Superstitions

Iron and it’s Many Superstitions

Metal Working
Photo by [clarita] morgueFile

The world is full of many different superstitions and you can find one on just about anything you can think of. But for this post we’re going to discuss Iron and it’s many superstitions.

I briefly discussed some superstitions about iron quite a while back in my post Superstitions of Wood, Mirrors and Iron, but I thought it would be cool to get into it a little deeper.

Some History on Iron

Iron and it’s association with fire as well as it being one of the main materials used on Earth for all kinds of creations makes it one of the most important of all the metals. According to the ancient Egyptians iron had supernatural powers and was capable of warding off evil spirits. To this day, iron is still widely used as a means to ward off evil and bad luck.

For example the best way to stop a witch from entering your house is to place a knife or a pair of scissors underneath your door mat. It’s said that a witch can not cross over iron elements. A lot of folks also believe that touching iron is a good method for avoiding the “evil eye”. There are many posts on the blog that discuss the “evil eye” if you want more information on that.

Not only is iron a good defense against evil, but iron made objects such as horseshoes and nails are supposed to be quite effective in bringing and preserving good luck.

Other Superstitions About Iron

One popular superstition about iron says you should bite down on a piece the day before Easter in order to avoid having a toothache for the rest of the year.

In order to help butter form, you should stick a red-hot iron rod or poker into the

butter churn. You can also place the poker or rod in the outside corner of a room to help bring good luck.

Looking to cure the sick? Then place a piece of iron on the afflicted area and then nail the iron to a tree. This will help promote fast and effective healing.

Upon the death of a household member, stick all of the food items with a piece of iron in order to keep death from spoiling it.

Iron may also be used to protect your newborn baby. Simply place an iron object in the cradle to ward off evil. Although this one sounds rather dangerous, many people will swear by it. How they know it’s working is beyond me.

Superstitious Uses for Rusty Iron

Ward off cramp by keeping a rusty sword beside the bed. And if witches are your problem, then keep an iron scythe over the bed to keep them out of your bedroom.

Superstitions of When Not to Use Iron

You must make sure the iron is actually rusty, because if you bring it into your house and it’s just dull instead of rusted, then misfortune will follow with it.

Be sure to keep iron far away from any medicinal plants, especially mistletoe. The iron coming into contact with medicinal plants will cause the plants to lose all their healing properties.

Lastly, if you’re a blacksmith then you probably already know this one. But it’s said you shouldn’t work with iron on Good Friday out of respect for the nails used on the cross.

Any more great superstitions concerning iron or metals? Please share with us in the comments below.


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12 thoughts on “Iron and it’s Many Superstitions
  1. yes … this is true… there are so many ideas and stories tells about iron …. we can find a lot of one and this differ from one culture to other…. as my dad told me the story was fantastic but the superstitions is stay only a superstitions … by the way all i have to say that there is a number of stories that can be find about th iron ..

    1. Absolutely Nasser, there are many different superstitions and stories about iron. It’s quite interesting how these may change depending on the culture or household, different geological regions also have their own renditions of these superstitions. Thanks a bunch for stopping by.

  2. When I was A child,my grandma say Iron object has great way to keep away from any abnormal things like ghost or soul. These day she brought a iron chain and insist me to put on it in my neck. So One day I also start to believe it. But It is a superstition now I am sure. Thank you Robert for your nice article. I think this type article will help a lot to remove superstition.

    1. Very cool story about your grandma William. It’s really hard to say that these superstitions are not exactly real. I believe these things are all in the eye of the beholder. If someone believes in a superstition hard enough, they can find truth in it somewhere. 😉

  3. Lots of things are there behind every superstition. People always walk behind considering that formerly done things are correct and they obey that. Likewise, there are many superstitions about iron. It depends on the people’s nature, background and their belief.

    1. You’re exactly right sir. All of the factors you have mentioned determine whether or not someone will believe and also the definition of said superstitions. It’s very interesting to see all angles from different cultures and religious beliefs.

  4. Hi Robert,

    I would like to share my own superstition, which our country side people used to follow. Carrying iron or contact with the skin (Like iron rings, amulets, bracelets) Would be fatal.

    1. Wow Hugh, that’s an extreme superstition with intense consequences. Seems it would be quite hard to abide by that one seeing how much of the world is made of iron. Thanks a bunch for sharing your countries outlook!

  5. HI Robert,
    there are indeed many superstitions associated with the black meta.
    One such goes like this:
    if you have lost anything made of iron in your field, its gonna take years to find it.

    1. Quite interesting Yogesh. Certainly if your field was very big that could stand to be true superstitions or not. 🙂 I appreciate you sharing Yogesh, it’s good to hear from you, haven’t seen you around in a while. Take care…

  6. Iron sword and knife are used just because of superstitions .These are used to keep witches away from home or to keep devil away from new born . They believe that iron keep devil away .

    1. Quite true Zelda, I’m not sure how well these tools work for keeping evil out, but a good prayer never hurt either. 🙂

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