“Your Honor, Lady Luck!” is sung in the famous song from the beloved movie “White Sun of the Desert.” We are used to wishing each other good luck. Among us people, this is considered a rule of good manners, even caring for one’s neighbor, but few people know what the word “luck” means. And I didn’t know about this until recently.
And when I found out, I was horrified, but every day I wished good luck to all my relatives and friends. Not a single day could go by without this wish. According to Orthodoxy, when wishing each other good luck, we mention the name of the demon. Is it so? Let's try to figure out why you can't wish good luck according to the Orthodox faith.
The concept of "luck"
Why can't you wish for good luck? To understand this, you need to understand the meaning of the word “luck”. This is the name given to a positive event of a random, unpredictable nature. The closest synonym for this word is “luck”. Luck also refers to the desired outcome of a certain action or event that a person cannot fully control.
Orthodox church
There is a version that Luck-Moloch is the name of the pagan god of happiness, who was worshiped by the Sumerians. This theory is quite controversial, since it relies only on unreliable Internet sources. Most likely, the word “luck” comes from the Slavic root “dati”, that is, “to give”.
For students
Wishing a student or student good luck before an exam is a bad omen. There is a belief that such a wish attracts dark entities like the devil, who steal success.
Many cultural experts believe that this sign comes from Ancient Rome. Then it was customary to treat fortune as a living being.
For example, it was then believed that one should not wish for success, because fortune is angry with those who rely too much on it.
Luck in Orthodoxy
Why can’t you wish good luck in Orthodoxy? The concept of luck contradicts the Christian worldview. The Holy Church teaches that nothing happens by chance. After all, the Almighty and All-Good Lord constantly takes care of His creation and helps man to come to salvation. The constant providence of the Almighty for the world and humanity in Christianity is called God's Will, Providence, Providence.
The doctrine of God's Providence should not be confused with pagan ideas about the predetermination of fate. The Lord participates in our lives, but does not interfere with a person’s choice. The Creator only puts us in such conditions where we ourselves choose between good and evil. By choosing goodness, truth, and observance of Christian commandments, a person entrusts himself to Divine Providence and thereby saves his soul. We can sense and trust God's Providence. But the meager human mind is not able to comprehend it fully.
Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov teaches:
“There is no blind chance! Everything is accomplished according to the incomprehensible judgment of the All-Wise and Almighty God” (Complete Collection of Creations, volume 2).
Thus, trust in luck, blind chance in Orthodoxy is considered as a proud distrust of God and superstition. A truly Orthodox person simply does not need luck, since he relies on the help of the Almighty in everything. Priest Valery Dukhanin notes:
“It is not omens or circumstances formed by chance that should be the criterion of life, but the commandments of God and the conscience of the believer, telling us what to do.”
Also, trust in luck can be considered as the desire to receive some benefit without difficulty, for free. Such desires are not useful for an Orthodox Christian.
Break a leg
It is considered a bad omen to wish good luck to fishermen, hunters, mushroom pickers... In short, to everyone who goes out to get food. Let's remember: after all, such crafts are very ancient in origin. In ancient times, the life of the entire tribe literally depended on the success of miners. It was then that signs emerged that have survived centuries. For example, a person is going hunting. You wish him good luck, but the evil spirits will hear and interfere. So “cheats” appeared, wishes on the contrary: may you have neither a tail nor scales. Or even more familiar to us: no fluff, no feather. Nowadays, as you understand, this phrase is said not only to hunters or fishermen, but also to those who go to an exam, interview, or any important meeting.
It is interesting that according to the old English tradition, they wanted the actors to break their legs before the performance. At first glance, it seems that the scheme is the same as with hunters: if you wish bad, good things will come true. But, most likely, the matter is in the translation of the phrase break a leg: perhaps it meant something like “bend the knee.” The fact is that in the 16th century, after the performance, the actor was supposed to kneel, bowing to the audience and receiving applause. This action had a practical meaning: it was more convenient to collect coins, which in those days were thrown onto the stage instead of flowers. So a tradition arose to wish that at the end of the play the artist would not have to run away from the stage amid indignant whistles and throwing tomatoes, but would have the opportunity to bend his knee, collecting well-deserved laurels and money.
However, modern actors, as well as doctors, drivers and people in other professions associated with risk, also do not like being wished good luck. Many people prefer the phrase “God bless you!”, and when they hear a standard wish, they strive to spit three times over their left shoulder. It looks like some kind of mixture of religion and paganism, right? This is true! Now let's talk more about the roots.
Why you shouldn't wish for luck
The concept of “luck” in itself is incompatible with Orthodox doctrine. However, this word has become firmly established in our everyday speech. We don't even think about its inconsistency and wish us luck with the best intentions to support our neighbor. And we do not at all want to hint at a conflict with God’s Providence. And of course, without putting any pagan ideas into the word “luck”. Is this acceptable?
Priest Dimitry Palamarchuk does not see anything wrong with a simple wish of good luck and suggests thinking about the origin of his own name:
“The meaning of the name Demetrius is “servant of the goddess Demeter.” Does it mean you can't pronounce it? When we wish for good luck, we don’t wish for the help of Moloch, right? We want the business that a person starts to succeed. That's all".
Answering the question “Why can’t you wish good luck to a person?”, Father Dimitri approves of the desire to clear speech of unnecessary words. But the priest urges us to avoid extremes and not look for the evil root in all the little things. Otherwise, the fight against false enemies can replace genuine service to Christ.
So, in Christianity there is no prohibition on a simple good wish for good luck. However, it would do us well to take a conscious and responsible approach to what we say. Therefore, it is best to support a person with the words “God help you!” or “God bless you!” On the other hand, we should not go to extremes and condemn and correct those who kindly wish us good luck. In this case, love for one's neighbor is incomparably more important than purity of speech.
I wish you good luck... love... and patience.... LUCK IS THE NAME OF THE DEMONS Is it possible to wish people “luck”
Be vigilant, wish each other well-being and God's Help, not the devil!
“I see that in some memorials you mentioned the demon Luck, writing: “About the luck of a daughter,” “About the luck of a son,” “About the luck of a family.” Why did you write the devil in my memorial? Do you know who Luck was? It was the biggest demon that mowed down millions of souls. Moloch, or "Luck", was the god of happiness among the Romans, Sumerians and Carthaginians. What was this god Moloch, or “Luck” as we call him today? His statue, cast from copper or silver, was carried on a two-wheeled cart. On his back was a copper stove, and in front of him was a copper frying pan; from behind, firewood was thrown into Luck until the statue became hot. And his priests carried axes in their hands, large and sharpened. What kind of sacrifice did Luck accept? Only infants from the hands of mothers. They came to the village where you live. They dragged the chariot of Luck with a red-hot frying pan and called, clapping their hands: “Whoever wants good luck, make a sacrifice to Luck!”
– Archimandrite Cleopas (Ilie)
Is it possible to wish people “good luck”? “You wouldn’t wish this on your enemy!” they say in cases where some kind of misfortune or misfortune occurs. However, we are used to constantly wishing each other “Good Luck”, without even imagining what a terrible curse we are sending on the one to whom this wish is intended!
The fact is that Luck or, as we better know, Moloch, was the main deity among the Semitic peoples, who was one of the incarnations of Baal (or Baal, Beelzebub, Belshazzar), i.e. the devil. Baal is mentioned several times in the Bible in the Book of Judges - 2:11, 3:7, 10:6; Molech - in the Book of Amos 5:26 and 1 Kings 11:7.
The cult of Moloch-Baal among the Semites consisted of wildly unbridled voluptuousness, seeking artificial stimulation. Its external symbol was always the phallus, which was depicted as a column with a truncated top. At the temples of Baal lived the so-called kedeshim and kedeshom, holy fornicators and harlots who doomed themselves to serve the temple by earning money through fornication.
The purpose of this cult was to deeply corrupt the people who resorted to it. The fruits of this worship were the well-known sad events that occurred in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, where the cult of Baal was especially pronounced.
Both now and previously, the main feature of the Semitic peoples - the worshipers and servants of Satan - is lies and deceit. The priests of Baal-Moloch were no exception, who, trying to veil the true goal of the cult, so as not to scare people away from its devilish essence, spread the idea that they served the fertile Sun, the source of warmth and life fire manifested in it.
As in all pagan cults, Moloch's servants made sacrifices to him. Typically, these were human sacrifices that were performed in honor of Moloch through burnt offerings, supposedly passing them through the solar life fire. Newborn babies were considered the most pleasant victims of Baal, especially children of noble families: “and they built the high places of Tophet in the valley of the sons of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in fire, which I did not command and which did not enter into my heart” (Jer. 7). :31). The children lay down on the outstretched hands of the idol, which had the face of a calf, and a fire burned below. These monstrous sacrifices were performed at night to the sound of flutes, tambourines and lyres, which drowned out the cries of the unfortunate children and also increased the excitement among the people. The altars of the gods were constantly stained with the blood of children, and in the years of major festivals or in times of disaster, people, and in particular children, were sacrificed in hundreds and thousands.
“First approaches Moloch, the terrible king, spattered with the blood of human victims and the tears of fathers and mothers. But because of the noise of the drums the cries of their children are not heard when they are thrown into the fire in honor of the terrible idol" (John Milton, Paradise Lost).
“The statue of Moloch was built specifically for accepting human sacrifices and burning them. She was colossally tall, all made of copper, and empty inside. The head was of a bull, because the bull was a symbol of strength and the sun in its fierce form. The arms of the statue were of monstrous length, and the victims were placed on the huge outstretched palms; the hands, moved by chains on blocks hidden behind the back, lifted the victims to the hole located in the chest, from where they fell into the flaming inferno, which was placed inside the statue, on an invisible grate , and the ash and coals that fell through it formed an ever-increasing heap between the legs of the colossus... the children were laid alive on the terrible red-hot palms of the monster. Relatives were strictly forbidden to show sadness. Children, if they screamed while they were being prepared for the terrible ritual, were calmed down with caresses. As ugly and impossible as it may seem, mothers were obliged not only to be present at the terrible celebration, but to refrain from tears, sobs and any manifestation of sadness, because otherwise they would not only lose all the honor due to them due to the great honor bestowed upon them by the people, but they could bring the wrath of the offended deity upon the entire people, and one reluctantly made offering could destroy the effect of the entire sacrifice and even bring upon the people troubles worse than before. Such a weak-willed mother would be forever disgraced. Drums and flutes maintained a continuous noise, not only to drown out the screams of the victims, but to increase the excitement among the people." (Ragozina Z. A. History of Assyria. St. Petersburg: Ie A. F. Marx, 1902. P. 151–152).
As mentioned above, Moloch Valaam also had the nickname “Luck”. Why? Because it was believed that a family that sacrificed its child to the deity would certainly have a successful year in terms of agricultural work and harvesting. Therefore, when the priests of Moloch brought their idol cast from copper or silver on a two-wheeled cart to the next village, they clapped their hands and shouted: “Whoever wants good luck in business, make a sacrifice to Baal!” Then the crazy women took their babies and gave them to the servants of Satan...
This kind of ritual infanticide was subsequently prohibited by the Mosaic Law and punishable by death (Lev. 18:21; Lev. 20:2), but the Semites did not stop practicing them until the Babylonian captivity (586 BC).
After the revolution of 1917, when the Russian soil was desecrated by trampling on faith and apostasy from God, ritual infant sacrifices were introduced by allowing abortion at the state level. Russia became the first country in the world to legalize abortion. Subsequently, this “legal” horror spread throughout the world. And to this day, these monstrous sacrifices are performed, but already disguised as a medical procedure...
Or do you think that aborted babies are not a sacrifice to the demon Luck? After all, it is precisely in order to avoid sorrows and for the sake of good luck at work or in personal life, for the sake of a comfortable life, that people sometimes without hesitation make the decision: “the baby in the womb must be killed!” And because the honest word “infanticide” was replaced by the cunning and harmless-sounding word “termination of pregnancy”, and the child with the soulless word “fetus” - the essence does not change - the child in the womb will be torn alive into pieces or burned with an alkaline solution, and then will be destroyed. Moloch is pleased and can reward the child killers with luck for a short time, but sometimes he can simply laugh with his demonic laugh and say: “Why do you need luck, you’re already mine?!”
Prayer for God's help for a good deed
Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of truth, Who is everywhere and fulfills everything, Treasure of good things and Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, O Good One, our souls.
O Creator and Creator of all things, O God, hastily correct the works of our hands, which we begin for Thy glory, with Thy blessing, and deliver us from all evil, for One is Omnipotent and Lover of Mankind.
Quick to intercede and strong to help, present yourself to the grace of Thy power now, and bless and strengthen, and accomplish the good work of Thy servants: whatever you want, as the Almighty God is able to do.
Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of Your Beginning Father, You declared with Your most pure lips: that without Me you cannot do anything. My Lord, Lord, with faith in my soul and heart spoken by You, I fall down in Your goodness: help me, a sinner, to accomplish this work, which I have begun, in You, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Synonym for the word "happiness"
Explanatory dictionaries define “luck” as follows: “a set of favorable circumstances conducive to success, a happy occasion, a desirable outcome of a business; happiness, luck (Small Academic Dictionary); success, such an outcome of a matter that is needed, desired by someone (Ushakov’s Explanatory Dictionary). There is also such a definition: “A happy, favorable combination of circumstances that contributed to the desired, necessary outcome of the matter; luck (Kuznetsov's Explanatory Dictionary)
Abramov’s dictionary of synonyms puts the word “success” on a par with the words “happiness” and “well-being.” The word is assessed positively; there is no talk of any double meaning in any source.
And, since events that can be characterized as luck are desired and expected for most people, there are many symbols that represent it.
And here – let’s be careful! - the pagan consciousness ingrained in the people comes into force. Regardless of gender, age, social or professional status, many people sincerely believe that good luck can be attracted with the help of an object (amulet or talisman) or action (certain ritual).
Alas, quite serious, adult believers in the church are susceptible to this seemingly innocent, but dangerous superstition, which skillfully disguises itself as folk traditions.
Thanksgiving after business is over
Give thanks to Thy unworthy servants, O Lord, for Thy great good deeds upon us; we glorify Thee, bless, thank Thee, sing and magnify Thy compassion, and slavishly cry out to Thee in love: O our Benefactor, glory to Thee.
As a servant of indecency, having been honored with Your blessings and gifts, Master, we earnestly flow to You, giving thanks according to our strength, and glorifying You as the Benefactor and Creator, we cry out: Glory to You, All-Bountiful God.
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Who is Moloch really?
Moloch (Luck) is the god of happiness among the Carthaginians, Sumerians and Romans. His statue, cast from a significant amount of silver or copper, was carried around the cities on a large two-wheeled cart. In front of the statue was a copper frying pan with oil boiling in it. At the back there was a stove made of the same material. The fire in it was constantly maintained by the priests walking nearby. These people held large and sharpened axes in their hands, clapped their hands loudly and invited those who wanted from the side, shouting: “Whoever wants good luck, make a sacrifice to Luck!” Seems like no big deal, right? But…
