Shamrocks and Clovers - Are you feeling lucky?

When I was a kid, I used to hunt for four-leafed clovers in the belief that they brought good luck. I didn’t know then that one was only considered lucky if you found it by accident – the clover was useless if you looked for it on purpose! No wonder I didn’t get the pony I was hoping for….

The ancient Celts of Wales carried sprigs of clover as a charm against evil spirits, particularly faeries. The clover might be tucked in one’s hat. Or multiple clovers might be sewn into a tiny bag and hung around the neck. This would enable the wearer to see through faery glamor – but it would only work once for each clover that was in the bag.

The faeries couldn't hide from you if you were
carrying a four-leaf clover.Photo licensed from Bigstock.com

Druids esteemed the four-leafed clover as a source of protection, because holding one would allow you to see not just faeries, but many other supernatural creatures. A salve was sometimes made of four-leafed clovers and applied to the “third eye” area of the forehead, to bring out psychic abilities. And in the Middle Ages, a four-leafed clover worn inside your shoe was believed to lead you to either love or treasure! (If you put one in each shoe, did you find both?)

Both shamrocks and four-leafed clovers come from the 
same plant: Common White Clover (Trifolium Repens).
Photo licensed from Bigstock.com

The four-leafed clover is a symbol of good luck in many countries, but is most often associated with Ireland. The Irish claim that they have more of them growing there than anywhere else in the world. Maybe they do, since BOTH traditional Irish shamrocks and four-leafed clovers come from the very same plant:  Common White Clover, also known as Dutch Clover (Trifolium Repens). That’s right, it’s the same stuff that sometimes takes over the lawn on this side of the Atlantic. Irish botanist Caleb Threlkeld verified this when he wrote about Trifolium Repens in his 1727 book about local flora: “This plant is worn by the people in their hats upon the seventeenth day of March yearly.”

True, there are some pretty potted plants sold around March 17^th that claim to be official shamrocks, but they’re usually oxalis or wood sorrel. The leaves occur in a variety of colors, but apparently aren't brimming with good fortune. (I enjoy them anyway.)

The shamrock and the four-leafed clover are both
commonly associated with Ireland.
Photo: Public Domain

The Irish word for shamrock is seamróg, referring to the trefoil leaf of the clover plant. St. Patrick allegedly made it famous by taking an ordinary three-leafed clover and using it as a metaphor for the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Ghost. This is an excellent example of Christianity adopting – and changing – the symbols of ancient pagan faiths. The three leaves had previously been known as the three phases of the Goddess – Maiden, Mother and Crone!

So why are there four-leafed clovers if clover naturally has three leaves? Long thought to be a simple plant mutation, scientists have now found a recessive gene for the anomaly. In fact, there are no known limits as to how many leaves a clover can have. According to Guinness, the world record for the most leaves on a clover stem has been held by Shigeo Obara of Japan since 2002 when he discovered a clover with 18 leaves. He bested his record a few years later with a 21-leafed clover (see photo on this site - http://yeinjee.com/21-leafs-clover/). And in 2009, just before Obara died, he was credited with finding a clover with no less than 56 leaves!!!

Rabbits LOVE clover.
I wonder how many four leaf clovers
this little guy has eaten?
Photo licensed from Bigstock.com

In Ireland and a few other places, a clover bearing more than four leaves is said to bring BAD luck. In other countries, however, there are different meanings according to leaf number:

•      Two-leafed clover = love
•      Four-leafed clover = luck 
•      Five-leafed clover = attracts wealth
•      Six-leafed clover = fame
•      Seven-leafed clover = long life

So just how rare are clovers with more than the standard three leaves? Estimates place them at about one in 10,000 when naturally grown. Because the four-leafed clover is such a well-known symbol of good fortune, an entire industry has sprung up around them. You can buy genuine four-leafed clovers pressed between glass, embedded in resin, made into jewelry etc. But to get enough of them, some horticulturalists have refined the clover plant using the newly-discovered genes. In their specialized plots, four-leafed clovers occur about once in every 41 plants!

However, the luckiest man in the world just might be Edward Martin Sr. of Alaska. Guinness certified Martin's collection of 111,060 four-leaf clovers in 2007, and it's reported he has well over 160,000 now! 

(See how all those clovers were counted in this article in the Peninsula Clarion News - http://peninsulaclarion.com/stories/061307/news_0613new003.shtml#.WMcP2zsrI2w )

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I grew up on Celtic faery stories. Not the ones where faeries are tiny beings with delicate wings, and as sweet-natured as they are pretty. Nope, I teethed on the ones where faeries come in every shape and size. Dark or light, terrifying or beautiful, sensual or cold, indifferent or cruel ... all are dangerous!

My Grim Series is based on one of my favorite fae legends (with thanks to my Welsh grandmother). The Grim is also known as the Black Dog, and his role is to act as a herald of death and misfortune. But how did he get a job like that? And what if he doesn't want it?

Check Amazon for STORM WARRIOR, STORM BOUND, and STORM WARNED

Watch for the upcoming release of STORM CROSSED, Book 4 of the Grim Series!

Druid Heroes

The beauty of nature, whether it’s an awesome sunset, the color of the fall leaves or the striking beauty of lightning is breathtaking, mysterious and has a power all its own.

To the druid, the sentry of the world, nature was the driving force and was dependent on the precarious balance of air, earth, fire and water. Their beliefs were strong and drawn from the spiritual unity of the natural forces. Druids were not masters but rather servants of nature.  In addition, they were the philosophers, judges, mathematicians, and scientists of the day. Druids did not codify their story but rather believed in the oral history. Nothing was written down. The only accounts that do survive are from the early Greeks and Romans who had first-hand knowledge. Druids were the caretakers of the lore and also great healers who were respected and considered the keepers of the ‘Old Faith.

Followers of the ‘Old Faith’ didn’t worship a deity although they did have the concept of a Mother Goddess which symbolized the earth and the fertility of nature.

When the Romans came to Britain the druids, and the deep respect people had for them, was a threat that needed to be eliminated. It began with character assassination and ended with eradication. To justify the slaughter, the Romans went on a smear campaign. But that’s another story.

Why are fantasy writers drawn to druids? I can’t speak for other authors, but I can tell you why I was drawn to druids in my story. The deep beliefs, the devotion to his land and his people, are the underpinnings of my hero’s personality. I challenged my hero and made him face the worse decision of his life. He will have to choose between his duty to his beloved manor and people and his own desires—protect his wife at the risk of his manor and people’s survival.

The twist is that no man, not even the greatest druid, can do it alone. In my new story, KNIGHT OF RAPTURE, our druid hero will need the strength of his wife, his soul mate, to bring this story to a happy ever after. 

For months Lord Arik has been trying to find the precise spell to rescue his wife, Rebeka, but the druid knight will soon discover that reaching her four hundred years in the future is the easiest part of his quest.

Bran, the dark druid, follows Arik across the centuries, tireless in his quest for revenge. He’ll force Arik to make a choice, return to save his beloved family and home or stay in the 21^st century and save Rebeka. He can’t save them both.

Rebeka Tyler has no recollection of where she’s been the past five months. On top of that, ownership of her home, Fayne Manor, is called into question. When accidents begin to happen it looks more and more like she is the target. Further complicating things is the strange man who conveniently appears wherever trouble brews—watching her, perhaps even….protecting her? Or is he a deliberate attempt to distract her? Rebeka can only be sure of one thing—her family name and manor have survived for over eleven centuries. She won’t let them fall… in any century.

I've Been Runed!

The first writing systems used by the Germanic people were runic alphabets. Like Egyptian hieroglyphics, runes were more like letters — each was an ideographic or pictographic symbol. To the Ancients, they were associated with the principles of power and write a rune was to invoke the force for which it stood.  The word rune means ‘letter,’ ‘secret’ or ‘mystery.’ Its original meaning may have been ‘hushed message.’

Runes, tied to the principles of power, had magical significance and were used to create spells and foretell the future.

In folklore, the runes were given to mankind by the Odin, the Norse God of mythology. He died and passed on to the afterlife where he gained wisdom and passed his new wisdom to his people in the form of Runes.

Runes date back to the first century  c.e. until well into the Middle Ages. The Roman alphabet became the preferred script in most of Europe.

We’ve learned that the runic alphabet is an outgrowth of two distinct sources—one magical and the other literate. Many Bronze Age rock carvings, primarily in Sweden, have pre-runic symbols.  Some of these symbols are alphabetic letters, while others represent ideas and concepts, sigils. These concepts were incorporated into the names of runes (sun, horse, etc.) and, unfortunately the meaning of these sigils and their purpose are lost to us. They were, however, believed to have been used for divination or lot casting. It’s believed that sigils contributed to the magical aspects of the later runic alphabets.

The name "futhark", like the word "alphabet", is derived from the first few letters in the runic sequence. The futhark originally consisted of 24 letters, beginning with F and ending with O, and was used by the northern Germanic tribes of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Northern Germany.  This is knows as the Elder, or Germanic Futhark forms of the runic alphabet.

Runes were used well into the 17th Century and were known by the common people who used them for simple runic spells. They also consulted them (like Tarot cards). Runes and the magical arts were banned in 1639 as part of the Church's efforts to "drive the devil out of with Europe".  The rune masters were either executed or went underground, and the knowledge of the runes appears to have died with them.  Some had the knowledge passed on in secret, but it is almost impossible to separate ancient traditions from more modern esoteric philosophies in such cases.

In my new story, Knight of Rapture, magical runes play a large part in the story. Rebeka must decode the runes and the ancient prophecy it hides to save all she loves.

For months Lord Arik has been trying to find the precise spell to rescue his wife, Rebeka, but the druid knight will soon discover that reaching her four hundred years in the future is the easiest part of his quest.

Bran, the dark druid, follows Arik across the centuries, tireless in his quest for revenge. He’ll force Arik to make a choice, return to save his beloved family and home or stay in the 21^st century and save Rebeka. He can’t save them both.

Rebeka Tyler has no recollection of where she’s been the past five months. On top of that, ownership of her home, Fayne Manor, is called into question. When accidents begin to happen it looks more and more like she is the target. Further complicating things is the strange man who conveniently appears wherever trouble brews—watching her, perhaps even….protecting her? Or is he a deliberate attempt to distract her? Rebeka can only be sure of one thing—her family name and manor have survived for over eleven centuries. She won’t let them fall… in any century.

The Druid Knight Tale - a Short Story is FREE on Amazon, B&N and iBook. Knight of Rapture releases March 30. For more information please visit my website at www.RuthACasie.com