What Does It Mean When The Bottom Of Your Foot Itches?

According to Scientific American, the meaning of an itch, whether on the bottom of your foot or elsewhere, is "a general sensation arising from the irritation of skin cells or nerve cells associated with the skin." Very helpful, indeed. If you want to know why you're itching, it may be because your socks are dirty, your feet are dirty, you're suffering from athlete's foot, you've had a recent barefoot encounter with poison ivy, or perhaps you are currently in the midst of a fish spa pedicure.

If you're wondering about the symbolic meaning of an itch on the bottom of your foot, however, that's where things get fun. It seems that nearly every body part has a meaning ascribed to its particular itch. For instance, an itchy nose might mean company's coming, and an itchy palm could have something to do with money. So, just what can you expect when the bottoms of your feet itch?

You know that old saying about having "itchy feet," meaning a desire to keep moving from one place to the next, or at least to keep changing from one situation to another? This comes from a superstition that having itchy feet is a sign of an upcoming journey. According to AuntyFlo.com, which explained a number of superstitions linked to itchy feet, when the bottoms of your feet itch, it could indicate travel. 

That's perhaps not too much of a stretch, as far as predictions go, since back in the day, running out of common household staples meant an all-day (or longer) journey to town in the old wagon — at least, this is how it always seemed to go down in Little House on the Prairie.

But there's more to this superstition than just the hint of travel to come. Where exactly the itch is on your foot — and which foot — plays a role.

AuntyFlo.com's "Superstition Dictionary" reveals that the left and right feet actually have different meanings, but if either or both are itching, it means travel, all right. 

An itchy right foot alone may mean that the journey will require planning, but the trip will generally tend to be a positive one, and may even be lucrative.

Left feet, on the other hand — er, foot — can be tricky. Itching around the left foot may imply a journey that isn't too much fun — perhaps you'll come down with one of those traveler's ailments. Itching that is specific to the sole of the left toe may mean that you will experience losses due to the journey — whether of friends, money, time, or travel gear, the "Superstition Dictionary" does not say. If you set out with an itching left toe, though, keep a close eye on your wallet, don't pack anything important in your checked luggage, and also maybe rub a little Tinactin on it just to cover all the bases.

While experiencing an itch of the bottom of your feet may be a harbinger of an upcoming journey, that's not the only thing that such a sensation might foretell. According to The Chronicle Herald, a Canadian publication, there are two additional meanings that itchy feet might be prophesying.

For one, some North American folklore suggests when you feel an itch on the bottom of your foot that means someone is walking over the ground that will someday be your final resting place. Ideally that would be in a graveyard or other sacred burial site. It just depends on where you'll one day be buried.

The other possibility is a bit more akin to the possibility of travel, which is that itchy feet indicate you're going to be walking on "strange ground" in the near future. That could be an exotic locale you've never traveled to, sure, but it might also be a place nearby that you just never knew about.