Our beliefs create our reality and our experiences will be influenced by that belief system.
We look back at history and smile a little condescendingly at what people used to believe. Superstitions, magic, gods, spirits, witches, curses, blessings, ghosts. Silly stories that obviously can’t be true because we now understand the natural world through the power of science and know what is real. We are right and they were wrong.
Interestingly, this exact time is the first time, and we are the first people, to not be caught up in silly beliefs. We are rational and they were irrational. They believed nonsense and we don’t. Quite the coincidence that we now live at the exact moment where we finally got it right.
Or… what we believe creates our reality and all people of all times actually observed the phenomena and the effects that follow from their beliefs. Those pagan rituals actually worked (to a limited extent). Like our medicine works (to a limited extent). Prayer to a god you believe in likewise works. A curse, works. If you believe.
Marriage is entirely fictional and therefore obviously belief based. But you can observe the effects of that belief. It works. Traffic laws work, actuality, really, very much work, because of our belief in them. Will future people chuckle at our silly belief in right of way? Our pagan god the stop sign or the traffic light?
There seems to be more going on than just our actions being influenced by our beliefs. The belief system seems to actually shape reality in more indirect ways. The stories seem to follow rules of their own that have effects in the world that influence our lives. Like an invisible web of forces that push and pull us in ways that can only be observed through the effects that it has.
We label those influences as coincidence and good or bad luck. But you could label them as curses or the hand of god as well. The spirit world is another label.