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The Stop
For hundreds of years, the four-leaf clover has symbolised luck – especially in Ireland. Ancient Celtic priests (Druids) believed carrying three-leaf clovers1 enabled them to see approaching evil spirits, allowing them time to escape their clutches. The much rarer four-leaf clovers found use as even more powerful charms, offering magical protection and preventing bad luck. In the Middle Ages, Irish children believed carrying a four-leaf clover gave them the power to see fairies – dangerous creatures who would play deadly tricks and occasionally kidnap unsuspecting victims.2
Despite a long history of belief in the luck imparted by four-leaf clovers, it wasn’t until 1620 that the first literary reference to their role in good fortune appeared. In The Astrologaster, Or, The Figure-caster; rather the Arraignment of Artlesse Astrologers and Fortune-tellers – a book critical about astrology and related matters – the politician and author Sir John Melton mentions in passing the belief held by some that ‘If a man walking in the fields find any four-leaved grass, he shall in a small while after find some good thing.' However, as an astrologaster is a ‘foolish or petty astrologer’ and the book itself takes a critical approach to the supernatural, it seems unlikely Melton seriously considered any truth in this belief.
Many legends about the origin of the connection between the four-leaf clover and luck exist, one tracing it as far back as the mythical Garden of Eden. In this version, the legend says that as Adam and Eve were leaving the Garden, Eve picked a single four-leafed clover as a ‘souvenir of paradise,’3 a religious connection which led to them being considered lucky. Another legend holds that when St. Patrick brought Christianity to ancient Ireland, he used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity with one leaf each representing the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amalgamating previously-existing Celtic beliefs with those of the new religion is probably the most accurate source of the connection to luck as over time they became intertwined so that the three-leaf clover represented faith, hope and love – with the occasional fourth leaf symbolising God’s grace or luck.
Regardless of its legendary or mythological sources, the relative rarity of four-leaf clovers is enough of a reason to think oneself lucky to find one. The product of a genetic mutation in the genome of the common white clover, a recent Swiss study examined 5.7 million clovers and determined that the likelihood of finding a single four-leaf clover was one in 5,076 three-leafed ones. These odds are much better than an earlier estimate of 1 in 10,000, but a four-leaf clover is still more common than a five-leafed one (1 in 24,390), and far more common than the exceedingly rare six-leafed clover (1 in 312,500). And you thought finding a four-leafed one was special.
The Detour
Today’s Detour is to Conner Griffith’s Still Life. It’s a short (6:50) video in which over 1,000 19th century engravings are animated to the soundtrack of JS Bach’s The Well-tempered Clavier. Described as ‘meditation on subject/object dualism … [that] explores the idea that we live in a world of objects and a world of objects lives within us,’ it’s certainly worth a look.
The Recommendation
Today’s recommendation is Paul Murray’s Skippy Dies (2010). Longlisted for the Booker Prize and released to critical acclaim, the novel follows the exploits of a group of students and faculty members at the fictional Seabrook College, a Catholic boys’ boarding school in Dublin. Skippy - the title character - dies during a donut-eating contest in the opening scene and the rest of the novel investigates the events leading to his death as well as its after effects in the school community. I read it when it was first released and found it irreverent, very funny, disturbing and a great read. Funny and disturbing - what more can you want?
Review (NPR): Skippy Dies (2010) Review (NPR)
Remember: while you can purchase Skippy Dies from Amazon, it can also be found in your local new and used bookstores - or even checked out from the library. And those options are better for everyone.
The Sounds
Today’s playlist is composed of five excellent U2 tracks from before they became what we think of as U2 today. All were released before The Joshua Tree, the album that catapulted them to an unimaginable level of stardom, ubiquitous popularity and generally anodyne productivity. I think they’re a great reminder of what it’s like to be a band when the future is still just that … ‘Bad - Live’ (Wide Awake in America, 1985), ‘October’ (October, 1981), ‘Twilight’ (Boy, 1980), ‘A Sort of Homecoming’ (The Unforgettable Fire, 1984) and ‘40’ (War, 1983).4 Enjoy!
The Thought
Today’s Thought is from the great Irish author, James Joyce:5
‘The actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts.’
If you have a thought on this Thought - or any part of today’s issue - please leave a comment below:
And that’s the end of this Stop - I hope you enjoyed the diversion!
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Until the next Stop …
The Old Irish word for three-leaf clovers is ‘seamróg’ – little clover – which has become ‘shamrock.’ A four-leaf clover is not a shamrock.
As tomorrow is St Patrick’s Day, I thought an Irish-themed Bus Stop appropriate. Unfortunately, in the time allowed I found very little concrete information about the connection between four-leaf clovers and luck and had to rely on sources such as (gulp) Reader’s Digest. Nevertheless, I was able to drill down into the history a bit and found it rather interesting. Sources for today’s Stop include: John Melton (DNB), Four-leaf Clovers (Reader's Digest), Four-leaf clover history (Woodlands Online) and Four-leaf Clovers History (Southern Conservation Trust).
Notwithstanding that the story is entirely myth, this action begs the question of why someone would think anything positive might occur when Eve picks things ….
My friend Keith was a HUGE U2 fan and turned me onto them when I was in the 8th grade. Like so many, I loved being a fan of something no one else was - and annoying others about this very fact. But, then, a few years later Joshua Tree came out and U2 were everywhere and the kids who’d never liked my band suddenly did … for the wrong reasons, of course. But at least these songs were still cool …
Joyce is a topic for future Bus Stop, but for more information in the meantime, see: James Joyce (Britannica).
Great playlist! I saw U2 on their first US tour as the opening act for J. Geils - 1983 or 4. They blew J Geils away and Bono even crowd-surfed all around the venue during their last encore.
That’s right: U2 used to be kind of cool! Thanks for the reminder