Why is the four leaf clover considered a lucky charm?
Since the operative number here is four, the history behind four leaf clovers as lucky charms is clearly distinct from the Trinitarian tradition behind the three leave shamrock. The significance invested in four leaf clovers pre-dates Christianity, going back to the pagan period, when four leaf clovers were Celtic charms. Celtic dominance once extended across Ireland and much of Western Europe. It was the Druids (Celtic priests) who elevated four leaf clovers to the status of Celtic charms, allegedly potent against malevolent spirits. Their status as Celtic charms is the origin of the modern belief in their power to bestow good luck. The first literary reference to draw on the tradition of four leaf clovers as Celtic charms seems to have been made in 1620. In that year Sir John Melton wrote, “If a man walking in the fields finds any four-leafed grass, he shall in a small while after find some good thing.” Since there are on average, 10,000 three leaf clovers for every instance of a tru
