Throughout history, people have believed in lucky charms to help them perform better. Research has shown that good luck charms can boost a person’s confidence, expectation and karma.
For bingo players, these lucky charms can take many forms. From scouring their lawns for four-leaf clovers to ensuring the caps on their ink markers remain upturned, players have a number of superstitions surrounding their game.
Cats
Cats have magical powers — they are believed to bring luck in many cultures, including China and Japan. They are also known as maneki neko, beckoning cats. Their smiles are said to attract good fortune. They’re often displayed in shops and homes.
People are more likely to lean on superstitions when faced with uncertainty, such as during a presentation or a difficult poker game. According to research published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, people will often use lucky charms when they feel like their performance is in the balance.
The number seven is considered to be a lucky number, and some people believe that the three-leaf clover is lucky, too. Others prefer the number eight, which represents prosperity and abundance, or the number nine, which is a symbol of infinity. Other popular lucky charms include rabbit feet, wishing bones and horseshoes. Milagros, small religious metal charms that depict angels or other objects, are also a source of luck for some.
Fish
As the symbol of fertility and femininity, fish are a common lucky charm. People who work in professions with lots of uncertainty, such as acting, keep a rabbit’s foot on their desk or in their make-up box.
A carp dinner is a Christmas Eve tradition in parts of Europe where people collect the fish scales and believe they bring luck for the new year. A scarab beetle that eats poop to survive hardly seems like an ideal good luck charm, but for some people it brings them comfort and meaning.
While researchers aren’t sure how lucky charms actually work, they do know that they have a powerful impact on people who believe in them. A study published in the journal Psychological Science found that people who brought their lucky charms into a memory test performed better than those who didn’t. The reason is likely that these charms boost confidence and make people feel more prepared and capable.
Yin-Yang
In Chinese thought, yin and yang are opposite but complementary forces. Yin symbolizes female, dark, and passive power, while yang stands for light, masculine, and active power. The interaction of these two forms the basis for all matter and energy. The yin-yang symbol is often used as a representation of this concept.
The black and white circles in the yin-yang symbol represent the interdependent nature of these opposing forces. They are never completely separate from each other; for example, there can be no light without shadow. This is also represented by the fact that yin and yang can form one another—as in the day-night cycle.
The yin-yang symbol is a beautiful representation of the interconnectedness of the universe, especially the natural world. Whether you’re looking for work-life balance, left-right yoga balance, or family-friends balance, we can all learn valuable lessons from the yin-yang principle. No matter what you believe in, it’s always good to keep lucky charms on hand.
Dream Catchers
The concept of luck is tricky to define, but if there’s one thing that seems to be universally true, it’s that people who believe in lucky charms tend to perform better at certain activities. While researchers have yet to prove that rabbit’s feet, four-leaf clovers or lucky pennies actually attract good fortune, many swear by them.
Other popular superstitions are associated with the number seven, Friday the 13th and ladybugs. Interestingly, our analysis showed that people searching for terms like “lucky charms” were more likely to live in states where these beliefs are particularly prevalent.
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