An Occult History of Luck

For centuries, grimoires, talismans, prayers, dreams, and ritual operations have sought to understand why some people seem favored by fate while others accumulate obstacles. Far from being perceived as a simple statistical fluctuation or blind chance, luck has long been theorized as the result of a dynamic interaction between macrocosmic forces and human actions.

The Science of Talismans

The magic of luck was built around the idea that fate could be influenced by invisible forces. Good fortune does not depend on blind chance, but on a balance between humanity and the powers of the cosmos. The old grimoires attributed to King Solomon, the Key of Solomon, present a universe in which each planet acts upon a specific area of human life. Jupiter governs prosperity and opportunities, the Sun promotes prestige and success, while the Moon accompanies discoveries, journeys, and favorable circumstances. Planetary talismans thus appear as tools intended to capture these influences in order to alter the course of events. The metal used, the chosen day, the position of the stars, and the engraved characters all possess crucial importance. This worldview rests on a simple principle: luck can be attracted when human beings act in harmony with the invisible rhythms of the universe. In this tradition, the talisman does not represent a simple popular good-luck charm. It becomes an object charged with a precise function, capable of protecting its bearer, opening favorable paths, or driving away the obstacles of fate. Alongside this learned magic, a more popular tradition also developed, carried by chapbooks such as the Grand Albert or the Petit Albert. These works convey a more everyday vision of fortune, combining prayers, recipes, protections, and practices intended to attract material success. Luck already appears there as an unstable force, precious and difficult to preserve over time.

Black Magic Manuals and the Quest for Fortune

Over time, certain grimoires would take this search for fortune much further by proposing methods intended to obtain wealth, power, or success through infernal powers. Thus, the Grand Grimoire, the Grimorium Verum, and The Black Pullet construct a spectacular image of the magic of luck, in which human beings attempt to impose their will upon fate through pacts, evocations, or specialized talismans. In these works, fortune is no longer merely a cosmic favor: it becomes a force one seeks to summon, control, or compel. Tales of hidden treasures, demonic seals, or spirits revealing winning numbers chiefly express an ancient obsession with rapid enrichment and mastery over chance. Yet these grimoires almost always remind readers that the pursuit of fortune comes at a price. The improper use of rituals, greed, or inner disorder exposes the practitioner to destructive consequences. Even in the darkest traditions of goetia, luck remains linked to a form of discipline and self-control. This vision has had a lasting influence on the Western imagination. The lucky gambler, the possessor of a talisman, or the person who has “made a pact with fortune” become recurring figures in esoteric and popular literature. At the same time, more religious practices continue to exist, particularly those involving psalms, protective prayers, or blessings intended to attract success without resorting to operations considered dangerous. The boundary between magic, religion, and superstition remains extremely porous, since they ultimately all pursue the same objective: attempting to alter the course of human fate.

The Lottery Fever

The emergence of major public lotteries in Europe profoundly transformed popular attitudes toward luck. From the 18th century onward, the possibility of abruptly changing one’s social status through a drawing fueled a genuine collective fascination. Dreams, signs, coincidences, and numbers then became subjects of constant interpretation. Many books explained how to translate a dream into a winning combination or recognize in an everyday event a message announcing fortune. This period saw the emergence of a vast popular literature devoted to the “vein,” an old term used to designate a state of favor from fate, a period when everything seems to succeed naturally. The word belongs mainly to popular language and the world of gambling, although some occult authors gave it a more esoteric dimension by presenting the vein as a form of invisible current capable of influencing events.

Among the emblematic works of this tradition is the Book of the Vein by René Schwaeblé, an author passionate about occultism, magnetism, and fringe sciences in the early 20th century. This book belongs to a broader tradition of popular manuals combining superstition, interpretation of signs, beliefs related to chance, and methods intended to attract material luck. The work approaches good fortune as a capricious force that can be encouraged through certain behaviors, omens, or mental dispositions. It evokes the very particular atmosphere of old lottery books and occult almanacs, in which dreams, dates, intuitions, and unusual circumstances become revealing signs of impending luck.

This era reveals the extent to which human beings refuse to accept chance as a completely blind mechanism. Behind every drawing, many seek a hidden logic, an invisible influence, or a secret law capable of being deciphered. Luck then becomes a form of symbolic language that everyone attempts to interpret in their own way. Figures such as Casanova made perfect use of this fascination by blending calculations, intuition, and cabbalistic discourse to charm the elites of their time. Conversely, some authors were already denouncing this obsession with numbers and promises of rapid fortune, viewing the lottery as a dangerous illusion capable of swallowing up popular hopes. Despite these criticisms, this period marked a major turning point: the magic of luck gradually left the confines of occult circles and entered everyday life. It no longer concerned only forbidden grimoires or secret ceremonies, but also anonymous crowds seeking in their dreams, encounters, or premonitions a way to influence fate.

From Magnetic Fluid to Mentalism

At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the magic of luck underwent a radical transformation. Older views based on demons, planetary influences, or talismans began to give way to an approach centered on the human mind itself. Under the influence of magnetism, spiritualism, and the first theories of the subconscious, many authors defended the idea that thought acts directly upon reality. Luck no longer comes solely from a consecrated object or a favorable astrological alignment: it arises from willpower, mental mastery, and the individual’s psychological state. Occultists such as Paul-Clément Jagot then developed a new vision of esotericism in which mentalism, autosuggestion, and personal magnetism gradually replaced the old rituals of conjuration. According to this conception, positive thoughts attract favorable circumstances, while doubt, fear, or pessimism block opportunities. This evolution marks a major break in the history of Western magic. Human beings no longer appear as supplicants dependent on spirits or the stars, but as the primary source of their own destiny. This idea then spread throughout the 20th century and still influences many practices related to luck, attracting success, or personal development today.

Behind these new theories, however, remains an old idea inherited from ancient grimoires: chance is never entirely uncontrollable, and human will has the power to bend the course of events.