Bats, Elephants and Nuts - Oh My!

I have a deep love, passion and obsession of good luck charms and tokens. I love them all – religious and otherwise - but I know there are many I'm unaware of. Which is just as well because if given half the chance I'd be dragging a travel suitcase with me everywhere for all the good luck charms sure to cast spells of good fortune over every reason, need and circumstance.

So when a friend was preparing to compete in a very big archery tournament overseas – archers are BIG on good luck charms, mantras and routines – I set about researching for what would be best good luck charm I could give. I needed something appropriate to the person and the situation. I honestly didn’t know if my intentions would be well received, so I kept it simple, light and not too ‘woo-woo’.

So I switched on The Google and my fingers flew over the keyboard determined to help me on my quest. What could POSSIBLY be appropriate? St. Sebastian is the patron saint of archers, but given I was unsure of religious views I opted to stay away from any charms bearing poor St. Sebastian. Plus, despite being the patron saint to archer’s, St. Sebastian's story is very sad so I didn’t want to do the reverse and jinx my friend (yes, I was superstitiously reverse-overthinking). You can read about poor St. Sebastian’s story here.

I continued wading through The Google. How about a rabbit’s foot? Nope - very politically incorrect. A red bat? Chinese culture believes them to ward-off evil. Nope - too gothic-looking, plus what if he got bit by one and got rabies?

I typed on…

An egg wouldn’t do. Carrying a raw egg around the world would be a bit tricky, plus given the egg is a sign of fertility and rebirth I don’t think my young friend is in the market for having kids at 50-something years-old. AH! An elephant! That’s it! Elephants are symbols of wisdom and longevity, are removers of obstacles and bringers of luck! But alas no, that wouldn’t work either; too big to carry in a suitcase.

And then I found it - a tiny, easy-to-tuck-in-a-pocket lucky charm.

An acorn.

In English tradition, an acorn is thought to bring luck, prosperity, youthfulness and power. The history and lore behind this tiny gem had me intrigued. From witches to magic to myths and lore, I instantly fell in love with the potential of luck this tiny little nut possesses! Great things DO come in small packages! This article pretty much sums it up.)

I turned off The Google and was on an immediate quest to find an acorn. We live in a part of the world rich in oak trees so I knew they wouldn’t be hard to find. But as I suspected it was a tad early in the season for them to be in ‘season’ so I was a bit worried I wouldn't find one….

BUT as luck would have it, I found one. Sure it was a bit on the tiny side – autumn in the next few months would yield a greater harvest of the little gems - but I needed one NOW and the small-ish one I found would have to do.

A week later I presented the lucky nut to my friend, along with my lucky penny and a rock from our archery range intended to be a token of support from home. I know my friend's vast archery skills and experience will go farther in the tournament than any luck a nut can give, but I figure we all need every little bit of help we can get.

So this autumn when you sweep your sidewalk of those little brown nuts with their cute looking beret-like hats, think twice and slip one in your pocket. You never know where it will take you. I know of one little nut that’s gonna go far and (hopefully) do someone a world of good.

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