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.
🇪🇬 EgyptCurse
A spoken wish for misfortune to befall a person or placeBelief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇳 IndiaPanchagavya
A fermented mixture of five cow products used in Hindu rituals and Ayurvedic traditions.Substance · Cleansing and purification · Healing 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
🇸🇸 South Sudan and 1 moreDinka religion
The traditional animist and creator-based faith of the Dinka people of South SudanTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreRainmaking rites
Ceremonies performed to call rain through prayer, dance, or symbolic actsRite · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreMapuche religion
The traditional spiritual practice of the Mapuche people of Chile and ArgentinaTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇬🇹 Guatemala and 1 moreMaya calendar
A system of timekeeping used by ancient and modern Maya communities to track days, years, and historical cycles.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living
🇰🇷 South KoreaGut굿
Rites performed by Korean shamans to commune with spirits and ensure community welfare.Rite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreSanta MuerteNuestra Señora de la Santa Muerte
A female skeletal folk saint in Mexico and the Americas, worshipped for protection, healing, and safe passage.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇲🇲 MyanmarBurmese folk religionNat Worship
Animistic worship of nature spirits and ancestors in Myanmar, often practiced alongside Buddhism.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreChinese fortune telling算命 (Suànmìng)
Reading faces, palms, birth hours and places to map a person's luck through lifeTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 3 moreEx-voto
A gift left in a shrine to mark a vow kept or a miracle receivedCharm · Protection · Healing Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreZārزار
A spirit possession tradition and healing ritual in the Horn of Africa and Middle EastTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreSiberian shamanism
The spirit-journey practices of North Asian peoples and their linguistic relativesTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Fading
🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreFortune-telling
A practice of predicting future events or personal details through various methods and tools.Rite · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Living
🇮🇳 IndiaBhuta KolaBhūta Kōla
A Tulu folk dance and ritual where spirits are channelled into human performersTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇬🇹 Guatemala and 3 moreMaya religion
The living spiritual practices of the Maya peoples, shaped by centuries of contact with Catholicism.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇵🇪 Peru and 1 moreApu
Sacred mountain spirits in Andean tradition that protect communities and control natural resourcesBeing · Protection · Healing Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 4 moreJuju
A West African spiritual belief system involving charms and ritualsTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇪 Ireland and 3 moreChangeling
A substitute left by supernatural beings in place of a stolen human child or adultBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇧🇷 Brazil and 1 moreQuimbanda
An Afro-Brazilian religion focused on male and female street spirits for worldly mattersTradition · Protection · 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
🇲🇾 Malaysia and 1 moreBomohبوموه
A Malay shaman and traditional healer who works with spirits, herbs, and geomancy.Tradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇿🇦 South Africa and 5 moreMurder for body parts
The killing of people to harvest body parts for traditional medicine or the illegal organ trade.Belief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreKorean shamanismKorean shamanism (Korean: Korean shamanism)
A traditional practice of ritual specialists who mediate between the human and spirit worlds.Tradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇯🇲 Jamaica and 5 moreObeah
A Caribbean tradition of ritual healing and spell-casting with African rootsTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreSpodomancy
Divination by reading omens in ashes, soot, and cindersOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Living
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreSlavic religion
The pre-Christian beliefs of the Slavic peoples before their conversion to Christianity.Tradition · Protection · Healing Revived
🇲🇲 Myanmar and 2 moreBurmese zodiacဇာတာ ရာသီခွင်
A traditional Burmese system of astronomy and astrology with lunar mansions and weekday signs.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Living
🇲🇳 Mongolia and 2 moreMongolian shamanismBöö mörgöl
The animistic and shamanic ethnic religion of the Mongol peoples, centered on sky worship and ancestral spirits.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 1 moreBoriBòòríí
A traditional Hausa spirit possession system and healing practice in West AfricaTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity Living
🇦🇱 Albania and 5 moreDodolaДодoла / Перперуна
A Balkan rainmaking rite performed by youths in greenery to invoke summer showersRite · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇱🇦 Laos and 3 moreTai folk religionສາສະໜາຜີ
Spirits, ancestor rites, and soul-calling ceremonies of the Tai peoplesTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreAmulet
A portable object worn or carried to ward off harm and invite protection.Charm · Protection · Healing Living
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreRegional forms of shamanism
A global overview of indigenous spirit-interaction practices across Asia and the Americas.Tradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreHippomancy
Divination through the movements, sounds, and tracks of horsesOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇩 IndonesiaAbada
A two-horned mythical beast from Central African and Southeast Asian loreBeing · Healing · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaBenzhuism本主教
The indigenous patron worship of the Bai people in Yunnan, ChinaTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇳🇴 NorwayTycho Brahe daysTycho Brahes-dage
Scandinavian folklore dates believed to be unlucky for magic and businessBelief · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇺🇬 UgandaKilling of disabled children in Uganda
The ritual murder of disabled children in parts of Uganda for body parts and perceived benefitsRite · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇹🇭 Thailand and 1 moreHae Nang Maewแห่นางแมว (Thai); ពិធីហែនាងម៉ែវ (Khmer)
A rainmaking ritual where a cat is paraded through villages to end droughtRite · Luck and prosperity Living
🇫🇮 Finland and 2 moreTietäjä
A traditional Finnic healer and sage whose power came from memorised spells and deep knowledge.Figure · Healing · Protection Historical
🇲🇲 MyanmarYadayaယတြာ
Rituals in Myanmar to avert misfortune using astrology and numerologyTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇯🇵 JapanAmabieアマビエ
A prophetic sea creature from Japan that wards off disease with its imageFigure · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Legendary
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreAlaska Native religion
Traditional spiritual practices of the Inuit, Yupik, and Aleut peoples of AlaskaTradition · Healing · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇷🇴 Romania and 2 moreCaloian
A Romanian clay effigy ritual for rain and fertility, featuring a mock funeralRite · Luck and prosperity Fading
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreCash方孔錢
A round copper coin with a square hole used in China and East Asia for two millennia.Charm · Luck and prosperity · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Dodola: Andrey Shishkin, CC BY 3.0, source
- Maya mythology: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Amulet: Anonymous ( Egypt ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Tai folk religion: ( เทวประภาส มากคล้าย ), Tevaprapas, Public domain, source
- Changeling: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
- Navagraha: Kiran891, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Curse: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
- Korean shamanism: Hyewon Shin Yun-bok (申潤福: 1758-early 19th century) (혜원 신윤복 (申潤福: 1758-, Public domain, source
- Obeah: Various, published by David Nutt, Public domain, source
- Spodomancy: Tim1965, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Slavic religion: Alphonse Mucha, Public domain, source
- Burmese zodiac: Photo Dharma, CC BY 2.0, source
- Mongolian shamanism: Enrique Bendicho, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bori: Tremearne, A. J. N. (Arthur John Newman), 1877-1915, Public domain, source
- Rainmaking rites: SJasminum, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mapuche religion: Gary Todd, CC0, source
- Maya calendar: MBisanz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gut: ReSearcher at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Santa Muerte: Not home, Public domain, source
- Burmese folk religion: Wagaung ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chinese fortune telling: Lai Afong, Public domain, source
- Hippomancy: Wer?Du?!, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Benzhuism: G41rn8, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ex-voto: JTSH26, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tietäjä: Robert Wilhelm Ekman, Public domain, source
- Yadaya: Thai Government, CC BY 2.0, source
- Amabie: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Zār: Emad Nemati, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Caloian: Costică Acsinte Archive, No restrictions, source
- Cash: User 冷玉 on zh.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Siberian shamanism: Аркадий Зарубин, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Fortune-telling: Taras Shevchenko, Public domain, source
- Bhuta Kola: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Apu: Cecilia Sacsa, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Regional forms of shamanism: Man Sing, Public domain, source
- Juju: ILN Staff, after special artist correspondent Mr Harries F.R.G.S., Public domain, source
- Votive offering: Walter J. Pilsak, Waldsassen ( W.J.Pilsak at de.wikipedia ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source