriage. Both figures are often linked symbolically to Venus, the Roman goddess of love, from whom the Latin name for Friday — dies Veneris — is derived.
In pre-Christian European cultures, Friday was considered a day connected with celebration, love and fertility. As Christianity spread, however, many pagan festivals and sacred days were reinterpreted in darker terms. Over time, Friday became associated with misfortune or taboo in various traditions.
The Birth of a Superstition
As older spiritual traditions were replaced, stories of witches and dark forces became woven into folklore and cultural imagination.
One legend tells of a gathering of twelve witches meeting on a new moon in a cemetery, when the goddess Freya joined them, bringing the number to thirteen — a narrative that contributed to the idea of the “witches’ dozen.”
Whether historical or symbolic, these stories helped cement the association between Friday, the number thirteen, and supernatural fear.
Reconsidering Friday the 13th
Today, Friday the 13th remains a powerful cultural superstition. Yet it may also invite us to reflect on how beliefs are shaped by history, religion and shifting power structures.
Perhaps instead of fearing this day, we can see it as an opportunity to reconnect with the older traditions that honoured the cycles of nature, the wisdom of the earth, and the feminine aspects of spirituality that were once central to many cultures.
Rather than a day of misfortune, Friday the 13th might be remembered as a day that once celebrated love, fertility, connection and the sacred rhythms of life.
Today is a day of celebration, take some time out to enjoy your day and celebrate all the wonderfully abundant blessings and synchronicities the Goddess is flowing to you – may today bring you magic and good luck!