Are Bonsai Trees Good Luck?

You will often hear people say that bonsai trees are lucky, or that they will bring you luck especially if they are gifted, but is there anything to this? Are bonsai trees lucky?

Honestly, probably not.

They are great and can bring you a lot of joy, but I don’t think they bring you any more luck than other object you might own.

What Is Luck?

Luck is roughly described as some sort of force or energy that can cause good or bad things to happen, almost by chance or if it is some sort of destiny.

It is more of a belief that defines these sorts of negative or positive experiences. This phenomenon is often linked to an object, where it can seem like the object is almost able to influence these improbable events to happen by random chance.

In a lot of cultures certain objects can be attributed this supernatural power and it is believed a bonsai can be one such object that can influence things in a good way.   

What Is A Bonsai?

Very simply a bonsai is a miniature tree in a pot. You take a tree and force it to grow in a certain way through styling and pruning and over many years it starts to look like a miniature version of a full size tree.

There is a lot of conscious effort and time put into growing a bonsai. They are not that simple to develop and are more of a long term art project.

There is nothing really special about them, in the supernatural sense. They are no different to any other tree you may find growing in the ground; the only difference is the work that has been put into them to keep them small.

Why Do People Think Bonsai Brings Luck?

I occasionally see that people think a bonsai can bring you good fortune and wealth, especially in Asian countries like Japan.   

The Truth About “Lucky” Bonsai

I can’t actually find much information about why these people seem to think bonsai is lucky. I honestly feel it is a just a western idea that we have falsely bestowed on the Japanese. They believe in many things being lucky, and unlucky. Most notably certain numbers, but it is hard to find any solid information about bonsai.  

Realistically a bonsai does not bring luck. I really think this a myth. They are just enjoyed by people around the world and in Japan. There is no special importance to them. Their beauty is the importance, not the magic powers they bring.

You can find that a bonsai can bring you joy and calmness and help you relax, which is always welcome. This type of positive energy is probably where the myth came from.

However, owning a bonsai also brings you a lot of responsibility and you will need to care for the tree properly every day for many years, so it can almost be a burden at times, which I would not really consider very “lucky”.

Gifting Bonsai Trees For Luck

Another thing that you will commonly hear is that if you gift someone a bonsai, it will bring them good luck.

Personally, I think this not a good idea. Unless they know how to look after a bonsai, then they will probably end up killing it, which isn’t exactly very lucky.

There is a lot of work and effort needed to look after a tree and you need to actually understand the techniques and why we use them. If you don’t know this kind of information you are probably going to find the tree suffers and ultimately dies.

The good thing is that is not very hard to learn how to look after a bonsai, but this isn’t really something I would want to force onto someone. It is a lot to ask of someone who isn’t really that interested in it.  

If you friend is already growing bonsai, or is really interested in them, then a gift will probably be appreciated, but it isn’t going to bring them any extra luck.

Feng Shui and Bonsai

I will often see bonsai sited as having good “feng shui”, which basically means it “brings harmonious energy inside.”

While I am sure having harmonious energy is exactly what you want inside, growing your bonsai trees inside is not what you want.

I can safely say that this would be bad luck for you tree, as it will probably kill it. Really your trees need to be outside so this whole advice from feng shui seems terribly inaccurate. 

However, I’m not an expert in feng shui, but I do believe that the area around your house (your garden) is also linked with everything to do with feng shui.

If you keep your tree in the garden then I am sure it can bring plenty of good feng shui, although your tree would need to be in position that is best for its health, not somewhere that just looks the best place aesthetically.

Hopefully you can have a bit of both and find a spot that looks good and keeps the tree happy. 

(You can read more about –Where To Place Your Bonsai Tree At Home)

Feng Shui Isn’t Japanese

I think it is also important to note that feng shui is a Chinese tradition, whereas bonsai is Japanese. Of course we can argue that Japanese bonsai originated from Chinese penjing, so there is always that link as such, although I would say it’s pretty loose.

In reality the Japanese do not rally consider the whole feng shui situation when it comes to the placement of their trees in the garden.

Japanese Kanso

As I’ve just said, the Japanese do not really follow feng shui, they actually have a tradition called Kanso, which is all about the mindfulness of the furniture in the home. They like to keep things simple and purposeful and is more like minimalism in a way.

Kanso is all part of the Japanese system that aims to achieve a state of zen. There are a few areas of their aesthetics that try and achieve this state. Another one you have probably heard of is Wabi sabi.

While Japanese bonsai can be linked to this style of aesthetics and can even help you reach a zen state, it is more about us adding these principles to the tree, rather than the tree dictating them to us.

This basically means that while bonsais are important, they do not bring any sort luck or good energy to the situation, it is more the other way round, where we bring good energy to the tree while we try and grow it and nurture it.      

What Does Bonsai Actually Represent?

If bonsai does not bring luck, then what does it bring?

If you are growing a bonsai you will find it brings you patience and balance. They are slow growing and you need patience to take care of them and develop them over the long term.

You will also need a balance as they are both fragile and a living thing. If you do anything in excess it will unbalance things and kill them.

This links a lot with being patient. In bonsai you just consistently do little things that all add up over many years, you patience ends up with a beautiful and healthy tree.

Conclusion

While saying bonsai are lucky is a nice thing to say and associating them with something positive is great, it just isn’t true.

Owning a bonsai is not going to bring you any luck. It is going to bring you a lot of responsibility, but also bring you a lot of happiness.

So, even though they do not bring you any luck they are still very enjoyable and worth having. You shouldn’t let their lack of luck put you off getting one.