Horseshoe
An iron shoe nailed above a door or on a ship to bring luck and keep away evil.
Also: lucky horseshoe, horseshoe over the door, cold iron
The horseshoe is a common luck charm in Europe and in lands settled from Europe. It is nailed above a door, often with the ends pointing up, so that luck is held as in a cup, though some people hang it points down so that luck pours onto those who enter. Its power is linked to iron, long believed to repel witches and fairies, and to the horse and the blacksmith. One English legend has St Dunstan, a blacksmith by trade, tricking the devil into promising never to enter a house with a horseshoe. Horseshoes are also fixed to boats, barns and stables. Today they are common on wedding gifts and cards, and the throwing of horseshoes became a game.