Lucky symbols and what they mean
๐ Four-leaf clover is the classic good luck charm because clovers with four leaves are rare. โ๏ธ Shamrock has three leaves; it is the symbol of Ireland and St. Patrick's Day rather than a luck charm, though people often use the two together. ๐ค Crossed fingers means "I hope it goes well", and ๐ a shooting star is for making a wish.
๐ Ladybugs are lucky in many European traditions, and ๐ rainbows promise good things ahead, with a pot of gold at the end in Irish folklore. The horseshoe is a lucky charm too, though Unicode has no horseshoe character; the horseshoe symbol page shows the best look-alikes.
Good luck around the world
Luck changes from culture to culture. The blue ๐งฟ nazar from Turkey and the ๐ชฌ hamsa hand of the Middle East and North Africa protect against the evil eye. In China, ๐งง red envelopes of money and the character ็ฆ (good fortune) bring luck at Lunar New Year, and 8 is a lucky number because it sounds like the word for prosperity. In Germany, a ๐ท pig is a lucky New Year gift.
Black cats ๐โโฌ๏ธ are the tricky one: in the US a black cat crossing your path is a bad omen, but in Britain and Japan black cats are often seen as lucky. Seven is lucky in many Western traditions, while 4 is avoided in China, Japan and Korea because it sounds like the word for death.
How to wish someone luck with symbols
Short messages work best: ๐ Good luck!, ๐ค Fingers crossed or ๐ช You got this! before an exam, interview or game. Theater people say "break a leg" instead, because wishing someone good luck backstage is considered bad luck.
On phones, search the emoji keyboard for "clover", "luck" or "fingers". On Windows, press Windows + ., and on a Mac press Control + Command + Space. โ๏ธ is also a flat text symbol: in Word, type 2618 and press Alt + X. More charms are on the leaf symbol and eye symbol pages.