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.
馃嚜馃嚞 EgyptCurse
A spoken wish for misfortune to befall a person or placeBelief 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚜馃嚞 EgyptSham Ennessim卮賲 丕賱賳爻賷賲
An Egyptian spring holiday marked by picnics, colored eggs, and salted fishTradition 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Wonder and entertainment Living
馃嚜馃嚞 EgyptScarab
A carved beetle amulet and seal used in ancient Egypt for protection, identity, and ritual.Charm 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
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
馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt and 4 moreScarab
An ancient Egyptian amulet and seal shaped like a dung beetleCharm 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚛馃嚳 AlgeriaWezeea賵賻夭賽賷毓賻丞
A Kabyle custom of communal slaughter and meat sharing for social solidarityRite 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚥馃嚘 Morocco and 1 moreZuhri夭賵賴乇賷
A human-djinn hybrid child in North African folklore, sought for treasure ritualsBeing 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Cursing and harm Fading
馃嚜馃嚞 EgyptMenatmnj.t
A beaded necklace and rattle linked to Hathor for protection and luck in ancient EgyptCharm 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚛馃嚳 AlgeriaMawsim賲賵爻賲
Annual Maghrebi festival blending Sufi veneration with social and economic gatheringTradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚜馃嚞 EgyptEgyptian days
Medieval calendar days believed to bring bad luck for new ventures and medical proceduresBelief 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
- Scarab: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Curse: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
- Sham Ennessim: Ikonact, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Menat: Anagoria, CC BY 3.0, source
- Mawsim: Beghdadi Walid, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Egyptian days: Unknown Unknown (Paris scriptorium), Public domain, source
- Scarab: Rama, CC BY-SA 2.0 fr, source