Luck Interpretations – Luck is Interpreted in Many Different Ways
Medicine Wheel Image
Luck Interpretations can take many forms. Medicine wheels are stone structures constructed by certain indigenous peoples of North America for various astronomical, ritual, healing, and teaching purposes. The ritual and healing purposes can be loosely tied into luck in the case of those indigenous peoples who used them.
Medicine Wheel, a Native American sacred site and National Historic Landmark in Wyoming. Some think these are good luck symbols.
Medicine wheels, or sacred hoops, were constructed by laying stones in a particular pattern on the ground. Most medicine wheels follow the basic pattern of having a center of stone(s), and surrounding that is an outer ring of stones with “spokes”, or lines of rocks radiating from the center.
More recently, hybridized uses of medicine wheels, magic circles, and mandala sacred technology are employed in New Age, Wiccan, Pagan and other spiritual discourses around the World.
Ways of Interpreting Luck
Luck is interpreted* and understood in many different ways. Here are short descriptions of four different interpretations of luck.
Luck as lack of control
Luck refers to that which happens to a person beyond that person’s control. This view incorporates phenomena that are chance happenings, a person’s place of birth for example, but where there is no uncertainty involved, or where the uncertainty is irrelevant.
Luck as a fallacy
One view of Luck holds that “luck is probability taken personally.”
It cannot be shown that luck actually exists, hence Luck is nothing more than a word used by one in a self delusional assumption of understanding events of which one is informed or which one witnesses. As such, it is a word which superstitious people use to simultaneously presume to have insight into events and, paradoxically, to cease efforts to understand the causes and effects of those same events.
A Few Quotes Involving Luck
“Some folk want their luck buttered.”
~ Thomas Hardy
“Luck is believing you’re lucky.”
~ Tennessee Williams
“For each petal on the shamrock this brings a wish your way. Good health, good luck, and
happiness for today and every day.”~ Irish Blessings
“Luck has a peculiar habit of favoring those who don’t depend on it”
~ Author unknown
Luck as an Essence
There is also a series of spiritual, or supernatural beliefs regarding fortune. These beliefs vary widely from one to another, but most agree that Luck can be influenced through spiritual means by performing certain rituals or by avoiding certain circumstances.
Luck can also be a belief in an organization of fortunate and unfortunate events. Luck is a form of superstition which is interpreted differently by different individuals. Famous Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Jung, who founded analytical psychology, coined the term “synchronicity”, which he described as “a meaningful coincidence”.
Christianity and Islam believe in the will of a supreme being rather than luck as the primary influence in future events. The degrees of this Divine Providence vary greatly from one person to another.
However, most acknowledge providence as at least a partial, if not complete influence on luck. Christianity, in its early development, accommodated many traditional practices which at different times, accepted omens. It also practiced forms of ritual sacrifice in order to divine the will of their supreme being or to influence divine favoritism.
The concept of “Divine Grace” as it is described by believers closely resembles what is referred to as “luck” by others.
This JW space telescope is going up in space in a few years.
Luck as a Self-fulfilling Prophecy
Some encourage the belief in luck as a false idea, but which may produce positive thinking, and alter one’s responses for the better. Others, like Jean-Paul Sartre and Sigmund Freud, feel a belief in luck has more to do with a locus of control for events in one’s life, and the subsequent escape from personal responsibility.
People who believe in good luck are more optimistic, more satisfied with their lives, and have better moods. If “good” and “bad” events occur at random to everyone, believers in good luck will experience a net gain in their fortunes, and vice versa for believers in bad luck. This is clearly likely to be self-reinforcing.
A Question about Luck
James asks…
Am I being too negative here?
I’ve always had the worst luck when it comes to women. For some reason, I don’t, quote-unquote, “fall in love” easily. And when I do, the women in question never reciprocate (I have no issue with them, can’t force anything, ha). So, up to now, I’ve never had a girlfriend, even at my age (26). For the most part, it doesn’t bother me, life goes on regardless, just more time to devote to myself.
However, at this point, I sometimes fear I’ll never meet that special someone. I don’t know, maybe I’ve just stopped caring? A large part of me has really grown accustomed to the single life, and I worry that I would be a horrible boyfriend/husband due to always being single and not knowing all the little nuances the go on in relationships.
Am I being too pessimistic here?
admin answers:
Ha, I am not 30 and have not met “the one” yet. Not sure if my advice is worth much but I think if it comes it comes. Be open to it, put yourself out there when you do like someone. Move on when it is not reciprocated.
Like Dean Martin says “there’s somebody for everybody”
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* exerpts From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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