Four-Leaf Clover Meaning: Why Is It Lucky?

Coming across a four-leaf clover on a lawn is the promise of happiness to come. For centuries, this little green treasure has been the most famous of lucky charms.

Why is it lucky, what do its four leaves mean, how do you find it and keep it? Here is everything you need to know.

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Why are four-leaf clovers so lucky?

The four-leaf clover is a very rare mutation: there is only a one in 10,000 chance of finding one. This rarity largely explains why it became a lucky charm: finding one already means you are lucky.

Legends did the rest. According to Christian tradition, Eve took one when she left paradise, as a keepsake of the life she was losing. The Celts believed it had the power to protect against evil and bad luck, and even to let you see fairies.

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4 leaves, 4 meanings

An ordinary clover has three leaves, for faith, hope and love. The fourth brings luck. In Christian tradition the clover also recalls the Cross, and each leaf stands for a virtue:

According to another legend, a pagan one this time, the leaves bring fame, wealth, love and health. No wonder it is so sought after!

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Five-leaf clovers and shamrocks: don’t mix them up

Rarer still, the five-leaf clover is said to occur once in 20,000: it is believed to bring double luck, often linked to money. Beyond that, each extra leaf adds a wish.

The shamrock, emblem of Ireland, has only three leaves: Saint Patrick is said to have used it to explain the Trinity. It is worn on March 17, but it is the four-leaf clover that brings luck.

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How to find a four-leaf clover?

You can give luck a little push:

• Search large patches of clover on sunny lawns rather than counting leaves one by one: the eye spots the square shape among the triangles more easily.
• Go back to the same spot: the mutation often repeats on the same plant, and one four-leaf clover sometimes hides others.
• Let chance do its work: tradition says it truly brings luck when found without looking.

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How should you store a four-leaf clover?

If you are lucky enough to find one, keep it safe. Clovers survive picking well and last a few hours without water. Then press it between the pages of a book, preferably during the day: at night the clover “sleeps” and closes its leaves.

Once dry it becomes fragile: to keep it with you, in your wallet, laminate it, which also protects it from light. And if you can’t find one, other lucky omens are waiting for you.

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