Many people hold the belief that it is bad luck to walk under a ladder, without knowing exactly why they believe it is bad. Some people believe that its bad because the ladder will fall on you. The origin of this superstition lies in religion. This superstition arises from early Christian teachings that an object with three points represents the Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Though not all Christians are Trinitarians many of them follow this superstition.
A straight ladder, when leaning against a building does form a triangle. The top point connects with the building, the building intersecting with the road forms one corner and the bottom of the ladder makes the third corner. Throughout history, the number three has held extreme symbolic power, representing the masculine or as Carl Jung called it, the animus.
Even though the number three and the trinity are closely combined, use of three to represent symbolic importance dates far prior to Christianity. Though today to walk under a ladder is tied to Christian beliefs, it is quite possible that earlier beliefs may have held sway prior to the advent of Christianity. Early ladders predate Christianity.
I've always heard of walking under a ladder and how that is a superstition for bad luck. I've never considered that doing so could be a judgement of ones ethos or character. This means that the christian religion of that time held strong beliefs of superstitions and "witches" perceiving that of unholy and devil work. This is truly interesting, especially because I had never considered that this had to do with the shapes and angles of points, and the symbolism behind that.
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