Talismans for Good Luck
Found by chance, beckoned through the door or tied on by a friend: the many ways people have tried to invite good fortune in and keep it close.
For luck
8 talismans
Luck is the most hopeful of wishes, a stroke of good fortune that might arrive from anywhere. Talismans for luck do not promise it. They are small, cheerful ways of inviting it in, keeping it close and sharing it with others.
What luck has meant
The Romans gave chance a face and a name, Fortuna, often shown holding a cornucopia and a ship’s rudder. In China the character for good fortune, fu, is pasted on doors at New Year, sometimes upside down, because the word for upside down sounds like the word for arrive. In Japan, lucky objects are called , things of good omen.
Across all of these cultures, luck is rarely only about winning. It means a good harvest, a busy shop, a happy marriage, a new home, a journey that ends well. A lucky charm gathers those hopes into one object you can see every day.
There are several ways to court fortune. Some charms are found by chance, some beckon, some catch and hold, and some are tied on by a friend. Many traditions add one more rule: luck grows when it is given.
Luck you find and luck you keep
The four-leaf clover is luck in its purest form, because it cannot be planned. Only a small share of clover stems grow a fourth leaf, and in 1620 the English writer Sir John Melton already recorded the belief that finding one meant something good would follow. Its four leaves are often said to stand for faith, hope, love and luck.
The Horseshoe keeps luck rather than finding it. Hung above a door in Britain and Ireland, it is usually turned points upwards so the good fortune cannot spill out, though in some places it hangs points down to pour luck over everyone who passes beneath. A medieval legend about Saint Dunstan, who is said to have shod the Devil’s hoof, gave it a story to match.
Hands, horns and threads
The Hamsa blesses as well as protects. From Morocco and Tunisia to Israel and beyond, an open hand by the door or on a pendant is a sign of good fortune for the household. It is a popular gift for new homes and new families.
In southern Italy the red Cornicello is as much about luck as about defence. Italians call such charms , bringers of fortune, and the little horn hangs from rear-view mirrors, key rings and gold chains. Its red colour and pointed shape are said to matter, and so does receiving it from someone else.
A red string around the wrist is one of the most portable lucky charms of all. Red is a colour of joy and good fortune in many cultures, and the thread is often tied on at a holy place, a temple or a family celebration by someone who wishes the wearer well.
Coins, cats and shrine charms
Chinese lucky coins borrow their shape from the round coins with a square hole that circulated in China for more than two thousand years. Strung in threes on red cord, hung by the door or tucked into a wallet, they stand for steady good fortune. Charm coins made purely for luck have been cast since the Han dynasty.
The Maneki-neko, the beckoning cat of Japan, invites good fortune through the door with one raised paw. It became popular in Edo, today’s Tokyo, in the nineteenth century, and now sits in shop windows and restaurants across East Asia and far beyond. Which paw is raised, and the colour of the cat, are said to change what it draws in.
Japanese Omamori make luck specific. At a shrine or temple you can receive a small pouch for exams, business, safe travel or love, often with its purpose embroidered on the front. It is kept unopened and returned after about a year, when a fresh one takes its place.
Living with lucky charms
Lucky charms are best enjoyed lightly. They are reminders to notice good fortune when it comes, to share it, and to keep hoping when it does not. Several traditions say a charm means most when it is a gift, which may be the wisest custom of all.
taliaris describes beliefs and customs; it makes no claim that a talisman has an effect.