The Lunar New Year is all about starting the year off with as much as luck as possible, whether by wearing red (and red underwear if it’s your birth year!), eating fortuitous foods, giving (or getting) hong baos full of lucky money, and more.

There’s even more you can do to increase your fortune factor any time of the year, and create some good feng shui while you’re at it. Here are nine ways to add some auspicious touches to your home or workspace.

Buddha

Include a Buddha figurine in your home or office for good vibrations. Each type attracts a different kind of positive energy.

• Laughing Buddhas — Good luck, success, happiness
• Sleeping Buddha — Peace and calm
• Meditating Buddha — Positive energy for career and blessings
• Buddha head — Strong and centering energy
• Buddha on a lotus base — Spiritual growth and cultivation

Elephant

The elephant is treasured in many Asian cultures, from the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha to the Year of the Elephant of the Thai zodiac.

You can embrace the elephant’s wisdom, strength, and protection by placing a one or two at your front door facing inward. Keep in mind that a lifted trunk means good luck while a lowered trunk represents determination.

Fu Dogs

Two fu dogs near the entrance of a home or workplace is believed to protect against negative energy. While commonly referred by a canine moniker, they're actually not dogs but lions. However, because lions weren't native to ancient China, their image was part imagination, part native Chinese cur (we think the Pekingese bears a striking resemblance).

Guardian lions always come in pairs. The male is identified by the world beneath its foot while under the female's paw is a lion cub.  

Chinese Knot

Another good luck decoration is the Chinese knot. Knot-making is an ancient Chinese art form with different types representing different meanings. The eternal knot is often given for weddings while the diamond knot (sometimes with a fu, the Chinese character for fortune) is believed to bring good fortune in general.

Money Toad

This mythical creature is believed to attract wealth and prosperity. See one near your home or business during a full moon? Lucky you: good news about money might be coming your way. Or so says Chinese myth.

For full effectiveness:

• Don’t put the toad on the floor
• Don’t put it in the bathroom or bedroom
• Place it near your front door facing into your home
• Put a lucky coin in its mouth (if it doesn’t already have one)

Lucky Coins

Speaking of serendipitous spare change, an ornament of lucky coins and red tassels is also believed to attract fortunate financial vibes, as well as provide protection and good luck in general. The coins are modeled after ancient Chinese money, which was molded with a hole in the middle so they could be threaded for easy handling.

Gold Ingots

What the heck’s an ingot? It’s any mass of a pure metal, in this case gold. Once used as currency, they’re now considered good luck. In fact it’s believed the dumpling, a lucky food to eat during the New Year, was shaped to resemble this precious symbol.

Fish

There’s a reason our logo is the double fish. The Chinese word for fish, yu, is a homophone for “abundance” and “riches.” That’s why the aquatic creatures make many an appearance on Asian ceramics, scrolls, and more.

Lucky Cat

This list wouldn’t be complete without our signature maneki-neko “waving” cat. The fortunate felines have different meanings depending on paw and color. A raised right paw draws prosperity while a beckoning left means more customers. White attracts happiness while black protects from illness. Gold is supposed to bring wealth, and pink is believed to make you lucky in love. You can learn more about the maneki-neko cat at our post on cats in Asian culture.

For even more on the Lunar Year, check out everything you need to know about the Year of the Dog, six things you might know about the Chinese zodiac, and 12 more lucky things you can do this Lunar New Year.