Wicc'ed
Ways~A Little Bit o'Luck!
By Bronwen Forbes Art by Mickie Mueller
Do you have a lucky penny? A horseshoe over your door? Have you ever searched a field of three-leaved clover for the rare four-leaved one because you knew it would bring you good luck? If so, you’re not alone. Good luck symbols and charms have been around for a long time--ever since we humans realized that there are just some things beyond our control.
Interestingly, many “bringers of good luck” are associated with Spring; chimney sweeps and four-leaf clovers, among others. After a long, cold, hungry winter, our ancestors probably felt pretty lucky to see the Sun return, the weather warm up, and the crops starting to grow!
“Chim chiminey
Chim chiminey
Chim chim cher-ee.
A Sweep is as lucky as lucky can be!”
Did you know that to this day many chimney sweeps in both England and the United States will be hired by brides to come and give them a “lucky kiss” on their wedding day? In the Disney movie Mary Poppins, Bert (played by Dick Van Dyke) sings a lot of different songs, including “Step in Time” and “Jolly Holiday”. My favorite is “Chim Chim Cher-ee”, the one where he’s dressed up like a chimney sweep. But what are chimney sweeps, and what makes them lucky?
Brigid in front of her hearth--is she waiting for a chimney sweep?
Back before electricity, people had to rely on their fireplaces for heat and cooking. It didn’t take long for the inside of the chimney to become coated with creosote and soot from the fire. Creosote is very flammable, so if a chimney sweep didn’t come and scrub it out, the chimney itself could catch fire – and burn the whole house down. Since it’s considered a mark of good luck if your house doesn’t burn down, people quickly began to associate the chimney sweep as a “bringer” of that good luck.
As people from rural England began to move into larger cities like London in the 1700s, the already-lucky chimney sweep got mixed up with Jack-in-the-Green. Jack-in-the-Green is another term for the Lord of the Forest, and people from small British villages already included Jack in their Beltane or May Day celebrations as the one to “bring in the Summer.” Of course the coming of summer is a very lucky time for people who would otherwise starve without a warm season to grow their crops in. The male villager who was that years’ “Jack” – draped in green and budding branches – often got to act as the May Queen’s escort on May 1.
When the villagers later moved to London and saw that the chimney sweeps also celebrated May Day as “their” holiday (complete with a procession through the streets), the two characters – chimney sweep and Jack-in-the-Green – got mixed up into one lucky package!
Another story about how chimney sweeps came to be lucky dates back to the time of King George the Second of England (1727-1760) – about the same time people from rural villages were moving to London. One day, King George was riding in his carriage when the horses became frightened by something and bolted. A chimney sweep was the only person brave enough to jump up onto the runaway carriage, grab the reins, and stop the carriage before the King was injured or killed. King George was so grateful to the chimney sweep that issued a Royal Decree saying that because he was lucky enough to have been saved by a chimney sweep, all chimney sweeps were now considered “lucky” and should be treated with respect by everyone.
Chimney sweeps are also considered lucky in Germany, where they’re called Schornsteinfeger or Schlotfeger, meaning “stone chimney brush” and “funnel brush” or “smokestack brush.” If a German man, woman, or child saw a chimney sweep on St. Nicholas’ Day (December 6), Christmas Day, or New Year’s Day, he or she would have good luck in the coming year.
“Chim chiminey
Chim chiminey
Chim chim cher-oo!
Good luck will rub off when
I shake 'ands with you.
Or blow me a kiss,
And that's lucky too!”
Horseshoes are also considered lucky, partly because they’re sort of shaped like a crescent moon, which is a symbol of protection, and partly because they’re made of iron. Fairies cannot stand to be around iron--it negates their magic abilities--so if you want to protect your house from faerie tricks, a horseshoe will keep you and your possessions safe! Also, because of their crescent shape, horseshoes are often associated with the Goddess Diana.
How lucky would a shoe from one of Rhiannon's horses be?
However, you can only use a horseshoe that’s actually been on a horse--and a found horseshoe works better than being given a used one by a blacksmith or a horse owner. Be sure to hang the horseshoe over the front door, prongs up. That way the luck won’t “pour out.”
A rabbit’s foot is also supposed to ward off bad luck and attract good luck--except for the footless rabbit, of course! One reason is because the rabbit lives underground; animals who spend a lot of time underground have a special relationship with the Crone aspect of the Goddess, and have absorbed much of Her Wisdom. During the Middle Ages, goldsmiths used to polish their wares with rabbit’s feet, which is probably why they’re associated with wealth.
Rabbits (and chicks) have been adopted by Christians as extra symbols to use for Easter--Ostara (Spring Equinox) in the Pagan calendar. The holiday gets its name from the German Goddess of Spring, Eostre. She may have been a Goddess of abundance, since the most popular symbol of the holiday that bears her name is the Easter Bunny, who delivers baskets of candy and eggs to children to enjoy on Easter Sunday.
Ostara and some lucky bunnies!
Around the time of the Spring Equinox, farmers are beginning to prepare their fields for the sowing of seeds, and in some climates they’ve already planted them. In Europe, the March Hare, a nocturnal animal, is also frequently seen during the day at this time of year--after all, it’s mating season. Females of the species can get pregnant with a second litter of babies while still pregnant with the first litter. Clearly such a fertile animal would have been considered lucky by our ancestors who depended on the fertility of crops and food animals for their survival.
The relatively rare four-leaf clover brings luck to the bearer--but only if you find it yourself! An old children’s rhyme says, “One leaf for faith, the second leaf for hope, the third for love and the fourth for luck!” White clover, in particular, was considered lucky by the Celts, and the Druids believed that finding a four-leaf clover brought fortune to the finder.
St. Patrick used the three-leaf clover to explain the Holy Trinity to the Irish people, which is why the three-leaf clover is still the adopted symbol of Ireland and Irish pride today. St. Patrick’s day is March 17, very close to the Spring Equinox. And after a long, cold, slushy winter, the sight of a field of green clover is sure to make any observer feel lucky! (Click any clover to get a lucky coloring page!)