Good Luck & Best Wishes Keepsakes

Good Luck Symbols & Their Stories

What is good luck? Is it positive thinking, in the stars, coincidence, fate or the power of the mind? Are you born lucky or can you have luck wished upon you? Is it superstition, old wives' tales or is there something more to it? Who knows, but one thing your Giddy Aunts do know is that wishing someone good luck is a lovely thing to do for the luck-wisher and the wish-receiver and we have been doing it for a very long time.

Many of the "Good Luck" and "Best Wishes" stories below have been around since before your Great-Great-Grandma's Giddy Aunt was a girl. Do you recognise any of them?

• Crossing fingers for good luck
• Horseshoes, hung over doorways or worn as jewellery. Some believe the ends should be facing up to stop the luck from running out but others say it is the other way around
• Saying the word 'Rabbits' as the first word on the first day of each new month.
• Touching wood for protection and good fortune
• Getting out of bed on the same side you got in on
  
• Seeing a white butterfly as the first butterfly at the beginning of a new year
  
• Seeing three butterflies together
• Black cats walking towards you - but not crossing your path!
• Finding a clover with 4 leaves
• Picking up a coin someone has dropped is a lucky find, but if it was 'heads' side up, double lucky 
• Wearing new clothes at Easter
• Positioning an elephant picture facing the door or have an elephant figurine with the trunk up.
• Picking up a Pin, as in the saying: "See a pin, pick it up, all the day you'll have good luck - see a pin, let it lay. Bad luck you will have all day"
• Do you know the saying "Things Come in Threes"? If you have had two bad things happen in a row "break a match" and that will be your third bad thing taken care of, and you won't need to worry any more!
• You can cure the seven years of bad luck that comes with braking a mirror by burying the pieces or running cold water over them. (Phew!!)

What are Popular Good Luck Symbols? 

Butterflies, wish-bones, four leaf clovers, horseshoes, frogs, ladybugs, elephants, dragonflies, dragons, dice, bells, spiders, wishing wells, lucky eyes, cranes, whale tails, horns of plenty, stars, starfish... the list is endless when it comes to Good Luck charms and symbols. 

Many of the stories behind them seem never ending too, but let's start with one of the best known ones - the horse shoe. 

 

 

 

Why are Horseshoes considered Lucky?

Many good luck symbols are traced back through folklore to pagan origins. The horseshoe good luck symbol also has a story with a Christian connection dating back to St Dunstan 959 AD. The story goes that St Dunstan, before becoming the Archbishop of Canterbury or a Saint, was a blacksmith who made made horseshoes and managed to foil the devil in a series of horseshoe-related incidents, in the end striking a deal to let the devil go as long as he promised to never enter a place with a horse shoe nailed to the door. As with all good stories, people have different opinions about whether horseshoes should be on the door, above the door, near the door or upright, or upside down!

If a horseshoe hangs with the open end up, like a bowl, it is supposed to catch good luck.  If it hangs the other way, it is supposed to rain luck down on those walking underneath.

Horseshoes were also considered lucky because of the luck and magic associated with the trade of blacksmiths and fireproof metal iron. Horseshoes generally also had seven nails, and the number 7 is another symbol of luck.

These days, a horseshoe is instantly recognised as a symbol of good fortune. Horse shoes are often used as wedding motifs or given as gifts to wish the wearers good luck.  The beautiful crescent shaped design makes them a popular choice for good luck jewellery that can be worn with joy and pride - how lucky!