How many of these 15 lucky charms from around the globe did you know?
One of my dearest memories of my mother is her absolute adamance to pick up a penny every time she saw one. She would do it in the name of luck, but I didn’t quite understand the importance of her symbolic ritual until I unconsciously started doing it myself. In the parking lot, at the supermarket, near ATMs. Now I pick up a penny in the name of my mother, who I rarely see but still inspires luck and goodwill in my spiritual life.
Whether you’re looking for a lucky charm that speaks to you or just exploring lucky charm symbols from around the globe, you’re here to learn. I suggest you let your feels guide you through and get in touch with your lucky self. Don’t think you’re lucky? I hear that daily. Let me help you find the courage and dial in. Allow yourself to see the intricate possibilities.
In recent years, lucky charms have grown huge in the media, with celebrities revealing their choice of lucky charms that give them protection and strength. Yes, Madonna’s red string bracelet is a secret lucky charm I added to the list.
Why you need a lucky charm
A four-leaf clover tucked in a wallet, a pair of socks worn to every game, or a whispered wish at 11:11…
Luck motivates us because it makes the unpredictable just a little more bearable. Remember that at the end of the day, luck isn’t just about chance — it’s about belief. And sometimes, belief is all we need to feel unstoppable.
- Feel prepared and reassured ahead of your big interview or exam with a lucky charm. It’s a tangible reminder: “I’ve got this.”
- Foster your cultural origins, keep close to how your people used to connect, and honor their heritage and shared beliefs.
- Have a sacred memento to attract positivity in your life by means of spiritual energy. Big fan of crystals here.
- Carry your loved ones’ memory tokens filled with emotional power to cherish their meaning to you.
I preciously hold that we don’t use lucky charms because they work — we use them because they make us work better!
1. Four-leaf clover (Ireland) 🍀
This lucky charm will bring you good fortune, prosperity and protection
The chance of finding a four-leaf clover is around 1 in 10,000. But if you’re lucky enough to hold one, Celtics believed you are be protected from dangerous fairies, bad luck, and evil spirits. The Irish ancestors also believed that this 18th century symbol refers back to a Catholic legend of Adam and Eve.
In the warmer months, four-leaf clovers can be easier to find. If you find one, another one is likely nearby.
The lucky odds of finding four-leaf clovers are more similar than not to those of finding five-leaf clovers, that are considered next level lucky. In the Guinness World Record, the most leaves found on a clover is 56! I’d like to know the power energy of that one little clover guy!
2. Rabbit’s foot (worldwide) 🐇
This lucky charm will bring you good luck and cleverness
Now, does luck have to maybe involve animal cruelty? Not sure. But a rabbit’s foot is a worldwide lucky charm known and embraced by many cultures.
Depending on who you ask, legends say that the rabbit must be captured in a cemetery; or the whole act of securing the foot charm has to take place under a full or new moon; or it’s best if you do it on a Friday—possibly even on Friday the 13th.
According to Western folklore, it is believed rabbits were really shapeshifting witches. So, a rabbit’s foot actually represents a dead witch’s foot, thus the power energy of it.
In the early 1800s, in the United States, the rabbit’s foot was a popular symbol among enslaved African communities, who believed the rabbit represented cleverness (as found in the African American tradition of Br’er Rabbit).
In other parts, like the UK and Ireland, the whole rabbit was a talisman for renewal and abundance, and it was considered unlucky if you killed this animal.
Regardless, the rabbit’s foot is still a symbol of good luck in many places around the globe, including Europe, China, Africa, and North and South America.
3. Dreamcatcher (North America) 🧵🪶
This lucky charm will bring you protection and peace of mind
Probably my second favorite, the dreamcatcher somehow speaks volumes and turns things off at the same time. The peace of mind it offers fits the primary purpose: stress-free sleep and sweet dreams.
The Native American symbol is made of tied strings, sinews, beads, and feathers. Each of the elements has a greater significance taken separately, too; for instance, a tied white string is for wellbeing. Different indigenous tribes associated slightly different meanings with the dreamcatcher, but all in all, it links to the Spider Woman, the protector of humans in Navajo mythology.
The dreamcatcher’s origin is in the Southwest, where the Navajo people still have around 390,000 descendants.
If you want to ward off negativity and welcome protection, getting a dreamcatcher for your bedroom can do wonders. It’s cheap, or alternatively, very easy to make.
4. Nazar (Turkey) 🧿
This lucky charm will bring you protection
I am personally mesmerized by the Nazar and the explanation behind it. The blue eye symbol offers protection against the evil eye.
In many cultures, and especially in Turkey, Armenia, Iran, Albania, and Afghanistan, but also in the Mediterranean, if one glares at another with envy, the misfortune and negativity will pass on. The Nazar symbol around your neck can see it from miles away and just say, “Knock it off!” Or so I’ve heard.
The Nazar can be found in homes, cars, jewelry, businesses, baby strollers, and newlyweds’ gifts. It’s a veritable shield that sends envy right back where it came from and serves as a reminder of intuition and personal energy.
The Nazar color significance may also say a lot. Blues for calm and truth; white for purity and clarity; black absorbs negativity; and a tint of gold/yellow tops it with vitality.
5. Acorn (England) 🌰
This lucky charm will bring you good health
Brits will pass a fallen acorn on the ground, pick it up, and put it in their pockets. They call these guys ‘the fruit of the oak’ and have been carrying them in their pockets for good fortune since Anglo-Saxon times, but the acorn symbolism had only been widely agreed upon in the Victorian Era.
According to English legends, acorns are lucky symbols that can protect your health. Vikings believed that acorns are nature’s talismans from Thor, the God of thunder.
What is more, in 1899, a horrible shipwreck in Aldeburgh killed seven crew members and left 11 survivors; one of the survivors owed his stroke of good luck to the acorns in his pocket. Today, those shipwrecked acorns are preserved and displayed at the Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station in Suffolk, England.
Nowadays, you will find the acorn legacy in wedding decor (symbolizing a prosperous marriage), jewelry and keepsakes (as good luck tokens), and heraldry and badges (representing growth and strength)
6. Milagro (Mexico) ❤️🔥✝️
This lucky charm will bring you protection and religious miracles
Milagro is “miracles” in English, and are small metal religious charms depicting angels, arms, legs, prayers, animals, and other objects or acts. People wear them around their necks and carry them in their wallets for protection and good luck.
In Mexico, organized religion has a much more spiritual role than in other places. Known as the practice of manda, Mexicans ask saints for a favor, then make a pilgrimage to the saints’ shrine, where the saints gift them with a milagro.
Most commonly, milagros depict sacred hearts, eyes, body parts, and praying female and male figures. However, there are some milagro symbols that bring bad luck, too!
7. Scarab (Egypt) 🪲
This lucky charm will bring you good health and eternal life
Ancient Egyptians associated the beetle with Ra, one of the most important gods in their religion, known to move the sun from sunrise to sunset. The scarab beetle represented manifestation, growth, existence, and creation.
Ra has inspired other superstitions in Egypt as well, like not opening an umbrella indoors.
Egyptians believed the scarab offers protection in the afterlife, which is why they buried their loved ones alongside this symbol of luck.
8. Hamsa (Israel) 🖐️🔯
This lucky charm will bring you protection
The hamsa is a protection symbol for Jewish and Muslim people. It works just like the Turkish nazar, shielding people from negativity.
For the Jewish, the hamsa is also known as the “hand of Miriam,” where the five fingers represent the five senses needed to praise God. At the same time, in Islamic culture, the hamsa is also called the “hand of Fatima” or “Khamsa,” and it represents the five pillars of Islam: faith, prayer, alms-giving, fasting, and pilgrimage.
9. Elephant (Thailand and India) 🐘
This lucky charm will bring you abundance, good fortune and strength
This lucky charm is based in religion as well. The elephant is a symbol of abundance, good fortune, and strength.
Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom and luck, is depicted as having an elephant’s head. For good luck, you might get an elephant figurine for your home or hang a charm on a necklace or bracelet.
Based on North American beliefs, one will only enjoy the elephant’s benefits if the animal is depicted with its trunk raised. Others believe that a lowered trunk is not necessarily bad luck, and instead it symbolizes more balance.
10. Maneki-neko (Japan) 🐱🪙
This lucky charm will bring you success and good fortune
Konnichiwa! Have you ever seen smiling cats waving at you from the entrance of a store? They’re everywhere.
Great news is this kitty is known to be a people lover, so the totem is often displayed in busy areas such as storefronts, restaurants, and homes or living rooms.
The maneki-neko legend dates back to the Edo period in Japan (1603–1868). Back then, Ii Naotaka, a regional leader, took shelter under a tree during a rainstorm. A cat beckoned him into a temple, and after following the cat, Naotaka looked back to see his previous spot had been struck by lightning.
I am forever wowed by Japanese symbols of luck. It’s a great way of ensuring spiritual protection, and I wish that for my loved ones, too!
I couldn’t afford Pandora, but my mother loves this lucky charm bracelet from Japan. She says we need to save up for a trip, though…
11. Grapes (Spain) 🍇
This lucky charm will bring you good fortune and abundance
Gaining popularity in 1909, Spanish people will eat exactly 12 grapes at New Year’s. One for each month of the year, they welcome good luck in the year to come. If you kiss your loved one at midnight, after eating the grapes, that’s extra luck!
Apparently, as we know, a few clever Alicantese vine growers introduced this superstition just to sell huge amounts of leftover grapes from a bountiful harvest. Now that’s a business scheme, big time!
Trying to eat one grape for each clock chime may seem like a choking hazard, but Spanish people say it’s worth the risks…
12. Pysanky (Ukraine) 🥚🐰🌷✨
This lucky charm will bring you abundance and strength
Normally prepared for the Orthodox Easter, these Ukrainian Easter egg masterpieces are created using special dyes and melted beeswax.
In this religion, Easter eggs are symbols for the resurrection of Christ. Each pattern on the eggs symbolizes something different: triangles represent the Holy Trinity, chicks represent fertility, and deer represent strength and prosperity.
You can place a pysanky egg in the room for good luck, scatter pysanky eggshells in animal feed to make them grow stronger, or bury them in the garden for a plentiful harvest.
13. Anything red (China) 🔴
This lucky charm will bring you honor, protection and strength
In China, red is the opposite of a red flag! Legends say that a demon called Sui ate children and livestock during the Lunar New Year. Parents tried everything to prevent that, but, as it turned out, the only things Sui hated were red and loud noises.
As a result, the Chinese tradition started off with red envelopes gifted for New Year’s. This later expanded to wearing red clothing items, which can bring you good luck.
This lucky charm popularity spread to Europe as well, where you will see people wearing red blouses or, more subtly, red underwear to summon luck in the next year.
14. Horseshoe (United States) 🐎
This lucky charm will bring you protection
Western Europeans have long believed that iron had magical properties.
But also, the horseshoe is a veritable evergreen sign of the cowboy era, reminding of Western iconography in the US. Musicians like Elvis Presley referenced the lucky horseshoe, giving it even more popularity.
As for the methodology, a horseshoe will bring you luck if you wear it or place it heels up (in the shape of ‘U’). If it’s hung from the ceiling, you’d rather have it heels down.
15. Carp scales (Slovakia) 🐟
This lucky charm will bring you good fortune and abundance
Carp (a type of fish) with potato salad is a popular Christmas dish in countries like Poland, Austria, Croatia, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.
No matter how delicious this is, it’s actually the scales that carry good luck. During food prep, the fish is scratched off from the scales. One scale per family member is then set aside and given at Christmas dinner. Members will keep the scale in their wallets and replace them every Christmas.
Has this made you hungry yet, or is it just me?
Do you know of any other less popular lucky charms from around the globe? Let us know what you think down below in the comments.
Did you find this useful? Continue reading 4 Psychic Signs Someone Can’t Get You Off Their Mind.
