#equine magic

Horse shoes were originally made from iron. Today, they are made from steel, which is an alloy made of iron and carbon to help improve the strength of the metal. Iron has been known to ward of evil spirits and particularly fae; unsheelie fae specifically.

We all know that horse shoes are considered "lucky". People often wear necklaces with a little horse shoe on it. The open end of the horse shoe would "catch" the good luck if it was facing up.

There is a lot of legends and stories tied around the horse shoe, from different cultures and religions. But they all collectively have the same meaning and usage.

To condense it down, here are some cut and dry uses of the horseshoe:

To bring Good Luck and Prosperity to the owner or the home.

To bring Good Health to the owner or the home

To protect live stock and horses by hanging the horse shoe above the barn, by the barn door, or in isle ways.

To protect the home against evil spirits and fae by hanging the horse shoe above or beside the door.

To protect against the Evil Eye, due to the horse shoe being a rough "eye" shape.

Sailors nailed horseshoes to their ships and vessels to avoid storms and to protect them at sea.

So how would you in-cooperate horse shoes into your craft? Looking back on the many different "original" uses that I listed above, you can use them for a lot of things.

Uses for Horse Shoes in Witchcraft:

Use them in spells to bring in good luck, fortune, and prosperity. I recently did a prosperity spell where I placed my cauldron in the middle of the horse shoe. I anointed the horse shoe with my luck and prosperity oil.

Use them to promote good health. Horse shoes are used on horses specifically to aid in hoof health. Some horses need them. Some don't. But a lot of horses benefit from the use of a horse shoe on the bottom of their hooves, whether their heels are run down into the ground or they have tendon issues. Horse shoes help with hoof health. So use them to help promote good health for you or for home. Please don't use this in place of medical treatment.

Use them as protection. You can hang them at the entrance of your home, above the door or beside it. If you have horses or own a barn, you can also place a horse shoe above the barn entrance or beside it to help protect the horses and your property.

Use them to ward off harmful spirits and fae. I would take this one with a little bit of caution. Horseshoes can ward off some spirits and fae, it was specifically used to ward of Unsheelie Fae. If you have Sheelie Fae around, you can use it to protect against them but I would advice not to since they are more of an "approachable" fae. Usually, leaving out an offering can respectfully deter them from causing harm or bothering you. Please do your research on Fae specifically before interacting with them.

Use as protection against the Evil Eye. The horse shoe is usually in a crescent shape, a lot of people use that as a representation of an eye.

Equine magic. If you work with equine spirits, gods or goddesses associated with horses, or work with the sacred magic of the horse. You can use horse shoes in your practice, however you see fit. They can represent the horse or the power of the horse.

Use for safe travel. Another use of the horse shoe is to help make it safer for the horse to walk, especially on difficult surfaces or longer distances. Horses that work in the carriage business usually have shoes since they are normally walking on pavement. So use horse shoes can be used for safe travels!

If I have missed anything, feel free to add onto this post! I hope this helped some people since I haven't really seen a post like this one before. I know a lot of people know for sure that horse shoes are "lucky", but there's a lot of other uses for them too!