And thought Love decayed,
When the negligent Maid
Let the salt-cellar tumble before them.
In New England the gravity of salt-spilling as an omen, its deplorable severance of friendship’s ties, and the necessity for prompt remedial measures, are all fully recognized.
And here the deft toss of the spilled particles over the left shoulder is not always adequate; for in order thoroughly to break the spell, these particles must be thrown on the stove.[284]
Gypsies have a saying, “The salt of strife has fallen.”
From the idea of the desecration of a sacred substance, to which allusion has been made, doubtless arose the remarkable superstition that, as a penalty for spilling salt, one must wait outside the gate of Paradise for as many years as there are grains of salt spilled.[285]
In the Lansdowne MSS. 231 (British Museum) occurs this passage:—
The falling of salt is an authentic ꝑsag̅emt of ill-luck, nor can every temper contemn it; nor was the same a grall ꝑgnostic among the ancients of future evil, but a ꝑticular omination concerning the breach of friendship. For salt as incorruptible was yᵉ symbole of friendship, and before ye other service was offered unto yᵉⁱʳ guests. But whether salt were not only a symbol of friendship wʰ man, but also a fig. of amity and reco̅ciliation wʰ God, and was therefore offered in sacrifices, is an higher speculation.
Herbert Spencer affirms[286] that the consciousness which harbors a notion that evil will result from spilling salt is manifestly allied to the consciousness of the savage, and is prone to entertain other superstitious beliefs like those prevalent in barbarous lands. And although idolatry and fetich-worship do not flourish in civilized communities, yet many popular superstitions are akin in nature to the sentiments which prompt the savage to bow down before images of wood or stone.