The Lucky Rabbit’s Foot Charm…and other animal paw amulets

In many cultures, rabbits are symbols of fertility, strongly associated with sexual potency, spring and renewal. But over time, the rabbit’s foot, specifically, became a gambler’s and hunter’s good luck charm. (Not to be confused with the grouse’s foot, a popular Scottish good luck charm often used as a kilt pin.)

The Rabbit’s Foot has a fairly convoluted history as a good luck charm. The appendage derives its lucky properties from a string of “unlucky” circumstances. While this may strike the gentle reader as somewhat counter-intuitive, in order to be truly lucky, the foot had to be collected in a particular way (e.g. in a cemetery, on a Friday, on Friday the 13th, under a full moon, with a silver bullet, by a Black man, by a cross-eyed man, by a man with red hair, etc.). Although the specifics differ, these are all thought to be “unlucky” conditions. Also, the left hind leg of the rabbit was preferred.

The rabbit’s foot as a lucky fetish was tied to the practice of African-American hoodoo in the Southern United States. As such, minstrel show songs would feature the rabbit’s foot as a lucky charm in ways that would offend our modern ears. (See sheet music below for examples.)

In the late 20th century, rabbits’ feet were commonly dyed bright colors and used as novelty keychains, though nowadays they are made from faux fur and latex bones.

Rabbits’ feet were not the only animal paws used as lucky amulets or as folk medicine - moles’ paws, badgers’ paws and bears’ paws were all used for these purposes. (Please indulge The House in somewhat of a digression after viewing the collection of images below. )