Traditional Iron Horseshoe for Protection & Luck

Protection & Warding: Hang above a doorway, gate, or other threshold as a protective charm for the home and those within it. Some traditions recommend having the horns pointed up.

Luck & Prosperity: Hang above the doorway to invite luck and prosperity into the house. Some traditions recommend having the horns pointing up to capture good fortune, while others recommend having them face downward to pour blessings down upon those who walk beneath.

Dressing & Spellwork: Dress the horseshoe with corresponding oils, herbs, powders, charms, or other materials to adapt it to a particular protection, luck, or prosperity working.

Horseshoes have been used as protective household charms for centuries, particularly when placed above doors and other entrances. British folklore records horseshoes being nailed above doorways to prevent witches and harmful influences from entering the home. Some sources attribute this quality to the shape, a crescent-like form that has long been associated with repelling the evil eye.

Part of the horseshoe's protective reputation comes from iron itself. Across European folklore, iron has long been associated with protection against harmful spirits.

One of the best-known legends surrounding the horseshoe comes from St. Dunstan, a 10th-century English saint and skilled metalworker. According to folklore, the Devil approached Dunstan to have his hoof shod. Dunstan instead nailed a horseshoe painfully to the Devil's hoof, agreeing to remove it only after the Devil promised never to enter a place where a horseshoe was displayed.