Goddess Gardening A-Z: Fortuna – Luck Garden

“One of the healthiest ways to gamble is with a spade and a package of garden seeds.”
– Dan Bennett

Although most of us think of Fortuna as “lady luck,” she was much more than that to the people of Italy. Here Fortuna presided over each individual’s destiny. She brought fertility to couples, she determined how long children would live, she blessed gardens with abundance, and she even drove the fate of entire communities. For you with little luck in gardening, Fortuna guarantees bumper crops!

The Goddess Fortuna Meaning and History

According to myths, Fortuna was Jupiter’s nurse, the patroness of matrons, and sovereign over the bathhouse. Rulers often kept gold statues of her nearby to ensure the well-being of their reigns. This would be a little difficult for most of us to manage without a healthy amount of gold paint, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t invite Fortuna into our garden and our lives using plants that accent fortunate energy.

Fortuna’s magickal attributes include fate, chance, luck destiny, future-telling, oracles, kismet, and providence.

Plants Sacred to the Goddess Fortuna

First, think of the plants that you associate with luck (most people think immediately of clover). In magickal tradition, other fortunate plants include cabbage, fern, heather, rose, strawberry, and violet.

Patterns

Wheels and spheres are very common in depictions of Fortuna, and they’re fairly easy to lay out on the ground.

Stones, Minerals, Crystals, and Shells

Traditional luck stones include alexandrite, apache tear, aventurine, jet, sardonyx, tiger eye, and turquoise.

Colors

Gold and bright yellow.

Garden Decorations for Honoring Fortuna

Any image of a winged woman can act as a Fortuna figure (ancient art depicts here with wings)Fortuna bears a cornucopia, which would make a good center point. Another alternative is an old-style boat, the prow or rudder of which Fortuna steers carefully through life’s waters.

Direction

Luck may reside in the East because that is the direction of hope and new beginnings. In Feng Shui children’s luck is ruled in the West, personal renown in the South, and prosperity resides in the Southeast.

Adaptations

One fun adaptation would be that of creating a bathtub planter. In certain parts of Rome, women who wanted more luck (especially with childbearing) would invade the men’s public baths, because that’s where Fortuna Virillis (that is virility) presided.

After-Harvest Goddess Fortuna Gardening Ideas

Make fortune sachets out of any of the plants from Fortuna’s garden, adding a coin that bears the year of your birth, and wrapping all in gold cloth. Carry this with you to attract luck no matter where you may be. Fashion these during a waxing moon so that luck grows. Consider adding other ingredients that accentuate the area of your life in which you need luck. For example, if you want luck with love, you could add a little cut out heart or roses to the blend.

Based on “Gardening with the Goddess,” by Patricia Telesco. All rights reserved.