A Lesson in Luck : Post Merz PostHaste Issue 14

I have lucky and unlucky jewellery. Hear me out...

I once bought a beautiful silver bracelet, a delicate chain with two interlocking rings attached, not an expensive piece, not from a fine jewellers, yet I felt drawn to it the moment I saw it sitting in its little box on the shelf.

Having long-admired the beautifully crafted Algerian Love Knot necklace - a piece by Sophie Harley - worn by Eva Green in the 2006 James Bond Casino Royale, I had been on a quest for something similar. 

I was looking for jewellery that represented love, luck, soul ties, etc, and I enjoyed the aesthetic of a knot and all it represents in a romantic sense.

On this quest, I had already collected a statement pair of knotted silver earrings, and was in search of a necklace to match. 

Though arguably ideally a gift from a partner, I decided to buy such 'love knottish things' for myself, with the mindset that it would 'give the same kind of vibe' and may even work magically to optimise my tricky relationship.

Alas, after a valiant search of the high street in my home town, all I happened upon was this bracelet. I liked it and decided that - although not exactly right - it would do nicely. So I bought it, put it on immediately, and I wore it nonstop.

The bracelet was very pretty, it made my wist look elegant, and I immediately felt the powerful symbolism of the interlocking rings. I saw my relationship dangling at the end of my arm whenever I glanced down: at work, at dinner, in the bath. 

The bracelet was attached to me 24/7. Though I could feel it digging into me when I slept with it on, I had chosen this item to magic some love and luck into my life, so my rationale was that if I took it off, I might miss out.

However, over the weeks that this went on, I began to feel that things were not going at all well for me. I felt down, the love interest was increasingly distant by the day, work was throwing up obstacles left, right and centre, and I was losing sleep.

Somehow, wearing the bracelet through difficult times, touching the bracelet on my wrist in a self-soothing motion - using it almost like a rosary - started to give me an unpleasant feeling. I began to worry that it was bad luck.

At first, I could brush this feeling off as ‘superstitious nonsense’. Yet the more I thought about it, the more I felt it. What if my lucky charm was having the opposite effect? What if even thinking that this piece of jewellery could bring bad luck was actually causing it to do just that? 

How much power do our thoughts hold when it comes to making our own ‘good’ and ‘bad’ luck?

Then, one night, I couldn’t take it any more: 3 in the morning and I'm tearing the bracelet off, I can't stand it on my wrist any longer; in a fit of sleep-deprived fervour, I have decided that my lovely new bracelet is bad luck. 

From then on, I could scarcely wear it. Even looking at it for too long in my jewellery box might do some harm. And where to keep it? Surely if I left the thing nesting with the rest of my jewellery it might do some damage.

The whole concept seemed odd to me; was the stress of my new job causing me to lose my mind, or was my superstition rooted in something real? After all, who doesn't own an item they call lucky? 

I wondered if my bracelet was unlucky because it wasn't bought for me by a special someone as a symbol of our love - or happened upon by me in a stroke of luck - rather bought by me, for myself, to force something that wasn't there: an artificial charm, destined to fail at its task.

Several months on, I started to wonder: just what makes something lucky or unlucky? Why do we develop superstitions around items we own, and is it possible to create good or bad luck purely through thinking?

If you have seen the 1999 film, La Fille sur le Pont (The Girl on the Bridge), you'll know of and may subscribe to the idea that we are all capable of making our own luck in life; the central theme of the film is the idea that our own luck can change in an instant.

Growing up I was always told: "The luckier you feel, the luckier you will be", and being a witchy type myself, prone to relying on TikTok tarot readers to tell me what my boyfriend is thinking, I've heard a lot about 'manifestation' and the power to project thoughts into reality. 

With this logic, it's probably sound to say that my negative association with the bracelet led me to believe in its unlucky nature, and the 'secret' to creating good luck lies in openness and positivity.

However, while it is important to stay in touch with the power of negative or positive thinking, it has to be said that some things can't be solved with a simple token like my bracelet. 

Sometimes, life - complicated as it is - has a way of working itself out without the help of outside influences. So, in future, perhaps it's better if I leave it all to chance. In the inimitable words of Kylie Minogue: I should be so lucky.

Find the full publication at : https://www.blurb.co.uk/b/1213...