323:, where in order not to get in each other's way, the priests would walk around the altar anticlockwise while performing their duties. When entering the Beis Hamikdash the people would enter by one gate, and leave by another. The resulting direction of motion was anticlockwise. In Judaism, starting things from the right side is considered to be important, since the right side is the side of Chesed (kindness) while the left side is the side of Gevurah (judgment). For example, there is a Jewish
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traditionally circumambulate (generally) in a counter-clockwise and 'widdershins' direction, that is to say, a direction that runs counter to the apparent movement of the
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Churches it is normal for processions around a church to travel in an anticlockwise direction. This remains the case regardless of which hemisphere they are performed in.
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circles are also sometimes walked anticlockwise. For example, when a bride circles her groom seven times before marriage, when dancing around the
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The use of the word also means "in a direction opposite to the usual" and "in a direction contrary to the apparent course of the sun". It is
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Because the sun played a highly important role in older religions, to go against it was considered bad luck for sun-worshiping traditions.
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155:(the face of this imaginary clock is the ground the viewer stands upon). The earliest recorded use of the word, as cited by the
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in the
Southern Hemisphere) or running-counter to the direction of the Sun (widdershins in the Southern Hemisphere) is the key
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within the sky from the vantage of the ground. This runs counter to the prevalent directionality of
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to put on the right shoe first and take off the left shoe first, following the example of
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after the sister runs widdershins round a church. There is also a reference to this in
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is left open to the practitioner, their 'intuitive insight' (Sanskrit:
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581:"Bolivia's De-Colonized 'Clock Of The South' Turns Widdershins"
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311:(or when dancing in a circle at any time), or when the
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540:Robert Louis Stevenson. "The Song of the Morrow".
214:"to go against", from Old High German elements
132:The anticlockwise or counterclockwise direction
339:records as putting his shoes on in this way.
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382:of the tradition. The resolution to this
206:Widdershins comes from Middle Low German
116:Learn how and when to remove this message
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16:Term in English for counter-clockwise
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473:. Oxford University Press. June 2017
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54:adding citations to reliable sources
521:. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
579:Camila Domonoske (June 26, 2014).
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465:"withershins | widdershins, adv."
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237:It was considered unlucky in
222:"to travel, go", related to
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392:) and their tradition.
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249:) direction around a
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19:For other uses, see
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226:"journey".
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137:Widdershins
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368:yung-drung
364:Sauvastika
269:'s novels
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413:Clockwise
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