Don’t Tap Elbows in New Orleans: Woman Explains Why This Is Request Is “Never a Good Thing”

The term "rubbing elbows" usually carries good or just benign connotations, like rubbing elbows with an elite, accomplished, or successful group of people, which could bode well for this individual's future prospects.

Additionally, it could just refer to the fact you're simply meeting with a group of people and hob-knobbing with a particular crowd.

But this phrase takes on a whole new meaning when you're in New Orleans. In fact, there are a lot of folks who would caution you against tapping anyone's elbows in the Big Easy. In short, don't do it. Here's why.

There are a lot of New Orleans residents who would tell you why you simply don't tap elbows with others when you're visiting the Birthplace of Jazz. And depending on how superstitious you are, or how much you believe in the supernatural, the reasoning might freak you out.

A TikToker who posts under the handle @tiffsghosttalk breaks down why this is the case in a post that's accrued over 1.7 million views on the popular social media application.

In a video titled, "Guard your pockets and elbows in New Orleans," Tiffany delineates why this is the case.

"You already know how I feel about New Orleans. But what's happening there now is a lot scarier than just a building of like ghosts and nuns," she says at the onset of her clip. Following this, she references a "viral video" of a man "playing the shadow man music" on Bourbon Street in the Crescent City.

This street musician, Tiff states, is attempting to get someone walking on the street to rub elbows with him so that he can tell his fortune. However, the person walking on the street wouldn't acquiesce to the Shadow Man music player's requests, and that's because Tiff says this musician/fortune teller is attempting to engage in what is known as a "Destiny Swap."

Folks attempting this "destiny swap" usually try to do so with individuals who they sense have a "light" energy or that they have "wealth" or the "ability to be psychic or something like that."

In accordance with this belief, tapping elbows will culminate in an exchange of "destinies."

So the target that's walking the street who may have some goodness in their lives in store for them, is trading that with whoever seeks to tap elbows with them. If they do, then they're giving up the goodness that's on the horizon for them.

Tiff then goes on to explain why this specific body part is so important for this transfer of fates. She says it's because spiritual practitioners of Voodoo view the elbow as a "hinge" of sorts. Because the elbow is responsible for a change in direction in which an arm "can go," this makes the elbow a body/energetic conduit for energy exchange.

The TikToker went on to state, "It's like a hinge of fate." Furthermore, she says that "it's never a good thing" whenever someone asks you to tap elbows, as there is often an inimical intention behind these types of requests.

"They always want what you have. Effects of these are slow acting. You'll start feeling like things aren't going your way anymore, like everything's bad, everything's out to get you. You might start feeling unwell for no reason. You get a cold you just can't shake. You may lose your job or lose your home."

Conversely, she says that the person you tapped elbows with will end up experiencing a boon in good fortune. So if someone asks you to tap elbows in New Orleans, it might be a good idea to just keep your limbs to yourself. Or maybe invest in some silver or lead-lined elbow pads.