There are several Bulgarian superstitions handed down from our grandmothers and grandfathers that have to do with water, which many Bulgarians intentionally or unintentionally follow to guard against bad luck.
In the past, water was not just used to wash something that was physically unclean but also as an energy that could heal emotional suffering and fears.
It is thought that water can help us after we've had a nightmare. The superstition goes that if a person has a bad dream, they need to immediately rush to the bathroom after they wake up and wash their hands and face under running water, all the while retelling the dream with the smallest details. This will prevent the horrors in the dream from becoming reality.
If a person has been having bad luck and misfortune for a long time, they simply need to jump over a stream or cross a bridge with water running under it. The superstition states that this way the person will leave their disastrous fate on one shore and come away clean on the other.
For those suffering from unrequited love, grandmotherly superstitions recommend for them to pour their heart out in front of a bowl of water and then give this water to the person they are in love with to drink.
The superstitions also specify that if you wish to cleanse an object from the energetic influence of another person, you need to keep the object in water for 3 days.
If you accidentally spill water, expect great luck, since this means smooth sailing for you for a long while. But if you slip on water, expect heartbroken tears.
If ever swimming in a river, lake or dam lake, do not spit in it under any circumstances because you will later be punished by severe misfortunes.
Water can understand human speech and according to the superstitions, you must never think ill of anyone when showering because it is highly likely that that which is thought happens to you yourself.
Experiments have proven that water can react to human speech, that it changes positively when we use words such as "love" and negatively when using words like "stupid".
