In this picture we can see Ukrainian ancient peasant family in the back yard of their household. Traditionally dressed in embroidered shirts, a wife and a husband are having dinner at the table covered with embroidered cloth. The husband wears a straw hat, which peasants used to protect their heads working long sunny days in the field. The wife’s head is covered with a red scarf, which was a symbol of a married woman.  The wind-mill and a thatched roof house of their neighbours are in the background of the picture.

Each item you see in the picture was believed to have a special meaning and power, such as

Mill and pumpkin – fertility,

Sunflower – gratitude, loyalty and will power,

Horseshoe – happiness and luck,

Bread – prosperity, hospitality, well-being, life,

Jar – life in abundance,

Rooster – a house protector from evil spirits, triumph of good spirits,

Wheel – eternal renewal of life,

Sack – wealth and prosperity,

Broom – brings money to the house if it’s bottom up,

Corn – future generations, family unity,

Bird – honesty, unity of heaven and earth, memory of ancestors,

Pepper – men’s health,

House – family unity and strong family bonds,

Butterfly – eternity of soul.

From generation to generation, Ukrainians have transfered knowledge about how to use these items to make them work as house protectors and bring good luck to the family. People believed that a horseshoe nailed to the door in an upward position would gather good luck and positive energy to the house. A housewife would never sweep the floor after sunset – she could sweep prosperity out of the house. A broom was always kept upward in a room’s corner to ward off an evil eye and bring money to the family.

Ukrainians attributed protective power not only to household items, but also to animals they had in the household. They believed that evil spirits would get out of their hiding places after sunset, but when rooster crows three times at the break of dawn, all spirits run away.

Many Ukrainians of older generation, especially those who live in villages, still believe in superstitions. They will:

-        –   never lend you anything after sunset, especially money or salt;

-        –   spit three times over the left shoulder if a black cat crosses their way.

Ukrainians believe that:

-        –  meeting a woman with buckets full of water brings good luck, but meeting a person with empty buckets brings a bad luck;

-        –  two safety pins stuck crosswise in the linen of their coats will cast away an evil eye.

I’ve just barely touched this vast subject in my short article about Ukrainian superstitions. The purpose of my article was to show that traditional superstitions came from ancient times when people couldn’t explain natural phenomena and powers and were looking for protection in that primitive way.

Let’s be more civilized and stop wasting our time for these ancient precautions. Remember: if a black cat crosses your way, a cat is just minding its own business. 

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Adoption and greater use of wind turbines has been much more prominent in recent years with the great advances in Wind turbine technology. Photovoltaics are also making great strides in their Solar Panel conversion efficiencies. Solar Thermal direct electricity generation seems to hold the greatest promise for the present. Combining these pollution free energy sources, it is hoped to make a big dent in our fossil fuel environmental pollution issues in the near future.

Even Now… We Are Beginning To See Some Of The Effects Of These Changes

With manufacturing efficiencies rising in most sectors of our industry, energy costs are also rising, negating much of these gains, producing net gain adjustments in the final costs of producing a product. As our fossil fuels become less and less available, renewable energy sources will have to increase in order to replace them along with our increased needs. We are seeing greater investments in renewable energy projects as we enter 2007, mainly because of the Renewable Energy tax incentives passed in late 2005.

There Are Some Who Are Hindering The Needed Changes

The transition to these new energy sources is not without some reactions…from those who live within earshot of a windmill farm. Their “whirring” noise can sometimes be somewhat annoying. Some “avian”(bird) losses are attributed to their encounters with the rotating blades. Windmill farms require massive landscaped areas in their construction. Some land value is also lost…usually permanently in the process. Even some of our most prominent elected officials have voiced opposition to proposed Windmill Farms along our eastern seaboard shores because they would obscure some of our beautiful scenic views.

It seems the only way to rebuke the nay Sayers and to convince them of the advantages of using Windmill Renewable energy…is for one to respond…”maybe when you turn away from the less than beautiful scenery produced by the offshore Wind farm, your lights will still be on as you enter your home.” One of the issues requiring us to make the big change is the vast and unending air and water pollution mainly caused by fossil fuel driven energy consumption.

There will always be some, who oppose change, but it is not as though the U.S. and the rest of the world has a choice in the matter. The prime reason is not because Fossil Fuel sources will run out tomorrow, but because…as they become less available because of dwindling reserves or supplier disruption (for whatever reason), market prices will rise, causing a ripple effect and promote a negative industry growth.