Many of you already own several lucky charms or talismans. You just may not be aware of the object's symbolism or meaning. Below I have compiled a list of some of the more popular and common good luck symbols that can be purchased in the form of jewellery, paintings or statues.
The Ring: A ring made of gold represents eternity and the circle of life. A diamond on a gold ring symbolizes fidelity. The tradition of the wedding ring goes back to the ancient Romans. Puzzle rings that interlink symbolize the integration of the spirit with the mind. When you give a puzzle ring to a friend, it means that you never want the two of you to part ways.
The Clover: The three-leafed clover is a symbol of health and vitality and for the Celts, symbolized The Holy Trinity. A four-leafed clover symbolizes sudden good fortune. A five-leafed clover symbolizes a happy marriage.
The Heart: A heart is the classic symbol of love. A picture or lock of hair carried inside a locket is thought to be the ultimate way to symbolize the carrying of another's spirit in your heart. As an amulet the symbol of the heart protects against heart disorders, anxiety and the tendency to blame others.
The Pentagram: This five-sided star is also known as the Druid's foot. It helps as a talisman to fulfill wishes, invoke spiritual powers and activate inner powers. It also serves as a protective amulet against the "evil eye" and casts evil back to where it came.
The Star of David: This six-pointed star is also known as the Seal of Solomon and the Hexagram. It consists of two interlocking triangles and is used as a talisman to attain harmony, gain knowledge and invoke the aid of the angels.
The Heptagram: Also known as the Mysterious Star or the Love Star, this seven pointed star is sacred to Venus and helps one radiate beauty and attractiveness as well as radiate harmony and love.
The Crescent and Star: This symbol is a powerful love talisman that also symbolizes sexuality, wisdom and well being.
The Eye in the Triangle: This is an amulet that finds its origins in the culture of Europe, Asia and Africa. An image of an eye within a triangle is thought to reflect evil back to the wisher of bad luck and protect against envy, jealousy and misfortune.
The Eye in the Hand: These good luck tokens which feature a human eye centered in the palm of a human hand originate in the Near East and are of Jewish-Arabic origin. The open hand represents the intervention of God and the eye represents the all-seeing eye of Go. This talisman is thought to bring God's mercy, strengthen faith and protect against bad luck.
The Ankh: This looks like a Christian Crucifix but with a loop at the top. This lovely ancient Egyptian symbol represents love and long life.
Thor's Hammer: This talisman usually looks like a small axe or very blunt edged cross. Carrying this symbol is thought to help achieve social success and protect against petty quarrels, making the wrong move in life and losses on the stock market!
The Pictic Knot: This is a Celtic charm that looks like three interlooping triangles. It is represents the three realms of consciousness and is worn to protect from black magic, magickal mistakes and dangers in general.
The Celtic Knot: These come in many designs and look like knotted threads. The knots based on mirror images or the number two represent passion, inspiration and a happy marriage. Knots based on the quadrupling of an image represent personal power and wisdom.
The Medicine Wheel: For about 5.000 years, almost all Native American Indian tribes have designed some form of a medicine wheel. The design varies but basically medicine wheels are Mandalas whose imagery is based on the number four. Medicine Wheels help you develop personal power and equilibrium, attain wisdom and understand the ups and downs of life!
The Dorje: This is a Buddhist "thunderbolt" that also resembles sceptre or a dagger. They are usually freestanding brass objects about the size of a paperweight done. This symbol is thought to repel demons, help one follow the true path and not be misled by false prophets.
Roman Coins: Antique Roman coins are thought to bring prosperity and good fortune to those who wear them as jewellery.
The Two Headed Ax: This image is found in almost all cultures: ancient Crete, Asian, Northern Europe and African cultures. It represents justice, authourity, and strength of character.
The Human Skull: Human skulls, whether bone or silver are usually worn to protect one from death. Shamans wear them to symbolize the accessing of deceased spirits.
The Devil's Trap: This is a circular gold or silver coin or talisman which features tiny Hebrew text that spirals more and more tightly inward towards the center of the circle. The idea is that the "Devil's Energy" is trapped inside the circle so it can't escape. This is worn or placed near doorways to protect from evil and clear one's path of obstacles.
The Zen Symbol: This looks like a black teardrop shape and white teardrop shape embracing each other in a circle. It is from the Far East and is also known as the Ying Yang or Tai'Chi symbol. It is worn to achieve equilibrium, balance and harmony between the sexes.
The use of these objects as good luck charms began in the early ages of human civilization, when people started to treasure simple, everyday objects and assumed that they would help them against the "evil eye". They believed that these treasures often worn as talismans, amulets or symbols carved on rocks would help them in times of visible and invisible dangers. It is believed that lucky charms were worn by most of the ancient cultures including Africans, Chinese, Indians, Native Americans and Europeans.
Some of the magickal charms used in the old days include religious objects such as statues or symbols of a deity or gemstones that were believed to safeguard the person wearing it. The swastika (fylfot cross), which is as ancient as Hinduism, is one such symbol that was used extensively over the years up to the present times. It was actually perceived to be in use in almost all civilizations including the Native Americans who were believed to have moved to the Americas from Indian subcontinent during the last ice-age (20,000+ years ago!)
Lucky charms are used most when a person is afraid of facing uncertainty or dangers in their path. In ancient Africa, carrying a swift animal's foot or other parts was believed to empower a person with the speed of the animal. That is how the use of "rabbits foot" as a lucky charm originated. Also, African Voodoo ceremonies included a "Mojo" bag or good luck bag that would carry objects such a feathers, teeth, spices and herbs for luck as well as for use in spells and ceremonies.
The Chinese people used rice as a symbol of luck. In the past, they captured crickets and kept them in boxes to attract fortune. Also coins or money were spread on the floor for auspicious occasions. Yantras, Rudraksha beads, horse shoe, etc are also considered lucky charms.
Talismans were created by chanting prayers to conjure protective spirits who energized them with magical powers. These ceremonies were usually performed on auspicious days under favorable astrological signs.
In Ireland, followers or St Patrick adopted the Shamrock or the four leaf clover as a symbol of the luck of the Irish. During the time of the Medieval Crusades, when Christians turned violent towards non-Christians under the pope's orders, people who followed other religions turned to magickal charms to save their lives. The Nordic countries used magickal alphabet knows as "runes" for protection, carving these symbols on stones to prevent danger and destruction. The period of the Crusades was a terrible time for followers of pagan religions.
During the middle ages, a Romanian prince, Vlad the Impaler horribly tortured and killed thousands of people. Legends of undead or vampires spread fear into the hearts of people and as plague advanced and killed even more, people turned to the religious symbols such as the Crucifix as well as natural remedies such as garlic for protection from the supernatural threats.
In recent times, people have used medals, statues of St. Jude, St Christopher, lucky clothes, lucky pennies, etc as charms.
Both Sam Stevens & are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Sam Stevens has sinced written about articles on various topics from Computers and The Internet, Women and Pets. Sam Steven's metaphysical articles have been published in many high-standing newspapers and she has published several books. You can meet Sam Stevens at