yes, good luck!

my friend has an elephant figurine, uber-detailed by Schleich

there is also a rhino and a giraffe - they sit on top of the tv or the dvd player or the stereo

i remembered that an indian woman i worked with had a collection of elephants all with raised trunks, for luck. she also said it was vital that they faced the window. or perhaps the door. i can't remember. but it was about bringing happiness and wealth into the home.

this in turn reminded me of the raised paw cats in asian grocers - sometimes the paw waves - to bring wealth inside. apparently it is called maneki neko - the lucky beckoning cat - recalling a cat who, according to legend, seemed to beckon a nobleman (or perhaps the emperor) into a temple thereby preventing him from being ambushed.

evil eye, or mal occhio, or nazar boncugu. not quite sure how it works but i think if you wear it or display it, it prevents others from cursing you.

i saw some amulets in a turkish carpet shop. i think you hang them from your rearview mirror. but having the symbol painted on a tail-fin is cooler. maybe i'll paint one on my car.

and then there is ancestor worship. my mum has been practising something like this for years. she "talks to" her father (who died when she was three) or her grandmother or various aunts and cousins. she asks them for help. she asked st anthony to help her find things. and help often arrives. and now that her husband and mother have died, my dad and grandmother, she's talking to them. and i think i will too. it seems utterly natural.

image sourced from wikipedia

she doesn't see ghosts or anything and nor do i (i think i'd faint from fear) but talking to the dead seems normal. the same as talking to them when they were alive.
i would love to be in mexico for the day of the dead. Day of the Dead mosaic by British artist Martin Cheek