Horseshoes, four-leaf clovers, pencils? Good luck comes in all shapes – PPC

Pencils and Pop-Culture – Horeshoes, Four-leaf Clovers, pencils? Good Luck Comes in All Shapes

Last week, Scott Stallings went to the 2012 Masters Tournament with a very particular good luck charm.

While completing the PGA Tour earlier in 2011, Stallings had kept score with a small green pencil from the Augusta National Golf Club. The pencil had become a good luck charm to him and a touchstone to his fans, so much so that the Augusta National Golf Club greeted Stallings with a bag of lucky pencils upon his arrival during a December visit.

Talk to the random person on the street, and chances are they have a good luck charm. Four-leaf clovers, horseshoes, pennies – those are some of the classics, but a good luck charm can take many forms. My sister won’t get on the plane without her St. Christopher medal, and a friend of mine swears by a pair of lucky shoelaces threaded through her sneakers.  Another friend insists that if an eyelash falls on your cheek, you must place it on the tip of your finger and blow it away for good luck, much like you would do when wishing on a dandelion.

Cultures all around the world have symbols of good luck, from colors to numbers. Even the rich and famous have their own odd talismans and rituals for good luck; actor Geoffrey Rush reportedly carries a small replica of Daffy Duck with him, while actress Penelope Cruz reportedly eats pancakes the morning before major award nominations are announced.

Good luck charms, however, do not have to be out-there to be effective; they just have to have personal significance for you. Be it a cartoon character or a pencil, a four-leaf clover or a note from a loved one, good luck is all in the eye of the beholder.

Me? I have a lucky charm myself. When I was a kid I read about an old tradition of placing an acorn on your windowsill to ward off lightning strikes. Ever since then I’ve viewed acorns as a symbol of protection and strength; as the old saying goes, mighty oaks come from tiny acorns. I don’t wear the real thing, but I do have a tiny silver acorn on a chain that I wear when I need to remind myself to be a little bit brave, and to bring myself just a little bit of luck.

Photo credit: Cygnus921 via Every Stock Photo