Category Archives: Homeopathic

Gacha Gaming Luck Rituals

The Informant

CM is a long-time gacha player who players multiple different gacha games and stays up to date in the community news of gacha games he doesn’t even play. The informant admits to doing one of the following rituals in the past, having played the game genre since he was 13.

The Text

“Gacha” games are a from of video games that involve a “gacha” element, deriving from the Japanese toy-capsule vending machines of gachapon, in which rewards are drawn through lottery as a monetization system. As a very luck-based system, it lends itself to superstitions and magical rituals, particularly when players are investing their in-game resources into “pulling” for gacha. Most gacha games tend to sell particularly desireable limited characters or equipment, and the lottery mechanic incentivizes players to quite literally perform summoning rituals to “pull” the right character or equipment.

According to the informant, there are two big ways to perform a luck ritual in gacha community. In the past, one method was to change your social media profile picture (Discord, X, etc.) to the target character before you pulled for them. Other people draw summoning circles, placing the phone in the middle of the diagram with merch on the periphery. Some people would assemble entire shrines in dedication of the target character before they roll. The informant recalls an episode where a particular player put their phone into a circle of salt to keep away bad luck before rolling.

In Grand Blue Fantasy, a particular gacha game, the most incentivized way to pull would be to pull 300 pulls at once for an incentivized reward, and you must play a song, like related to the target character, on loop as the game rolls through the 300 pulls. If the player ever repeats a song used for a previous character, the rolls would be atrocious, from an anecdote. The informant also recounts a method where the player would go to a specific location important to the target character or have related characters active in the party while pulling for the character.

Analysis

What I find most interesting about this ritual is the homeopathic nature of summoning for a fictional character, as described by Frazer’s sympathetic magic, despite the target of the homeopathic connection being completely fictional. This operates off the belief that the target character will be bound to other characters, locations, and merchandise that have a connection to them. Setting one’s public profile picture also morphs the player’s cyborg identity to be closer to that of the character, again evoking a homeopathic bond. Because the user’s are invested in the characters and want them to “come home” to their account, they will perform rituals to improve their odds, especially as losing to the lottery odds can be quite costly to an account, forcing the player to either pay for more rolls or miss out on the character. As many gacha games sell their characters through story, the narratives the players experienced with the target character also incentivizes their investment on pulling for the target character, going as far as to perform rituals to better their luck when rolling.

Empacho

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 38
Occupation: Mechanic
Residence: Los Angeles
Language: Spanish and English

Text: “When I was little, if I had a stomachache or was constipated, my grandma would say I had empacho. She would rub my stomach with oil while massaging my stomach and back. Then she would give me a té de manzanilla boiled with the pit of an avocado. I wasn’t allowed to eat cold food after that, only warm soups. No doctors were involved, just her hands and prayers.”

Context: The informant explained that he and his cousins were often diagnosed with empacho by their grandmother when they had constipation, bloating, or stomach cramps. He explained that empacho is believed to be caused by eating too much, eating improperly, or food “sticking” in the stomach. His grandmother learned the treatment from a neighborhood curandera (a folk healer) in Michoacán. He doesn’t fully believe in the diagnosis now, but he did say the treatment did make him feel better. It was comforting. 

Interpretation: Empacho is considered to be a folk illness in Mexican medicine. The idea that food can cause an internal imbalance that requires hands-on shows how healing illustrates how illness is perceived not just as biological but also energetic. The act of rubbing or even pulling the stomach is a way of drawing out the illness. Using warmth (like tea or massage) is a way to counteract the “coldness” in the body. This ritual becomes not only a form of medical intervention but a cultural one, preserving heritage and asserting identity. 

Haldi Doodh- “Golden Milk”

Nationality: United States
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Language: English

Text: “Whenever I get sick, like with even a cold or just a runny nose, my mom will always make me haldi doodh. It’s warm milk mixed with turmeric, black pepper, and honey. She heats the milk then stirs in the spices and has me drink it before I go to bed. She always tells me how her mom gave her the same tea and now she has the privilege of doing the same for me. It has a weird earthy taste but it always helps and I start to feel better the next day.”

Context: This element of folk medicine was shared by the informant, D during a conversation about home remedies passed down through generations. D explained that whenever she is sick her mother will make haldi-doodh, also known as “golden milk”. This remedy comes from Indian tradition and is passed down through generations, with D’s mother having learned it from her own mom. While it has a strong earthy taste, D associates it with comfort and feeling better the next day. 

Analysis: This is an example of folk medicine passed through generations, emphasizing both cultural continuity and caregiving. Haldi doodh is both a physical remedy and a symbolic act of love and care. The turmeric, black pepper and honey that are used are tied to traditional Ayurvedic beliefs that view food as not just nutrition, but also as powerful medicine. Given that this remedy is always given before bed, it is also a comforting ritual. This practice shows how folk medicine not only physically heals but also acts as a vessel for expressing love across generations.

The George Santos Curse

Nationality: American

Occupation: Student

Residence: San Diego, CA

Text:

In March of 2023, just before opening day, Congressman George Santos published a video on Twitter wearing a Mets jersey where he incorrectly chanted “Let’s go Mets”. This video was posted while he was enveloped in an enormous fraud scandal, which would ultimately lead to him being expelled from Congress and sentenced to seven years in prison. The moment that the video was released, my friend was convinced that George Santos had just cursed the Mets for the 2023 season. Despite starting the year as World Series favorites, the Mets went on to win less than half of their games and miss the playoffs. In 2024 after George Santos was expelled from Congress, the Mets unexpectedly made a playoff run which was proof to my friend that Santos cursed the Mets and the curse was lifted when he was gone.

Context:
My friend lives in New York’s third congressional district, which is the district Santos represented and where the Mets play home games. He was not old enough to vote when Santos was elected, but he hated him and wanted him to be removed from office. After Santos posted the cringeworthy video on Twitter, jokes appeared online that he had just cursed the Mets and that the Mets could never win with him in office. My friend latched onto this idea, and throughout the season whenever the Mets lost he would text me about how the George Santos curse is killing the Mets.

Analysis:

This belief is a clear example of Frazer’s idea of the Law of Similarity in magic. The Law of Similarity states that a magician will produce a desired effect by mimicking it. In this case George Santos was (unintentionally) the magician, and he transferred the negativity surrounding himself onto the Mets by wearing their jersey. Following this idea, it makes sense that the curse would be lifted after Santos was expelled. Prior to being expelled from office Santos was hated for being a fraudster, but after he was expelled people began to find him amusing. This changing energy surrounding Santos was reflected in the Mets turnaround, where they unexpectedly had a great season in 2024.

Pregame Ritual

Nationality: American
Occupation: Student
Residence: Bristol, Rhode Island
Language: English

Whenever TC plays soccer, they have a very specific pregame ritual that they have to perform every game, or else they will not play as well. He wears the exact same base layer of socks with his cleats every single game. While the top layer of longer socks are cut out to fit the shin guards, the base sock layer was the exact same pair for 2 years straight. After TC finishes warming up, the next time they step onto the field, whether it be walking out with the starting lineup or subbing in, he makes sure that his left foot is the foot stepping past the line onto the field every single time.

TC first mentioned the reason why he wore the same pair of socks was due to his trouble finding socks that fit in his cleats well, with them sliding in his boots too much for his liking. One game, he decided to try a cut pair of socks with a base pair of socks, which saw him play exceptionally that game. Ever since then, he wore those same socks for every game to replicate the success he saw there. Additionally, the left foot out first when stepping onto the field is a good luck charm he says helps him play better. If he notices that he’s stepped onto the field with the wrong foot, he’ll go back and redo his entrance to prevent bad luck.

This ritual is highly repetitive, requiring the exact same set of circumstances every single time he plays soccer. TC does not call himself a very superstitious person, but holds this ritual to be very important to his success on the field. By limiting the variance before he plays the game, it gives him the same exact mentality as every other day, letting him focus on the game at hand. The emphasis on putting the literal best foot forward, which can be interpreted as homeopathic magic while stepping onto the field creates a barrier between the game and the world outside of it. By putting his best foot forward, TC can also be confident of his footwork in the game. No matter what is going on outside the game, once TC has stepped onto the field game ready, he can switch to competition right away. The placebo effect is extremely important, because even i changing socks or the walk-on ritual doesn’t have any major effect on TC’s physical being, mentally the pressure that he’s cast bad luck on himself can create a downward spiral leading to a poor performance .