Lucky Charms
RITUAL: Manifestation | SEASON: Spring | HOLIDAY: St. Patrick's Day
Often, what we think of as myths and legends have origins based in truth. The oral histories, passed down from generation to generation, told the stories of our ancestors. Only later, were their stories falsified to occult the truth, fantasized to sensationalize real events in history or fictionalized to turn true accounts into fairy stories for children.
“Saint Patrick”
St. Patrick wasn’t even Irish. Patrick wasn’t his real name. Nor was he ever formally canonized by the Catholic Church as a saint.
Born in the 4th century in Roman Britain, Maewyn Succat was the son of a wealthy tax collector of Italian descent. Interestingly, the region of his birth place was most likely present day Scotland, near a town called Kilpatrick.
As the story goes, at the age of sixteen he was taken prisoner by marauding Irish pirates and sold into slavery in Ireland, where he worked as a chieftain’s shepherd for 6 years before escaping and making his way back to his home country. But the truth is, he most likely fled to Ireland to avoid serving on the town council (curia) as other young men of his rank and position would do, in something that became known as, the “flight of the curiales”.
After more than 15 years of religious training at monastery in France, he returned to Ireland as an ordained priest with a mission to convert the Irish pagans to Christianity.
He’s credited with bringing this religion to Ireland and converting a society of pagans to Catholicism. But the truth is, there were already Christian converts in Ireland. And Irish paganism remained a traditional practice for nearly another thousand years.
Then there’s the "Two Patricks" theory, which suggests that many of the tall tales attributed to Saint Patrick are actually retellings of the deeds of an early cleric named Palladius, sent by the pope as the first bishop to Irish Christians in 431, on a mission to suppress Pelagianism. According to Wikipedia:
Pelagianism is a Christian theological position that holds that the original sin did not taint human nature and that humans by divine grace have free will to achieve human perfection. Pelagius (c. 355 – c. 420 AD), an ascetic and philosopher from the British Isles, taught that God could not command believers to do the impossible, and therefore it must be possible to satisfy all divine commandments. He also taught that it was unjust to punish one person for the sins of another; therefore, infants are born blameless. Pelagius accepted no excuse for sinful behaviour and taught that all Christians, regardless of their station in life, should live unimpeachable, sinless lives.
The stories of St. Patrick could be an amalgamation of the work of Palladius and his fellow bishops, sent to Ireland, not to convert the Irish, but to ensure that exiled Pelagians did not establish their teachings against the false doctrine of original sin, among the Irish Christians.
To make this religion more appealing to the locals of the Emerald Isle, St. Patrick is said to have incorporated Celtic traditions and Pagan rituals into his Catholic teachings. He also combined their Pagan symbol of the sun with the Latin cross to create the Celtic cross.
Many believe the “snakes” he was said to drive out of the country were actually a metaphor for “the serpents of paganism”. More specifically, that he tried to unseat his arch-rivals, the Druidic priests who had tattoos of snakes on their arms.
But the Celts survived this attempt at cultural genocide despite his best efforts to eradicate it. And paganism continued to thrive for generations after his death.
Pagans think of Christian evangelism the same way indigenous people think of Western colonialism. Eventually Catholicism became the national religion but the final Christianization of Ireland wasn’t complete until the 14th century.
The Catholic bishop became known as Roman Patricius, which means "father of the people”. Celebrations in his memory didn’t begin until the 15th century when the Church held a feast honoring St. Patrick. March 17th is St. Patrick’s Day because the records show it’s the day he died, around 460 A.D.
Since the holiday has been commercialized, especially in America, it’s associated with good luck, the color green and shamrocks.
Shamrocks
A shamrock is a young sprig of three leaf clover. Traditionally, clover was used for its medicinal properties. While the Irish ate wood sorrel and watercress, they did not eat from the fields of clover.
The ancient Celtic people believed three was the number of nature and they had many triple deities. Ireland's patron saint is said to have used the three leaf clover as a metaphor for the Holy Trinity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Since clover grows in abundance on the hills in Ireland, finding a four leaf clover was considered rare and therefore “lucky”. In the Middle Ages, a clover with four leaves was said to bring good luck, specifically the luck of being able to see faeries. And the four leaves of a clover were said to represent faith, hope, love and luck.
Green
In lieu of finding a four leaf clover, you can just wear green. While green symbolizes Ireland’s lush countryside, according to fairytales, leprechauns can’t see the color green. So, wearing green protects you from their mischievous tricks. This may be where the custom of pinching people who don’t wear green comes from.
If green is not your color, there are other ways to get your green on. In pubs, drinking green beer has become a tradition. Then there’s the seasonal drinks like the minty green Shamrock Shake or Frappuccio, Starbucks’s Green Drinks like the Clover Cold Brew or Matcha Tea Latte. Or, the booze infused drinks like an Irish coffee, Turtle Coffee Milkshake with Bailey’s Irish cream or any cocktail with a shot of Irish whiskey.
If, like me, drinking isn’t your thing, get out to a green space and go for a walk. Or, visit to a local nursery or garden center to shop for Spring planting season. Consider getting some white clover seeds to plant instead of grass this year. They require a lot less water, stay green and are lower maintenance.
Good Luck
What’s interesting is that, in addition to the primary meaning of “feeling pleasure or contentment”, the word happy is associated with being fortunate, even lucky. The word, “happy” comes from the early English word, happenstance, meaning happy accident or fortunate coincidence. Later, in the Middle Ages, the phrase “good hap”, meaning good luck, was commonly used to communicate good fortunate, luck or even destiny or fate.
Choosing to be happy can shift your energy and allow you to be an energetic match to more of the things that make you feel happy.
Cosmic Trinity of Luck
In feng shui, a person’s luck is influenced by the three cosmic realms: Heaven, Earth and Man. Heaven Luck is revealed in your BaZi Destiny Chart, which is based on your date and time of birth. Earth Luck is the effect our physical environments has on our life. And Man Luck is the result of our personal energy, actions and choices in life.
While Heaven Luck is fixed and unchangeable, both Earth Luck and Man Luck can be changed, activated and enhanced. Earth Luck can be changed by moving to a fortunate line based on your astrogeography, living in a home that has “Wang Shan, Wang Shui” (Good for People, Good for Money) energy and feng shui’ing your living and working environments to balance the seen and unseen energy. And Man Luck can be shifted into a higher vibration my using a fortunate current first and last name, balancing your personal energy, choosing to be happy now and doing the things that your future self will be happy you did.
Lucky Charms
Lucky charms are any object that people believe bring good luck. Some people wear lucky charms that have special significance to them on bracelets or other jewelry. Pagans wear amulets or talismans they believe have magical powers or protective properties against evil influence or ill will wishes. The religious believe their sacred objects have no power of their own without faith in Jesus, or that they have to be blessed by a holy man and that the bearer of the sacred objects must be right with God.
While the four leaf clover is considered a symbol of luck in Ireland, different cultures have their own lucky charms. They come in the form of objects, symbols, numbers, plants and animals. Examples are: ladybugs and white elephants, horseshoes or a rabbit’s foot, wishbones or dreamcatchers. Each symbol’s significance to that culture comes from a combination of their unique folklore, mythology, esotericism, religion and traditions.
Other lucky symbols associated with the secular celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day are leprechauns, pots of gold and rainbows. Irish myths talk of leprechauns hoarding their wealth in places that are impossible to find. That may be where the legends of pots of gold at the end of rainbows comes from.
In China, the number 8 is considered very auspicious and highly fortunate. Besides having the shape of the infinity symbol, the word eight sounds like the Chinese word for “fortune”. Bamboo and green jade are also considered lucky in Asian cultures.
Don’t leave being happy up to chance. Refuse to have your happiness predetermined by destiny. Make your own happiness by creating a series of fortunate events in your life. Or, add some lucky charms to your life.
It’s best to select lucky charms that are associated with your ancestry or family’s heritage. Don’t adopt other culture’s religions or customs, symbols or lucky charms. And don’t worship their gods. Start with your own recent and ancient ancestors. Then, explore the symbols associated with your star family or soul tribe, your soul’s past lives or original planet or star system.
Or, create a lucky charm that has personal significance to you and your life. Get the symbol made into a piece of jewelry so you can wear it. Get a tattoo. Get them made into pieces of art for your walls. Or, place them on altars or around your home.
Create your own luck. Be happy. Balance and honor your personal energy. Master your inner chi. Make sure you have a fortunate current name. Move to your Jupiter Ascendant personal “Good Fortune” line. Choose an auspicious home that is good for people and money. And get feng shui’d!
Your location, your house, your name, your balanced personal energy can be your lucky charm. Read about offerings that help to enhance your personal good fortune:
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Dara Eden is the author of HER Rituals for the Divine Feminine, a periodical guide created in December of 2021. The 8 Elements, her life’s work, provides guidance about how to honor the essential needs and highest values of your personal feng shui element. Inspired by an Internet challenge designed for men, she created 365WISE, a daily self-care practice that supports women in honoring their needs and listening to their inner wisdom.
In HER Rituals, she offers insights, ideas and intuitive guidance about ways to honor your needs, values and unique expression of the divine feminine.
HER Rituals is a Womb Wisdom KeepHER’s guide to cyclical rituals for sovereign women. It provides insightful information, inspirational ideas and intuitive guidance on daily and seasonal rituals you can practice as a form of self-care. Read about ancient wisdom and philosophical principles, holistic approaches and traditional skills, slow work and intentional living, embodiment practices and immersive experiences.
