These Good Luck Charm Tattoos will Protect You on Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th is highly synonymous with bad luck and often conjures unlucky symbols such as black cats, upside down horseshoes, broken mirrors and spilled salt shakers. And while some people chose to celebrate Friday the 13th with a traditionally bad luck symbol, other superstitious folks prefer to surround themselves with good luck. There are many symbols of good luck throughout different cultures around the world, both those found in nature as well as man made objects. We’ve narrowed down ten of the most popular good luck charms and if you’re feeling sketched out by Friday the 13th, maybe it’s time to consider protecting yourself with a tattoo?

Four-Leaf Clovers

Four-leaf clovers are perhaps the most well-known good luck charm and their lore can be traced back can be traced back to Celtic folklore. Four-leaf clovers are deemed lucky because of their rarity in nature—occurring once out of every 10,000 three leaf clovers.

Horseshoes

Horseshoes are another widely known good luck charm and are believed to be lucky because they are made of iron, a material said to ward off evil spirits. They’re also said to be lucky because they contain seven nails, a universally lucky number. Back in the day, many sailors even nailed horseshoes to the masts of their ships to avoid storms.

Rabbit’s Feet

Rabbit feet are a lucky amulet of hoodoo, a sector of folk magic that takes traditions from West Africa and eventually made its way to North America. To this day, many gamblers believe in the magic of rabbit’s feet and carry them around for some extra good luck. However, many prefer the aesthetic of faux rabbit feet, which are constructed out of fake fur and latex bones.

Daruma Dolls

Not all good luck charms come from the Western world. In Japan, Daruma dolls are a popular talisman of good luck and symbolize perseverance. The dolls are modeled after Buddhist monk Bodhidharma, who founded Zen buddhism, and each component of the design, from the eyes to the color, have specific symbolism. 

Pennies

Have you heard the saying, “Find a penny, pick it up, and all that day you’ll have good luck”? Well, many believe that it’s good luck to find a penny face up. The belief around pennies being lucky is said to be because many thought certain metals ward off evil spirits and in China, I-Ching coins are also regarded as lucky.

Wishbones

Breaking a wishbone is a time honored Thanksgiving tradition and whoever earns the larger piece of bone is believed to inherit good luck. Lucky bones are a part of many cultures, with the Etruscans believing that birds were oracles that could tell the future. When a chicken was killed, the Etruscans would collect their bones and save the wishbone (also called a furcula) for good luck.

Fuzzy Dice

Many good luck charms date back centuries, but not fuzzy dice! During WWII, many fighter pilots had dice in their planes for good luck. After the war, a company named Deccofelt Corp capitalized on this known talisman and in 1959, fuzzy dice were available for purchase. Not long after, they became a major auto trend that can still be seen today.

Ladybugs

One of the most popular living good luck charms are ladybugs. It’s believed that letting a ladybug land on you will bring good luck and the darker in color and more spots—the better luck you’ll have! It’s also said that killing a ladybug will bring you bad luck, so watch out where you step!

Rainbows

Everyone’s heard that Irish tall tale of a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, but did you know that many consider rainbows to be good luck? And if a rainbow is lucky, double rainbows must bring twice the fortune.

Acorns

In Norse mythology, acorns are a source of good luck, wisdom and protection. Many Norse people believed that putting acorns in your window would ward off lightning and during the Norse invasion, many Englishmen carried acorns in their pockets to make themselves more sympathetic to their conquerors.