Behind Lucky Numbers

For some, luck resides in a rabbit’s paw, a certain shirt or a ritual blow on the dice. Others find luck in numbers themselves. What makes a number ‘lucky’ depends on many influences, some personal, some cultural.

In China, the number eight is particularly revered because, when spoken, it rhymes with the word for ‘wealth’. In Christian societies three is popular, reflecting the Trinity but also the ‘three wishes’ of folklore. Seven has enchanted the European mind for centuries – notes in an octave, colours of the rainbow, the seven classical planets, and days of the week. The number seven crops up throughout the Old Testament, too.

Prime numbers, which can only be divided by themselves and one, are popular choices for lucky numbers, with one exception: thirteen.

Perhaps the luckiest numbers though, are those that show odds in your favour.