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.
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreGuanyin觀音 (Guānyīn)
The Bodhisattva of compassion, worshipped across East Asia as a listener to human sufferingBeing · Protection · Healing Living
🇩🇪 GermanyAlp
A Germanic spirit that presses on sleepers and drinks milkBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇲🇽 Mexico and 2 moreAluxaluxo'ob
A small Maya spirit believed to guard fields and cause mischief if offended.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreKnocker
A mine spirit of Cornwall and Devon that warns of danger and plays tricks on workersBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇵🇪 Peru and 5 morePachamama
The Andean mother goddess of space-time and the earthBeing · Protection · Healing Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomBrowniebrùnaidh
A nocturnal household spirit from Scottish folklore that performs chores in exchange for offerings.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanZashiki-warashi座敷童子
A parlor spirit from northern Japan that brings fortune or ruin to a household.Being · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 3 moreYemọjaYemoja
A mother spirit of rivers and oceans worshipped across Yoruba and diaspora traditionsBeing · Protection · Healing Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 5 moreEleguaÈṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára
A Yoruba deity of crossroads and messenger who opens all spiritual pathsBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 2 moreEshuÈṣù
A Yoruba spirit of crossroads, messengers and the balance between joy and sorrowBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
🇬🇹 GuatemalaMaximónRi Laj Mam
A Maya folk saint and trickster deity venerated in the Guatemalan HighlandsBeing · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreSantoshi Mataसंतोषी माता
A Hindu goddess of contentment worshipped through a Friday ritual fast.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreGaneshaगणेश (Gaṇeśa)
An elephant-headed Hindu deity worshipped as the remover of obstacles and patron of wisdom.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇭🇹 HaitiErzulieÈzili
A family of spirits in Haitian Vodou representing love, beauty, and protective fury.Being · Protection · Love and attraction Living
🇭🇹 HaitiGedeGuédé
A family of spirits in Haitian Vodou who guard the dead and grant fertility.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreLakshmiलक्ष्मी
A Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity, and beauty, worshipped as the consort of Vishnu.Being · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Living
🇦🇷 Argentina and 5 moreGauchito Gil
A folk saint from Argentina who protects the poor and outcastsBeing · Protection · Healing Living
🇨🇳 China and 4 moreKitchen God灶君
The Chinese hearth deity who reports domestic conduct to the Jade EmperorBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity 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
🇹🇭 Thailand and 1 moreNang Taniนางตานี
A female spirit said to inhabit wild banana trees in Southeast Asian folklore.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇵🇾 ParaguayJasy Jatere
A Guaraní spirit of the moon who guards yerba mate and enforces the siestaBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇬🇧 United KingdomHobgoblin
A household spirit from English folklore known for chores and mischiefBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇭🇺 HungaryLidérc
A shape-shifting spirit from Hungarian folklore that brings wealth or illness.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇮🇹 ItalyMazapégul
A mischievous elf of Romagna with a red cap that steals sleep and braids horse manesBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Guanyin: JL Cogburn, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Alp: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
- Alux: Gary Todd, CC0, source
- Pachamama: Penarc, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Brownie: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Yemọja: Samuel Tobbytex007, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Elegua: Sailko, CC BY 3.0, source
- Eshu: Sailko, CC BY 3.0, source
- Maximón: Sapfan (Jan Pesula), Public domain, source
- Folk saint: Sergio Serrano, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Santoshi Mata: Nishu0246, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ganesha: anonymous, Public domain, source
- Folk Catholicism: Calvin Hennick, for WBUR Boston, CC BY 3.0, source
- Nang Tani: Xufanc, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Perchta: Holger Uwe Schmitt, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hobgoblin: Herbert Railton, Public domain, source
- Erzulie: anonymous, Public domain, source
- Lakshmi: Raja Ravi Varma, Public domain, source
- Jasy Jatere: Patty P, Public domain, source