THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Clover

Lisa Karen Miller

           Today’s column is dedicated to the memory of Jackson and Sassy, currently chasing rabbits through clover in the Elysian Fields.

          It’s said that when Eve departed the Garden, she snatched a four-leaf clover, to remind her of the happiness she had known there.

          When St. Patrick, a Roman Briton, came to Ireland to spread Christianity, he used the three-leaf clover, or Shamrock, to teach the natives about the Trinity. The word Shamrock is derived from the Gaelic word seamrog, meaning summer plant.

          Ancient Celts used it in their fertility rites and in casting spells.  It was reputedly a magic talisman that allowed the wearer to detect the whereabouts of fairies, as it only grows in their environs. As one rhyme has it:

“I’ll seek a four-leaved clover

In all the fairy dells,

And if I find the charmed leaf,

Oh, how I’ll weave my spells!”

        Young men would put one under their pillows to dream of their lady loves. For anyone to dream of clover foretold a happy marriage and wealth.  “To live in clover” meant to live in luxury.  Finding a five-leaf clover means a lifetime of riches.

         The four-leaf clover was kept as a charm to prevent madness, or to keep a man from military service.  If it was held up to a priest without his knowledge, the sermon could not continue.

         A two-leaf clover had different powers.  If the finder put it in her shoe, the first young man she met would fall in love with her.  Putting a clover in her husband’s shoe before he set off on a long journey ensured he would remain faithful.  

         Some American Indians believe it grows wherever Indian blood has been shed in battle.

          In the 16^th century, herbalist John Gerard advised its use as a poultice to relieve “hot swellings and inflammations.”  It was used by country folk as an antidote to adder bites. Because of its holy aura and trefoil shape, no witch or snake can approach it.

          Today’s science tells us the flowers yield an anti-inflammatory cleansing treatment for skin complaints and arthritis. It is an anticoagulant, and the whole plant is used in experimental treatments for various cancers.

          Clover gathered on St. John’s Eve, (June 23^rd) will improve the quality of any drink to which it is added. The flowers were once made into bread.

          For Pagans, the original meaning of three, the perfect number, was earth, underground, and sky – life, death, and afterlife.

          Not all that different from Patrick’s teachings, really.

© Copyright 2023 Lisa Karen Miller