Call it triskaidekaphilia.
Lucky thirteen.
Thirteen is an oddball number, which is why witches like it so much. The ideal coven: the god and his twelve companions.
“Six and seven,” witches used to say: a greeting, back in pre-Blessed Be days. For reasons obvious to those in the know, this was a covert expression of Craft identity. In Italy they said “Five and eight” instead, for the same reason.
The ancestors counted in tens and twelves. Twelve was the “long ten,” as 120 was the “long hundred.” That explains why the teens don't start til thirteen; it used to be “three-ten.”
So thirteen means, “the cycle begins again.” Thirteen is both an end and a beginning.
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We used to have Triskadelaphilia parties in our homw every yoear on any Friday the 13th. It was fun! I wrote an article on it just