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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nIn the past I\u2019ve mentioned our Friend Anne. She has a horseshoe over the inside of her front door. I\u2019ve never asked her about it, but it\u2019s there for luck. We\u2019ve all had good luck charms in our lives \u2014 I remember having a rabbit\u2019s foot (like we talked about yesterday) on a key chain when I was a kid and believed that it brought me good luck. People have four-leaf clovers, lucky pennies, lucky shirts, etc. Your don\u2019t see them so much anymore (maybe because horses aren\u2019t as common as they once were) but when I was growing up, it was commonplace to see a horseshoe somewhere in or on the house.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So how did horseshoes become a lucky charm? Like a lot of these things, no one really knows for sure but one of the more popular theories is that horseshoes became synonymous with luck when St. Dustan, the patron saint of blacksmiths in the Catholic Church, tricked the devil. The story goes something like this\u2026.
When a man came into Dustan\u2019s blacksmith shop asking to be shod in horseshoes, he realized that the request was unusual, and then saw that his customer had a cloven foot \u2014 he was shoeing the devil himself. Dustan, who later became the Archbishop of Canterbury, tortured the devil with hot irons and nails until the devil promised that neither he nor any of his demons would enter a building protected by a horseshoe.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The basic metal makeup of horseshoes contributed to it becoming a lucky charm. Most of the early horseshoes were made of iron, which is a durable metal but is also thought to have mystical powers \u2014 it has magnetic properties and runs abundantly through human bodies. Witches were said to be so fearful of the iron-made horseshoes that they decided to take flight on broomsticks instead of riding on horses for transportation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even the number of nail holes made the horseshoe lucky. Seven holes were made in the shoe to hold it in place on the hoof. It just so happens that seven is one of the luckiest numbers on earth, because it appears so often in nature. There are seven days in a week, seven seas, seven continents, seven colors in a rainbow, etc.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most all the horseshoes I\u2019ve seen hung over doorways are hung with the open area up \u2014 like the letter \u201cU.\u201d But apparently some people think it should be hung with the opening facing down. Hanging a horseshoe \u201cheels up\u201d means it keeps all the good luck from running out of the shoe. Hanging it \u201cheels down\u201d means it flows good luck down on everyone who walks underneath it. I guess they both make sense, so if I can find some horseshoes, maybe I\u2019ll hang two \u2014 one each way\u2026. couldn\u2019t hurt.
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Yesterday\u2019s topic discussed how some people believe a rabbit\u2019s foot can bring you good luck. But there are a lot of \u201cgood luck charms\u201d and some of them don\u2019t seem to make much sense. But they\u2019ve all earned their place … Continue reading