Flowers ... what a secret language all their own that they hold within their petals....
This is an area of thought that is sometimes found listed under divination veins of thought. There are areas of floral divination that aren't classified as being in the florigraphy theme of thought:
Like the child's game of blowing the seeds of the dandelion while making a wish - object to have all the seeds dislodge with one puff and the seeds would carry your wish to the heavens or to help them become planted. Rub a dandelion's yellow bloom on your chin or nose to see if you will find love - the pollen (yellow dust) if it clings, is a yes.How many of you looked for a four-leaf clover for luck? (Though some believe that the five or six leaf clover is better luck than the four-leaf one.)
As far as actual divination ... the common thought form of using flowers is the mental imagery of a young woman sitting out in a field of flowers plucking off of a daisy's petals while asking a simple yes-no question (i.e. he loves me, he loves me not) until the last petal reveals the answer.
There are also a couple of other divinational methods with flowers you can read the brief outline about on the Divinational Table Of Terms Page ...
But the most common usage of the flowers was more so to send messages than divination. Yep folks, you guessed it ... sometimes those bouquets of flowers meant more than a "was just thinking of you" sentiment. Just like the women used to have a secret language with how they held or spread out their fans at social events, so did the flowers they exchanged with friends or lovers. It is reputed to have been used more actively for sending between lovers - preferring to risk trusting a henchman or a slave over an irate parent or possible spouse to discover - well, at least not risking an intercepted letter written by hand.
But the system wasn't infallible and open to falsification. The messenger could hand the floral missive to someone other than the one it was intended for; due to lateness of night or lighting or other reasons. Makes one wonder how often a lover waited at a garden gate to whisk off his beloved only to find her not there waiting for him or that (when too late) realizing the deception that had occurred. Or even the accidental placing of a flower into the "message" could set things up for a setback!
But man has always appreciated the beauty of nature and it's blooms, florigraphy still exists to some extent in the 1990's and in some aspect, Valentine's Day has helped foster it as well!
Below is a table of I set up for you to browse thru and see for yourself how intense the sentiments to some flowers are ... I tried to set those that shared meanings together. I hope you enjoy reading this interesting "language" and perhaps it will give you an idea or two for your garden or even on the next floral arrangement you send. *smile* I think you will also notice that sentimental thought attachment was not restricted to just posies - but also included nuts, trees, and other plants.
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Posted June, 1998 © Carol aka Secretive
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The Language Of Flowers; Margaret Pickston; Micheal Joseph LTD., 52 Bedford Square, London WC1; 1968.
The Complete Book Of Fortune; Anonymous; Bracken Books
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Copyright © 1997