Keaya looked over at the family of Tarunan, their heads bowed and trunks held together. A soft murmur came from the elder one. A prayer to Ga Ne'esh for protection.
"Superstitious fools," she chuckled to herself, reaching for the control wheel of the Voiceless Wind. She caught herself as her other hand tapped twice on her temple.
"Damnit!"
She tapped twice under her jaw. "Guess we need all the help we can get..."
A type of
blessing, originally performed by
Kaenuan followers of the ancient deity
Ba-Selstar, in which the right hand is tapped against the head twice, then against the chest twice. The original performance, still observed by Kaenuan followers, was then followed by tapping the right hand againat the left shoulder, then right shoulder, and then the ledt hand tapping the left shoulder and then the right shoulder. The original was then ended by speaking the name of Ab-Selstar.
The modern interpretation comes from the actions of early space travelers who, needing at least one hand doing any number of actions while piloting their ships, would simply tap their temple and then under the jaw with their free hand. Few such practitioners of the superstitious "Two & Two" action believe or follow in the texts of Ba-Selstar, and most balk at those that would group them with such religious types.
I absolutely love tiny little rituals like this. Great article! <3
Got the idea from Friday's Stream.