The newest good-luck charm for young people in China? Kris Jenner. After catapulting her family into a billion-dollar empire, the “momager” has been making her way across digital platforms like Weibo, Xiaohongshu and Douyin, where users are setting her image as their profile pictures and wallpapers in a bid to manifest success. It tracks that Jenner is associated with material abundance: she has an estimated net worth of $170 million and has helped the Kardashian-Jenner clan accrue billions. But where did this trend come from? Why has it taken off in China? And can changing your profile picture to the Kardashian matriarch really help you manifest “rich energy”?

For those unfamiliar with the term, manifestation is the idea that we have the power to change our material reality by shifting our mindsets and truly believing in our aspirations. The concept has roots in the mid-19th century, but gained prominence in 2006 with the publication of Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret. In recent years, as wages have stagnated and living costs have spiralled, manifestation has taken social media by storm, with creators sharing tips on how to manifest everything from romantic bliss to cold, hard cash.

While the end goal of manifestation is always the same – to cultivate the life we want and attain fulfilment – the way we do it is constantly evolving. Across social media, rituals like the “777 method” (writing your intentions down seven times in the morning and again at night for seven days), “manifesta” (writing out your desires and tracking your progress), and meditation (using breathwork and focused rumination to shift your aura and mindset) have all become popular manifestation techniques. Now, sharing pictures of Kris Jenner has emerged as the method du jour: the #KrisJennerManifestation hashtag has been used more than a million times across RedNote and Douyin.

My friend and colleague Bri Luna – owner and founder of The Hoodwitch and author of Blood Sex Magic: Everyday Magic for the Modern Mystic – was the first person to send me a reel showing Jenner’s new status on the scene. “Kris is a Scorpio Sun who built a dynasty,” she says. “She keeps her family protected, very profitable and relevant across decades. That’s not just good PR. I actually think that’s her intentional energy work.” Whether Kris is aware she’s doing energy work or not, “the witches see her,” Luna adds.

What’s interesting is that the method has largely been popularised by young Chinese people. MJ Corey, Kar-Jenner expert and author of the forthcoming book DeKonstructing the Kardashians, explains that China’s economy has been struggling lately, prompting people to rethink their relationship to work and productivity and seek out new forms of motivation. This is the context in which Kris has emerged as a spiritual symbol. “It’s a great example of the utility of the Kardashians as a metric for culture shifts,” she says. “What makes this Chinese trend so compelling is that another world power is willing to acknowledge the family’s reputation for power and success – but with a positive spin, whereas here in the US, if the Kar-Jenners’ success is acknowledged at all, it is often with a negative tone.”

So, is it really possible to channel Kris’ energy? As Luna sees it, manifestation works – but not in the way it’s often sold online. “More people need to tap into shadow work, ancestral clearing and the energetic alignment that has to happen underneath the vision boards,” she says. “The ones I’ve seen genuinely shift their lives aren’t the ones with the prettiest affirmations; they are people who are willing to do the uncomfortable work first.” Without a real awareness of what happens when you get what you’ve asked for, Luna believes manifestation can become a productivity hack rather than a spiritual practice.

But for those of us who grew up watching the family on television, Kris’s positive attitude and undeniable success can make us feel like our own dreams are attainable. “[The Kardashians] have famously socially climbed and performed entrepreneurialism on behalf of the American Dream for years,” says Corey. “Like it or not, they’ve ‘made it’ now and have cemented their images as institutionally, iconically powerful women.” Kris in particular has come to embody the family’s material power. “Playing into her reputation of ‘the devil works hard, but Kris Jenner works harder,’ she very naturally became a symbol of grit,” Corey adds. 

It tracks. Kris has cultivated extraordinary wealth for herself and her family through savvy investments and by steering them to fame. From their reality shows and spin-offs to Kylie Cosmetics and SKIMS, whatever Kris Jenner touches seems to turn to gold. In these tumultuous economic times, it’s understandable that she has emerged as a kind of spiritual guru, and that so many of us are seduced by the promise of abundance she represents. After all, sometimes we all need the reassurance that “you’re doing amazing, sweetie!”