If you’re looking for a little bit of luck, I’ve already written about clover and aventurine in the past . . . but today is the big one: leprechauns!
. . . That said, though, you might not want to go messing with any “wee green men.” The oldest stories about them describe them as mischievous water spirits, the sorts of fairies who only grant wishes when they’ve been trapped. And even then, they often wind up getting revenge one way or another afterward.
The name “leprechaun” most likely comes from the Middle Irish word luchorpan, meaning “little body.” The first stories about “luchorpan” describe watery tricksters, as above. Somewhere along the line, that idea melded with the “Cluricaune,” another Irish fairy–this one even more cunning. The cluricaune was thought of as male and solitary, haunting basements and smoking pipes.
No matter their heritage, leprechauns in most stories are shoemakers (cobblers). And, of course, there is frequent reference to a pot or purse of unending gold . . . which the leprechaun usually hides away and guards fiercely, so don’t even think about it! As it turns out, the luck that the leprechaun is most concerned with is his own. You’re probably better off creating your own luck, too. 😉
Selected Sources
I used my copy of Matthews’ and Matthews’ The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures (2005). There’s also a short but quite detailed Oxford Reference page online about cluricaunes, and a great archive of leprechaun stories here.
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