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.
馃嚤馃嚲 Libya and 4 moreTraditional Berber religionAmazigh religion
Ancient beliefs of Northwest Africa centered on celestial bodies, caves, and ancestors.Tradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚤馃嚬 Lithuania and 1 moreLithuanian mythologyLietuvi懦 mitologija
The ancient polytheistic beliefs of the Baltic people, preserved in folklore and early chroniclesTradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 2 moreAdder stone
A naturally perforated stone used as a protective talisman in European folkloreCharm 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 3 moreJet
A black gemstone carved into amulets and mourning jewellery for centuriesCharm 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 5 moreConcealed shoes
Shoes hidden in building structures as folk charms for protection and fertilityCharm 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
馃嚥馃嚱 MexicoAztec religion
The polytheistic and monistic belief system of the Aztec Empire in central MexicoTradition 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚦馃嚧 NorwaySami religion
The animist and polytheistic beliefs of the S谩mi people across northern ScandinaviaTradition 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 1 moreKnocker
A mine spirit of Cornwall and Devon that warns of danger and plays tricks on workersBeing 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 Italy and 2 moreBulla
A round Roman amulet given to freeborn boys as a mark of status and protectionCharm 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚚馃嚦 China and 1 moreTaoist coin charm閬撴暀鍝佸鐢熼將
Chinese and Vietnamese numismatic charms used for protection and feng shuiCharm 路 Protection 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚛馃嚜 Germany and 1 moreCromniomancy
Divination by onions to reveal health, love, weather and distant newsOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Love and attraction Historical
馃嚝馃嚠 Finland and 1 moreFrog coffin
A Finnish folk magic burial of a frog in a tiny coffin to steal luck or reflect harmRite 路 Protection 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚝馃嚪 FrancePetit AlbertSecrets merveilleux de la magie naturelle et cabalistique du petit Albert
An 18th-century French grimoire of natural and cabalistic magic sold to rural householdsText 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomHobgoblin
A household spirit from English folklore known for chores and mischiefBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 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.
- Traditional Berber religion: Potymkin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bulla: Anonymous ( Category:Etruscans ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Lithuanian mythology: Prussian historian Christophorus Hartknoch (1644-1687), Public domain, source
- Taoist coin charm: Etnografiska Museet, CC BY 2.5, source
- Adder stone: Ansgar Koreng, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
- Hobgoblin: Herbert Railton, Public domain, source
- Jet: Thmsfrst, Public domain, source
- Concealed shoes: Edmund Patrick, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- S谩mi drum: Zouavman Le Zouave, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Petit Albert: Albertus Parvus Lucius, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Aztec religion: Unknown author, Public domain, source