Product Code Database
A good luck charm is an amulet or other item that is believed to bring good luck. Almost any object can be used as a charm. Coins, horseshoes and buttons are examples, as are small objects given as gifts, due to the favorable associations they make. Many souvenir shops have a range of tiny items that may be used as good luck charms. Good luck charms are often worn on the body, but not necessarily.
| 7 | Western, Japanese | ||
| 8 | Chinese, Japanese | Sounds like the Chinese word for "fortune". See Numbers in Chinese culture#Eight Used to mean the sacred and infinite in Japanese. A prime example is using the number 8 to refer to Yaoyorozu no Kami (lit. Eight Million Gods). See 8#As a lucky number. | |
| Aitvaras | Lithuania | Algirdas Julius Greimas, "Of Gods and Men: Studies in Lithuanian Mythology", Indiana Univ. Pr. (November 1992) | |
| Norsemen | |||
| Albatross | Considered a sign of good luck if seen by sailors and they allow it to live. | ||
| Amanita muscaria | German | Seen as a good luck symbol to find one, similar to a 4-leaf clover in Irish tradition | |
| Ashtamangala | Indian religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism | Buddhism: Endless knot, Lotus flower, Dhvaja, Dharmachakra, Bumpa, Golden Fish, Parasol, Conch; additional symbols for Hinduism and Jainism | |
| Bamboo | Chinese | ||
| Barnstar | United States | ||
| Beemans gum | United States | Popular among early aviators, including Chuck Yeager, to provide good luck during flights | |
| Chimney sweep | Many parts of the world | Said to bring good luck when being touched, especially on New Year and on weddings. | |
| Cornicello | Central Italy and Southern Italy Italy | ||
| Coccinellidae | German, Italian, Polish people, Russian, Turkish, Brazilian, Serbia | There is an old children's song in Serbia "Let, let, bubamaro, donesi mi sreću" meaning "Fly, fly, ladybug, bring me the happiness". In Serbian, "sreća" means "good chances" as in a lottery or "happiness", but this is about emotions. | |
| Dreamcatcher | Native American (Ojibwe) | In Native American Ojibwa culture the human mind was believed to be susceptible to dark spirits, when the mind is weakest (I.e. asleep) and would give bad dreams. In defense they would weave dream catchers. These talismans would let the good dream spirits through, whilst trapping the bad spirits in the pattern. | |
| Fish | Chinese, Hebrews, Ancient Egyptian, Tunisian, Indian people, Japanese people | ||
| Bird or flock going from right to left | Paganism | Augury | |
| A monk passing through | Buddhist | ||
| cloverleaf interchange | no culture but countries (areas served) only | ||
| Four-leaf clover | Irish people and Celts, Germans, Polish people | ||
| Shamrock or Clover | Irish people | While in most of the world, only the four-leafed clover is considered lucky, in Ireland all Irish Shamrocks are. | |
| Horseshoe | English people, Polish people and several other European ethnicities, Indian and Nepali people. | Horseshoes are considered to ward off saturn’s ill-effects in Vedic culture. Some believe that upward-facing horseshoes catch luck, while others argue that downward-facing ones allow good fortune to flow onto those passing beneath. This usually depends on cultural and personal beliefs. | |
| Jade | Chinese | ||
| Jew with a coin | Poland | Thought to bring money. The Jew with a Coin: Analysis of a contemporary folkloric emblem (AAPJ) , Joanna Tokarska-Bakir, 2019. Driving to Treblinka: A Long Search for a Lost Father , Diana Wichtel, 2018, Awa Press, page 144. link to extract from book in Nzherald, published 16 May 2018 | |
| Lemon pig | USA | Thought to be lucky, or to absorb bad luck. | |
| The lù or 子 zi | Chinese | A symbol thought to bring prosperity. | |
| Maneki-neko | Japanese, Chinese | Often mistaken as a Chinese symbol due to its usage in Chinese communities, the Maneki-neko is Japanese. | |
| Pig | Chinese, German | ||
| Pythons' eyes | Meitei culture | Believed that pythons' eyes bring positive attention, good fortune, guard against and the unhindered travelling to desired places. | |
| Rabbit's foot | North America, England and Wales (originating from a hare's foot) | A rabbit's foot can be worn or carried as a lucky charm. | |
| White rat | Roman Empire | The Romans sometimes saw rats as omens. A white rat was considered to be auspicious, while a black rat has unfortunate significance. | |
| Furcula | Europe, North America | Edward A. Armstrong."The Folklore of Birds" (Dover Publications, 1970) | |
| Sarimanok | Maranao people | ||
| Swallow | Korea | Rooted in Folktale 'Heungbu and Nolbu' | |
| Swastika | Multiple cultures | The swastika or crux gammata (in heraldry fylfot), historically used as a symbol in Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism, and widely popular in the early 20th century as a symbol of good luck or prosperity before adopted as a symbol of Nazism in the 1920s and 30s. | |
| Tortoiseshell cat | Many cultures | Rooted in Folklore | |
| White Elephant | Thai | ||
| White calluna | Irish Travellers, Scotland | ||
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