Sailors' superstitions are superstitions particular to sailors or mariners, and which traditionally have been common around the world. Some of these beliefs are popular superstitions, while others are better described as traditions, stories, folklore, tropes, myths, or legend.
Odysseus and the Sirens, eponymous vase of the Siren Painter, ca. 480-470 BC, (British Museum)
The Siren, by John William Waterhouse (circa 1900), depicted as a fish-chimera.
Tiddles, a black cat who gained fame as a Royal Navy ship's cat
A Klabautermann on a ship, from Buch Zur See, 1885
The anchored cross, or mariner's cross, is a stylized cross in the shape of an anchor. It is a symbol which is shaped like a plus sign depicted with anchor-like fluke protrusions at its base. There are many variations on this symbol, but the most common form connects a ring with a bar, with a cross-bar, terminating on the other end with two curved branches or arrowheads. The anchor symbolizes hope, steadfastness, calm and composure. It also can symbolize security in one or more uncertain experiences of life, such as sea voyages, one's fate after death, and the vagaries of fortune.
Camargue cross
Cross anchory
The coat of arms of the Czech city of Odolena Voda
Anchor cross
