Other-than-rational modes of engaging with risk, such as hope, faith, ideology, and magic, are not irrational but socially reasonable ways of extending one’s horizon when calculative rationality reaches its limits. Drawing on empirical studies across health, youth transitions, migration, and gambling, the chapter shows how these modes play distinct roles when knowledge is scarce, resources are limited, or futures are precarious. They function both as coping strategies and as motivational forces that sustain agency under uncertainty, enabling individuals to persevere, imagine alternatives, and act despite limited control over the future. The chapter further demonstrates how hope and magic are embedded in broader institutional contexts, from lotteries to religious practices, and how they mobilize subjective resources for survival, improvement, or transformation. Together, these modes illustrate the enduring importance of non-empirical imaginaries in navigating uncertain futures.