The Cloverleaf Good Luck Charm
The cloverleaf (not the one found at highway interchanges) has been regarded as a symbol of luck for centuries. The origins of cloverleaves being used as charms for good luck is said to go back to the time of St. Patrick of Ireland who regarded the three leaf cloverleaf, also called a shamrock, as a symbol of the Holy Trinity. Since that time, the cloverleaf has been considered as a national Irish symbol since the 17th Century, and is a common vesture on annual St. Patrick's Day celebrations.
Although very rare, what is known as four leaf clover is considered a good luck symbol, possibly because of its rarity. Agronomists say that the odds of finding a four leaf clover in a field of ordinary three leaf ones is about 1 in 10,000. Four leaf clovers come most often from the white clover plant known by its Latin term trifolium repens.
Cloverleaf jewelry charms are found in both the traditional three leaved shamrock variety as well as the four leaf "lucky charm". In the rare four leaf variety the leave stand for faith, hope, love and luck. It is perhaps the fourth or "lucky" leaf that makes the four leaf clover so special and desirable.
Obviously, it's much easier to buy a four leaf clover charm than to spend time searching for an actual four petal clover leaf. Clover or shamrock charms are made in a variety of materials, including gold, silver, ceramic and other materials, Often the charm has green colored leaves, representative of both the color of the clover plant itself and the national color of Ireland.
Some charms even have a four leaf clover imbedded in a clear plastic cube. Whatever form you desire, that are plenty of clover charms available, at prices to suit even the most conservative pocketbook.
