Luck and love
Knocking on wood and horseshoe customs
Small habits of luck: touching wood after a hopeful remark, and nailing a horseshoe over a door.
Presented by ClearTrust Customs described as customs, free to read.
Two of the best known luck customs in Europe and North America are touching or knocking on wood after a remark that might tempt fate, and hanging a horseshoe, usually over a door. Their origins are disputed and both appear in many languages and countries.
This is an outline of a custom, said as belief and practice. It is not instruction, it does not say that the rite works, and it is not medical advice.
What goes into it
- Wooden surfaceObjectTouched or knocked.
- HorseshoeObjectOf iron, taken from a working horse.
- NailsToolUsed to fix it above the door.
- A hopeful remarkWordSaid before the knock.
- DoorwaySpaceWhere the horseshoe hangs.
- Object
- Tool
- Word
- Space
Each part has an equal wedge. The ring shows what goes into the rite, not how much. Colour is the part's role.
The steps, drawn
Each drawing shows the kind of act in that step. Details differ from place to place, family to family and practitioner to practitioner.
Step 1: Speak Someone says something hopeful or boastful about the future. Step 2: Cast A hand knocks twice on wood to avoid tempting fate. Step 3: Bind A horseshoe is nailed over the door or inside the house. Step 4: Close The talk goes on, and the luck is held to be safe.
Knock on wood
People say touch wood in Britain and knock on wood in America, and similar phrases exist in German, Italian, Turkish, Hebrew and many languages. Explanations include old tree-spirits and Christian wood of the cross, but none is proved. Most speakers say it half in joke.
Horseshoes
Iron was thought to keep off witches and fairies, and a horseshoe was a handy piece of iron. A story links it to Saint Dunstan, said to have nailed one to the devil's hoof. Whether the points should face up, to hold the luck, or down, to pour it, is argued by households in different countries.
Scholars' view
Folklorists treat these as superstitions that persist because they are cheap, social and light-hearted. Psychologists note that people use small rituals to cope with uncertainty.
What it is for
- Warding off bad luck
- Keeping good fortune
- Protection of the home
Who does it
Related entries
Also part of it, and being written: Knocking on wood (The custom of touching wood.), Superstition (The wider category.).
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Sources and further reading
Original text and drawings by the EveryJaadu desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Closed or sacred detail is left out. If we have something wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Horseshoe: Cgoodwin, CC BY-SA 3.0, source