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.
RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
WhoShamansFolk healersPriests and ritual specialistsWitches, sorcerers and cunning folkDiviners and readersMediums and the possessedCeremonial magicians and alchemistsHouseholds and ordinary peopleStage magiciansScholars and sceptics
BeliefHindu and TantricBuddhistJainMuslim and SufiJewishChristianSikhZoroastrianShinto and TaoistIndigenous and shamanicAfrican and Afro-diasporicPagan and NeopaganEsoteric and occultFolk and village customSecular and stageOther traditions
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreKolamகோலம்
A daily geometric floor drawing made with rice flour at the home entrance in South IndiaTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreHoliहोली
A Hindu spring festival marked by coloured powders and bonfires to celebrate love and virtue.Tradition · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Living
🇫🇷 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
🇮🇳 IndiaAkshaya Tritiyaअक्षय तृतीया
A Hindu and Jain spring festival marking a day of inexhaustible merit and new beginnings.Tradition · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreVotive offering
Objects left in sacred places to honor a deity or fulfill a vow, never to be recovered.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇷 Iran and 4 moreChaharshanbe Suriچهارشنبهسوری
An Iranian fire festival marking the transition from winter to springTradition · Luck and prosperity · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇳🇬 NigeriaOsun-Osogbo Sacred GroveOsun-Osogbo
A sacred forest in Nigeria dedicated to the river goddess Osun, celebrated with an annual festival.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreQingming Festival清明节
A spring day for sweeping graves, feeding the dead and honouring ancestorsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection 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
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreGroundhog DayGrund'sau dåk
A North American custom using a burrowing rodent to forecast the end of winterTradition · Seeing and foretelling · 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
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreChuseok추석 (Chuseok), 한가위 (Hangawi)
A Korean autumn harvest festival marked by ancestral rites and feasting on the full moon.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity 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
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreCairn
A human-made stack of stones used as a marker, memorial, or religious symbol across many cultures.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇩 IndonesiaPenjorᬧᬾᬜ᭄ᚚᚚᭀᬃ
A curved bamboo pole marking prosperity in Balinese Hindu ceremonyTradition · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Living
🇧🇴 BoliviaThe Witches' MarketMercado de las Brujas
A La Paz market where Aymara women and yatiri sell ritual items for Pachamama offeringsTradition · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 morePitru Pakshaपितृ पक्ष
A sixteen-day Hindu period for honoring ancestors through food offerings and death ritesTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Living
🇧🇴 Bolivia and 1 moreEkekoIqiqu
An Andean deity of abundance and prosperity, central to the Alasitas festival.Being · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Living
🇲🇳 Mongolia and 1 moreTsagaan SarЦагаан сар
A Mongol lunisolar new year marked by white clothes and dairy feastsTradition · Luck and prosperity · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreFirst-footciad-chuairt
The first visitor on New Year's Day, believed to set the household's fortune for the year aheadTradition · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreNavagrahaनवग्रह
A group of nine celestial deities in Hinduism that govern fate and astrologyTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇯🇵 JapanSetsubun節分
A Japanese seasonal rite to drive away bad luck and welcome spring with roasted beansRite · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇯🇵 JapanShinto shrine神社 (jinja)
A structure housing kami deities within the Shinto tradition of JapanTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇲🇳 Mongolia and 1 moreOvooовоо
A stone or branch cairn used as a shrine and boundary marker in Mongolic folk practice.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreAncestor worship
Rites of respect for the dead that maintain family bonds and seek spiritual guidanceTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreSamhain
A Gaelic festival marking the end of harvest and the start of winter, observed on November 1st.Tradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇯🇵 Japan and 3 moreObonお盆
A Japanese Buddhist festival honoring the spirits of ancestors through dance and offeringsTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Living
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreMenshen門神
Guardian figures pasted to doors in Chinese folk religion to protect homes from evil.Belief · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇯🇵 Japan and 2 moreTanabataたなばた (七夕)
A Japanese celebration of star-crossed lovers and written wishesTradition · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreDaeboreum대보름
A Korean lunar holiday marking the first full moon with nut-cracking and field firesTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇹🇭 ThailandSongkranสงกรานต์
The Thai solar New Year marked by water rituals and sand pagodasTradition · Cleansing and purification · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreDiyaदीया
A small oil lamp used in prayers and festivals across the Indian subcontinentTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreDurga Pujaদুর্গাপূজা
A ten-day autumn festival honouring the goddess Durga and her victory over evil.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇷 Iran and 3 moreIranian folkloreفولکلور ایرانی
The oral legends, heroes, and spirits of Greater IranTradition · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇬🇹 GuatemalaMaximónRi Laj Mam
A Maya folk saint and trickster deity venerated in the Guatemalan HighlandsBeing · Protection · Healing Living
🇪🇬 EgyptSham Ennessimشم النسيم
An Egyptian spring holiday marked by picnics, colored eggs, and salted fishTradition · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇺🇦 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
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreSoul cake
A spiced cake given to soulers during Allhallowtide to remember the dead.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · 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
🇻🇺 VanuatuJohn Frum
A Melanesian cargo cult figure on Tanna Island who promises wealth and the return of American supplies.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Living
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 5 moreKukeriкукери
A costumed ritual in Bulgaria to chase away evil spirits and welcome springRite · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇮🇸 Iceland and 2 moreYulejól
A Germanic midwinter festival merged with Christmas and revived by modern pagansTradition · Luck and prosperity · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 2 moreOdinaniỌdịnanị
The traditional belief system of the Igbo people in NigeriaTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead 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
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Kolam: mckaysavage, CC BY 2.0, source
- Holi: Jitenderasingh, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yule log: Pehr Arvid Säve (1811—1887), Public domain, source
- Tsagaan Sar: User:Chinneeb, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Navagraha: Kiran891, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Setsubun: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Shinto shrine: No machine-readable author provided. Fg2 assumed (based on copyright c, Public domain, source
- Ovoo: Bouette ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ancestor worship: Lyn Gateley, CC BY 2.0, source
- Midsummer: Kora27, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Samhain: Daniel Maclise, Public domain, source
- Obon: Batholith, Public domain, source
- Menshen: Taiwankengo, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tanabata: Laika ac, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Daeboreum: hojusaram, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Songkran: ผู้สร้างสรรค์ผลงาน/ส่งข้อมูลเก็บในคลังข้อมูลเสรีวิกิมีเดียคอมมอนส์ - เ, CC BY 3.0, source
- Diya: Suyash Dwivedi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Durga Puja: Subhrajyoti07, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Iranian folklore: Hossein Mirkamali, CC BY 4.0, source
- Maximón: Sapfan (Jan Pesula), Public domain, source
- Sham Ennessim: Ikonact, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ukrainian folklore: U.S. Army Europe Images, CC BY 2.0, source
- Czech folklore: Biser Todorov, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Soul cake: Samantha, CC BY 2.0, source
- Trick-or-treating: Toyah Anette B, Public domain, source
- John Frum: Tim Ross, CC BY 3.0, source
- Kukeri: Nenko Lazarov, CC BY 2.5, source
- Yule: Robert Chambers, Public domain, source
- Winter solstice: Image by Przemyslaw " Blueshade " Idzkiewicz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Odinani: Northcote Whitridge Thomas, Public domain, source
- Wassail: Joss Smithson, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Jesa: by Joseph Steinberg (Baltimoron in Korea) at Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Akshaya Tritiya: Fgndgndgnr, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Votive offering: Walter J. Pilsak, Waldsassen ( W.J.Pilsak at de.wikipedia ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chaharshanbe Suri: Philippe Giabbanelli, CC BY 3.0, source
- Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove: Cheeka 2.0, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Qingming Festival: Jacklee ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- May Day: Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0, source
- Folk Orthodoxy: Лобачев Владимир, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Groundhog Day: Anthony Quintano, CC BY 2.0, source
- Straw bear: Photo: Andreas Praefcke, CC BY 3.0, source
- Maypole: Uploaded by Mikael Häggström, CC0, source
- Cairn: Andrew Bossi, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Penjor: Chainwit., CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- The Witches' Market: Dan Lundberg, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Pitru Paksha: Firoz Shakir, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ekeko: Ciudades, CC BY-SA 4.0, source