User:Liz Archer/Reading 2

Preconceived ideas?

Consider the following pictures carefully then choose whether you associate each picture with good or bad news; a good or bad omen; or no association. Think about your answers as well as why you have made the particular choice.

Owl

• What is your personal association with this bird of prey?
  
  
  • Good news or good omen
    • Some cultures associate the image of an owl with wisdom and could associate the acquisition of knowledge and experience as "good". In the modern west, the owl is often a symbol of wisdom. Did you associate this with a good omen, and why? Feel free to share your thoughts by posting on identi.ca, twitter or WEnotes and remember to include the #OERuCR2 in your post.
  • Bad news or bad omen
    • Some cultures associate the owl with a messenger of death. For example, among the Kikuyu of Kenya it was believed that owls were harbingers of death. Did you associate this image with bad news. If so why? Feel free to share your thoughts by posting on identi.ca, twitter or WEnotes and remember to include the #OERuCR2 in your post.
  • No particular association
    • Depending on your own background, upbringing and culture you may not associate any particular message of good or bad with this image. However, the owl can be associated with good and bad omens depending on background and belief systems. Click above to see.

Cat

What is your association with the colour of this cat?

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• Click on all the options below to see how your association compares.
  • Good news / good omen
    • In Great Britain and Ireland, for example, black cats are a symbol of good luck.
  • Bad news / bad omen
    • In many parts of western and southern Europe, the black cat is considered a symbol of bad luck, especially if one crosses paths with a person, which is believed to be an omen of misfortune.
  • No particular association or both good and bad?
    • Consider for example that some people in Germany, believe that black cats crossing a person's path from right to left, is a bad omen. But from left to right, the cat is granting favorable times!

Spider

• What is your personal association with this arachnid?
  
  
  • Good news or good omen
    • An Islamic tradition holds that during the Hijra, the Prophet Muhammad and his companion Abu Bakr took refuge in a cave whilst being pursued by the Quraysh. The tale goes on to say that God commanded a spider to weave a web across the opening of the cave and a dove to construct a nest in front of it, thus deterring the Quraish from entering (the Prophet's entry to the cave would have broken a web). Since then, it is held in many Muslim traditions that spiders are, if not holy, then at least to be respected. Feel free to share your thoughts by posting on identi.ca, twitter or WEnotes and remember to include the #OERuCR2 in your post.
  • Bad news or bad omen
    • Arachnophobia is a specific phobia—it is the abnormal fear of spiders or anything reminiscent of spiders, such as webs or spider-like shapes. It is one of the most common specific phobias, and some statistics show that 50% of women and 10% of men show symptoms.It may be an exaggerated form of an instinctive response that helped early humans to survive Did you associate this image with bad news. If so why? Feel free to share your thoughts by posting on identi.ca, twitter or WEnotes and remember to include the #OERuCR2 in your post.
  • No particular association or both good and bad?
    • In French Quebec it is good luck to kill a spider with your right hand or foot. Likewise, it is bad luck to kill one with your left hand or foot.

Rainbow

What is your association with the rainbow?

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• Click on all the options below to see how your association compares.
  • Good news / good omen
    • According to Genesis, after Noah saved the animals from the Great Flood, a rainbow appeared. As the flood had killed all other living beings, the rainbow came to symbolize God's promise that he would never send another flood to destroy all of the earth and that never again would all living things be killed in the waters of a flood.
  • Bad news / bad omen
    • In Amazonian cultures, rainbows have long been associated with malign spirits that cause harm, such as miscarriages and (especially) skin problems. In the Amuesha language of central Peru, certain diseases are called ayona’achartan, meaning "the rainbow hurt my skin". A tradition of closing one's mouth at the sight of a rainbow in order to avoid disease appears to pre-date the Incan empire.
  • No particular association or both good and bad?
    • Not all peoples have regarded the rainbow’s power as solely benevolent. A rather ambiguous perception of the rainbow strikes a vein in all world culture, through its entire storied past