Made by hand in our partner workshop in China  ·  Shipped worldwide  ·  Every symbol comes with its sources
Atlas  /  For a fresh start  /  Four-leaf cloverNo. 03
Plate IBritain & IrelandFour-leaf clover, drawn by Wishlore
Pl. IFour-leaf clover. A four-leaved clover. Drawing: Wishlore.
No. 03  ·  For a fresh start  ·  Britain & Ireland

The four-leaf clover

A clover with a fourth leaf, rare enough that finding one became a sign that something good would follow.

Earliest record
Melton’s Astrologaster, 1620
Source
Word Histories, “four-leaved clover” (quoting Melton, 1620)
Region
Britain & Ireland
Wish
For a fresh start
Layers
Record Folk Modern
Keep this symbol · from £2.99Read the sources
The story · three layers

The story, in three layers.

Record, Folk and Modern are kept apart, and each one carries its source.

I
Record
England, 1620

A sign, written down in 1620

John Melton’s Astrologaster (1620) records the belief that finding a four-leaved clover meant something good would follow.

II
Folk
Victorian Britain

Kept under glass

Victorian pendants held a pressed four-leaf clover behind glass, so it could be worn.

To verify: Wellcome Collection object number and link

III
Modern
Wishlore, today

How we tell it

We tell the record from 1620 and the Victorian pendants, and leave the meaning to you.

Four-leaf clover
Melton’s Astrologaster, 1620
Story and sources on the reverse
Pl. IIThe story card. Every printed piece carries the story and a code that opens the full source list.
Keep it close

How would you like to keep it?

Add to bag · £8
  • Pendants are whole symbols, drawn from this plate. Pictures are design drawings, not photos, until the piece is made and photographed
  • Printed cards and pendants are made in our partner workshop in China and shipped worldwide
  • Delivery: [UK/EU/US days TBC]; duties shown at checkout
Watch the story

The story, in a minute.

It opens with the pencil construction, then follows the record, how people used it, and the piece we make today. Every fact in it comes from the sources on this page.

Length
0:55
Narration
English, with subtitles on screen
Images
Pencil construction and the atlas drawing on this page, animated; no AI images; jewellery shown as a line drawing
Sources
Listed at the end of the film
Story film · 0:55 · Drawn from the atlas plate · no AI images
In one breath
Written down in 1620: find one, and something good will follow. Who would you keep it for?
Also for a fresh start

Other symbols to keep

See all symbols for a fresh start

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Martenitsa
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Horseshoe
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Scarab
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Wishbone
Hartlieb’s goose bone, 1455