Cast iron door knobs – reviving traditional security systems!

Although probably the most common material for our hardware to be made of is brass, iron is definitely the most individual, the most romantic, and the oldest and most generally used metal of olden days. The iron, and ironing have been the bane of many a mum and housewife. Iron horseshoes are said to bring good luck. Burying an iron knife under your door can keep witches out, and iron fences keep the souls of the dead in. It was traditionally known as ‘cold iron’… although ‘cold iron’ really is just ordinary iron that isn’t warm! Ah, they had a sense of drama in the old days… So, we are going to look at some of, perhaps, the lesser known benefits of buying an iron door knob, according to olden day superstition!

Iron is supposed to repel evil spirits, and iron in the shape of a horseshoe is meant to be especially good at this. Unfortunately, horseshoe shaped door knobs are hard to come by… however the real things are not! Antique shops often have plenty, and you can get the new and improved version from a farrier, or possibly a veterinarian. They do tend to fit nicely around door knobs as decorations, and have convenient nail holes, though! Further from this too, horseshoes are meant to protect a home in general, as well as the people that live in it, and bring peace and prosperity. Use seven iron nails to place your horseshoe, and you can bring extra good luck into your home. Why, you may never have to work again!

As workers of iron, blacksmiths themselves were considered lucky and powerful – it would have taken some special skill, a lot of guts and some big, big biceps back in the days when it was necessary to use brute force and very, very hot open fires to work metal. Iron was also much stronger than other metals, and could withstand much more heat. So, it makes sense that it could keep the souls of the dead in place, doesn’t it?!In Tibetan traditions, meteoric iron is highly prized for creating religious and spiritual objects and charms. The connection makes sense here – the metal has fallen from the sky, and depending on who you talk to, various powerful beings live in the sky. Even in Tibetan Buddhism, their dominant spirituality, the sky and universe is a place of mystery and other-worldliness. Personally, I would also prize iron that had fallen from the sky! Although if you are lucky enough to have any of this, you would have to have your door knobs made specially from it… meteoric iron door knobs are most unfortunately out of our scope!Part of iron’s power and symbolism comes from the fact that elemental iron gives our blood its colour, and carries energy around our body. Your iron door knob is symbolic of the energy and lifeblood of your body. In Australian Aboriginal rituals, both blood and iron ochre are applied to dancers’ bodies to help their communication with the spirit world.

The fact that iron is the most common magnetic metal is another of its special and magical properties. With this property, your door hardware can become a great place to leave messages … or even hang kids paintings and schoolwork …! Seriously though, magnetism fascinates both kids and adults alike, and magnets are necessary for things that we use every day – including computers. They often save the day in cartoons, which holds kids attention… and adults have found crystals of magnetite in the bodies of various animals and birds, which is thought to give homing pigeons and other animals their extraordinary directional sense. They sense the magnetism of the Earth’s poles, and use the tiny frequency changes to tell them which direction they are heading in – towards or away from home! I think I was at the back of the line when they were handing out magnetite crystals … some have said I couldn’t find my way out of a paper bag

These are newer discoveries about iron and symbolism regarding it, though. From the eras your iron door knobs represent, they certainly would have been considered essential in protecting from one of the worst dangers a house could face: witches, faeries and goblins, not to mention the dead!

Photo credits: Luckie by mndhemphill