Where to Put Fortune Frogs

Fortune from Frogs

• Frogs and toads are symbols of metamorphosis. Their dramatic transformation from abundant mass of jellied eggs to tadpole to croaking, chirping lily pad hopper is believed to be a sign of yin -- or expansive -- energy. Frogs are considered auspicious portents of arriving good fortune in Chinese mythology. They appear in large numbers after the rain, which is a lucky blessing from heaven for farmers. A frog that shows up during the full moon is a signal that the home or business it visits is about to be blessed with abundant fortune, and usually the fortune takes the form of wealth. So frogs and toads are interchangeably associated with money in China -- even the name for toad, "chanchu," often shortened to chan, sounds like qian, which means coin.

Park Your Frog

• You can't place a money frog just anywhere in your home. There are appropriate settings where the frog will work its magic and, if you ignore these, you could attract the opposite of good luck. Outside the front door, a frog should face the door to direct good energy inside. Interior frogs should not directly face the door, because the incoming energy is too powerful there; you don't want the frog's chi to combat the entering good fortune. Set the frog at a diagonal to the door, facing it, so the frog can capture the luck. The wealth corner in the southeast part of the room is the best spot for attracting money. A frog in the north part of the room will bring good news about a career or business.

Jump How High?

• The frog should sit off the floor, but not so high that it misses the level of your pockets -- the repositories of the coins and wallets holding all that good fortune. It's best if the figure is slightly hidden on a low table next to a plant or behind books on a shelf. The most effective money frogs have open mouths to hold a Chinese coin, and some frogs come on a cast bed of gold coins to underscore their money magnetism. You may place up to nine money frogs around your home as a powerful lure for prosperity, but keep them out of the bedroom, the bathroom and the kitchen.

The Right Frog

• Money frogs have several important characteristics based on legend and tradition. Look for those with open mouths that hold coins or are large enough for a coin. Gold, brass and jade are classic materials for good fortune frogs -- the gold may be gilding, unless you really don't need any more prosperity. Sometimes a money frog has crystals or rhinestones depicting the Big Dipper on its back. The constellation is auspicious in Chinese astrology and holds water, a symbol of abundance. Chinese lucky frogs have three legs. Legend has it that the greedy wife of one of the Immortals stole the peaches of immortality; she was caught and turned partly into a toad. Out of sympathy for her plight, she was not entirely transformed; she was allowed to keep a tadpole's tail instead of two back legs.