Fabulous Folklore: Horseshoe Magick

Horseshoes have good luck status in England as Blacksmiths and Farriers are considered to be natural magicians. Horseshoes are displayed in a “U” shape, with the points upwards, so that the luck should not run out. It is considered very bad luck to have them pointing downwards.

Traditionally, only Smiths and Farriers may display a horseshoe downwards. Blacksmiths would have an upside-down horseshoe hung over their forge doors; their magical power pouring from the horseshoe on to the forge itself.

There is one other exception to this rule, though.

In my county we only display horseshoes downwards. It is found on houses, and above doorways. It is also upside-down on our county flag.

The people here believe that the Devil can’t make a home in the horseshoe this way up, and upside-down horseshoes bring good luck to us, much in the same way that upward horseshoes bring luck to the rest of the country.

We also have a tradition where any reigning monarch or peer of the realm who visits the county for the first time should present a horseshoe to the Lord of the Manor. This custom is over 500 years old and still continues today. There are now over 200 upside-down horseshoes on display at Oakham Castle, the oldest said to have been given by Edward IV in around 1470.

Valerie Worth, in the Crone’s Book of Words, gives a horseshoe spell to cure a headache. You hold an end in each hand and press the centre of the horseshoe against your forehead and say:

“Good metal loosed,

From horse’s hoof,

Draw from my brain, 

These nails of pain,

Cast them away,

Keep them away.”

Horseshoe traditions have also become popular for weddings. A bride carrying a horseshoe will bring good luck to both the occasion and the marriage. Sometimes this is a small symbol, made of silver, or porcelain hidden in the bouquet or carried alongside it. My grandmother carried several decorative horseshoes alongside her bouquet.

Do you have a horseshoe protecting your home? Which way up is it? Have you seen horseshoes at a wedding, or carried one yourself?

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