The Good Luck Animals

The Good Luck Animals

It is almost New Year and sometimes what we hope for the upcoming year is good luck - this is due to the influence that the Chinese has on us.

Though I believe that we make our own luck, it is also not bad to believe in some superstitious beliefs as we do not lose anything in believing in them.

The bat, in spite of its dark nature and attributes, it is a sign of good luck and wellness for the Chinese, I do not see the significance but apparently it really is. To repel bad luck and attract and keep good fortune in their lives they wear bat amulets on their necks. It became such because the Chinese word for bat is “fu” which is homonym to the Chinese word that in English means “good luck.”

In certain tribe such as the Scandinavian, the North American Native tribes, and ancient migrants in Alaska, the bear is extremely lucky for them, which in contrast, most of the people around the world fear them thinking that they are very dangerous. These people has attributed the bear to luck because of its ability to sustain itself even in the cold days of December during which it hibernates itself - it can feed an entire village, thus I could see why maybe some people see it as lucky for they will not starve if they catch a bear and feed on it because an entire village could equate itself to a huge meal making you survive for as long as possible.

The Egyptians has a way with weird animals and another addition to that is the beetle or to the Egyptian, they are called scarabs. To these people the beetle signifies luck because they attribute it to new life. This became so because of the way the beetle hatch its offspring rolling their eggs in mud and dung and allowing the sun to warm the eggs thus leads to the hatch of new, tiny beetles. Truly, the Egyptians have its way to weird animals.

The bull is another symbol of luck because of its attribute of strength, virility, and good health. For the Greeks, they believe that if you wear the bull as a pendant or a brooch, you will be granted with the bull’s libido making your wish of a large family come true. In some culture, it is seen a s provider since it is also associated with agriculture.

The cricket may be small and probably defenseless but their lulling sounds at night can be as effective as a guard dog when alerting the inhabitants that intruders are around, but it works in opposite ways. The crickets at night are very noisy, but when an intruder barges into the household they fall silent, it is like they are telling the members of the house that someone they do not know is prowling the grounds - thus protection and luck for the Chinese works well together and so it became lucky for them to have a cricket present in the house.

The deer on the hand takes luck and longevity hand in hand for it may live for a very long time. The deer also came to signify with fame and recognition which can be seen in the way it acts of grace and good composure.

The elephant in India is owned by only the rich families, and that there by itself is a good sign of luck, that is basing on the material things. In addition, in some Indian hymns, the elephant is considered to be the only animal with a hand thus can be attributed to giving and receiving especially now that it is the month of Christmas, may be that is why it linked to luck because it gives out luck compared to other animals.

Among water based animals, it is the frog and the goldfish that is associated with good luck. The frog, as it is linked to rain in some cultures and rain is also considered as a sign of good luck, why? Because it is able to provide for us, for rain is the staple for the growth of agriculture products, and rice to be specific. The goldfish on the other hand is linked to longevity and wisdom and is one of the sacred symbols of the Buddha. In addition, it also gives fertility, abundance, and harmony in one’s life and as it’s color is associated to gold, then it signifies money which in return means good luck and fortune.

If you look back at the history of man, many civilizations were built and made with the aid of the almighty horse. They aid in waging words and aims towards victory in a steadfast manner and it has pulled many things - carriages, their version of a cement mixing machine and planer, they pulled ancient version of the carrier truck, and brought many goods to many places far and wide, man has a lot to thank for the steady horse, and thus us has viewed as something that is lucky.

The lizard’s attribution to luck may be the weirdest of all for its nocturnal nature has been linked to the protection of us humans from what is unseen in the night and as mentioned earlier, protection is associated with luck.

The pig, in so many years, has been associated with luck, and sometimes I can see why - it is big and most often times called fat that could signify abundance also, so it is not questionable why for the Chinese it is good for business. In a weird way, the Celtic culture does not consider the pig to be lucky unless it has a part missing from it because they linked this way of thinking to Manannan’s self-regenerating pigs.

Rabbit’s foot has been mentioned a thousand times in conversation in how to attract luck to you, but it has credibility to it - the Easter Bunny was made with such thought. The Easter bunny, as it distributes eggs - signifies the very meaning of fertility and childbirth. It tells us that a new age is coming, the coming of a fresh start.

Lastly, the spider, as other may do not see it lucky, to many cultures it is and that is why they let them be, for they believe it is unlucky to kill one. The Christian faith has a lot thank the spider, for without it the baby Jesus may have been abducted by Herod and the Christian may cease to exist in today’s world.

Many symbols of luck, and many are after luck and thus all these options may confuse someone as to which of them is going to be followed - may as well hoard them all, but that is not good too, it can be viewed as greedy and remember these are just symbols, something to aid you or make you believe. But I still believe that we make our own luck, so just believe in yourself and do your work for luck will chase you.

By Flo Saul
Mar 23, 2013