Luck and prosperity
Charms for fortune, success, a good harvest and a safe journey.
Luck magic aims at fortune, success, wealth and a safe passage. People keep lucky charms, perform money rites, pour offerings to a god of wealth, and avoid unlucky days. Examples include the Chinese lucky cat and the red packet, the Japanese daruma doll, the Indian worship of Lakshmi at Diwali, the European four-leaf clover and horseshoe, and the Hoodoo mojo bag. This page looks at what luck means and who profits from it.
Ideas of luck
Cultures differ on what luck is. In China, fortune is tied to fate, timing and the placement of objects, giving rise to feng shui and the choice of lucky numbers. In West Africa, success is linked to a person's destiny and the help of the orisha or ancestors. In Europe, luck came to be seen as chance, with charms to tilt it. Many societies see wealth as shared and fear that good fortune attracts envy. Merchants, farmers, gamblers and students are the usual customers, and the amounts asked of them range from a coin to a lifetime of savings.
Customs
Customs are domestic and mostly small. Merchants in Taiwan and China burn paper offerings and put out fruit at the start of the month. Fishers and sailors keep charms and avoid certain words. Gamblers, students and athletes have habits they will not break. Many rites involve giving something away, since reciprocity is thought to keep fortune moving. Lucky days are often chosen by calendar or astrologer, so that a shop opens, a wedding is held or a journey begins on a favourable date.
Schemes and scams
Luck is easy to sell. Lottery charms, gemstone bracelets and sellers who promise riches for a fee make money from hope. Fraud involving fake spiritualists who say a client's money is cursed and must be handed over is documented in many countries. Playing games of chance with charms may feel harmless, but anyone struggling with gambling should seek real help. Some wealth rites are public and religious, as with Diwali lamps for Lakshmi and the Lunar New Year offerings to the god of wealth, and some are private and quiet.
Scholars and sceptics
Psychologists have found that carrying a lucky charm can raise confidence and performance in some tasks, without changing the odds of chance. Economists study the role of luck in success. Religious authorities differ: some see lucky objects as idolatry, others as harmless custom, and prosperity churches around the world teach a faith-based version of the same hope. Those who struggle with debt or gambling harm should look for practical advice, since a charm does not change the odds or pay the bills.
Luck and prosperity on EveryJaadu
The entries written up so far, best known first.
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreYule log
A large wooden log burned in the hearth during winter festivals across Europe and North America.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇹 ItalyBefana
An Italian witch-like figure who delivers gifts on Epiphany EveFigure · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreWell dressing
A rural English custom of decorating water sources with natural designsTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 7 moreSaint Andrew's Day
A Christian feast day marked by national holidays in Scotland and Romania, and folk divination across Europe.Rite · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreMay Day
A European spring festival marking the start of summer with flowers, poles and fire.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreFolk Orthodoxyнародное православие
A blend of Eastern Orthodox doctrine and pre-Christian pagan beliefs in Slavic communitiesTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreStraw bearStrohbär
A carnival figure wrapped in straw that visits homes for gifts and marks the turning of seasons.Tradition · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Living
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreMaypoleMaibaum
A tall wooden pole raised for European spring festivals, accompanied by dance and celebration.Tradition · Luck and prosperity · Love and attraction Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreMummers' play
A folk drama featuring a fight and a resurrection, performed by amateur troupes in the British Isles.Rite · Luck and prosperity · Speaking with spirits and the dead Revived
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreBonfire
A large outdoor fire used in seasonal festivals and religious feasts across many culturesRite · Cleansing and purification · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreLibation
The ritual pouring of liquid as an offering to spirits or the deadRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
🇮🇸 Iceland and 1 moreHidden-folkhuldufólk
Supernatural beings in Nordic folklore who live in a parallel world within the landscape.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇸🇪 Sweden and 5 moreMidsummerJāņi; Joninės; Jaanipäev; Enyovden; Litha; Juhannus
A summer solstice festival marked by bonfires, maypole dancing, and feasting across Europe.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreSpodomancy
Divination by reading omens in ashes, soot, and cindersOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomMari LwydY Fari Lwyd
A Welsh winter custom featuring a horse skull carried through villages for song and hospitality.Rite · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Revived
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 1 moreUkrainian folklore
The folk traditions of Ukraine and its ethnic communitiesTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Living
🇨🇿 Czech RepublicCzech folklore
The folk traditions of the Czech people, from seasonal rites to music and craft.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreTrick-or-treating
A Halloween custom where costumed visitors ask for treats from homesTradition · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreBrigid's crossCros Bhríde
A woven straw charm hung for protection, named after Ireland's patron saintCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreHobby horse
A costumed character made from wood or cloth used in seasonal folk customs and processions.Illusion · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreWinter solstice
The shortest day and longest night of the year, marked by rites of solar returnTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomWassail
A hot spiced drink and the twelfth-night customs of singing to trees or visiting homes for giftsTradition · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living
🇮🇹 Italy and 3 moreSaturnalia
An ancient Roman winter festival of role reversal and feasting in honor of SaturnTradition · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇪🇪 Estonia and 5 moreFern flower
A mythical bloom said to bring fortune and unlock secrets, found only on midsummer night.Belief · Luck and prosperity · Love and attraction Living
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreLughnasadhLúnasa
A Gaelic harvest festival marking the beginning of the grain gathering seasonTradition · Luck and prosperity · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇦🇹 Austria and 3 morePerchtaPercht
A Alpine goddess of winter who rewards diligence and punishes laziness during the twelve days after Christmas.Being · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Revived
🇫🇷 France and 4 moreRéveillon
A long Christmas or New Year's Eve dinner held to stay awake until morningTradition · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreLecanomancy
Divination using a dish or bowl of water to read the futureOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreEaster Bunny
A German folkloric hare that judges children and delivers colored eggs for EasterBeing · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇸🇮 Slovenia and 5 moreVesnaВесна
A Slavic personification of spring and youth, known in myth and languageFigure · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇪🇸 SpainAnjanaanˈhana / an.xa.nɜ
Cantabrian fairies who protect forests and bring gifts to children.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇷🇴 Romania and 1 moreSânziană
Romanian fairies and a summer solstice festival of flowers and magicBeing · Protection · Love and attraction Living
🇷🇴 Romania and 2 moreCaloian
A Romanian clay effigy ritual for rain and fertility, featuring a mock funeralRite · Luck and prosperity Fading
🇳🇱 Netherlands and 3 moreZwarte Piet
A companion of Saint Nicholas in Low Countries folklore, now the subject of major cultural debate.Figure · Luck and prosperity Living
🇩🇪 GermanyFeldgeist
German folk creatures tied to crops, weather and harvest ritualsBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇷🇴 RomaniaSântoaderi
Supernatural beings in Romanian folklore known for causing illness through music and danceBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Yule log: Pehr Arvid Säve (1811—1887), Public domain, source
- Xana: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
- Libation: Arkady Zarubin ( Аркадий Зарубин ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hidden-folk: Schorle, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Midsummer: Kora27, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Spodomancy: Tim1965, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mari Lwyd: Thomas Christopher Evans (Cadrawd), Public domain, source
- Lecanomancy: Author Robert Burns Translator Alexander Smith Illustrator C. A. Vande, Public domain, source
- Ukrainian folklore: U.S. Army Europe Images, CC BY 2.0, source
- Czech folklore: Biser Todorov, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Trick-or-treating: Toyah Anette B, Public domain, source
- Imbolc: Culnacreann, CC BY 3.0, source
- Hobby horse: Timkevan at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Winter solstice: Image by Przemyslaw " Blueshade " Idzkiewicz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Wassail: Joss Smithson, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Saturnalia: Themadchopper, Antoine-François Callet, CC0, source
- Fern flower: Antoni Piotrowski, Public domain, source
- Lughnasadh: Mountainash333, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Easter Bunny: Dr. Bernd Gross, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Vesna: Viktor Vasnetsov, Public domain, source
- Perchta: Holger Uwe Schmitt, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Feldgeist: Zwoelefant, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Zwarte Piet: The illustrator is Daan Hoeksma, who died in 1935. The author is liste, Public domain, source
- Caloian: Costică Acsinte Archive, No restrictions, source
- Befana: El Ágora, Public domain, source
- Well dressing: User:WhaleyTim, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Saint Andrew's Day: Henryk Siemiradzki, Public domain, source
- May Day: Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0, source
- Folk Orthodoxy: Лобачев Владимир, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Straw bear: Photo: Andreas Praefcke, CC BY 3.0, source
- Maypole: Uploaded by Mikael Häggström, CC0, source
- Sânziană: Saturnian, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mummers' play: Aladjov, CC BY 3.0, source
- Bonfire: S Marshall, CC BY 3.0, source