Spiritual Meanings and Language of Herbs and Flowers

We are so very fortunate to be able to have gardens during the growing season and to enjoy the harvest of the many varieties of herbs and flowers to use throughout the year.

There are spiritual meanings and love attached to most herbs and flowers. Messages are sent in bouquets, dried herb combinations, and in a single sprig given with good intention.

The "Tussie-Mussies" is an example of a flower message. Originally called "talking bouquets" and "word posies," Tussie-Mussies are sweet smelling and symbolic flower arrangements that Victorians exchanged in lieu of written greetings. There were actual dictionaries written to decipher the bouquet's meaning. Of course, they were originally developed for women to hold to their noses to banish unpleasant odors, but, as wonderful aside, they were also used to send a romantic or spiritual message or a reminder that they are card for. Depending on which herbs and flowers are used in the little bouquet, it can say anything from " I am thinking kind thoughts of you" to "Meet me behind the barn at midnight." Today, they are still crafted around the world and gifted to men and women alike.

There are too many message plants to list in this article, bu the following are some that you can perhaps gift to friends and family for ritual, healing, or culinary use. Scent can be a joyful experience physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The added comments, in parenthesis, are for your reading entertainment.

Anise and anise star: Consecration, divination, prevent nightmares, protection, purification and youth
Apple: Love, friendship, and immortality (fibre)
Basil: Clairvoyance, divination, harmony, honesty, love, protections, psychic development, and purification (pesto)
Bay: Wisdom protection, clairvoyance, and purification
Blessed Thistle: Purification, protection, and motherhood (placing on people's chairs as a prank)
Buckthorn: Protection, wishes, and Elf magic
Burdock: Protection, healing, and Earth magic
Carnation: Protection, strength, healing, and vitality
Catnip: Cat magic, attracts good spirits, love, luck, beauty, and celebration (cat bribery)
Cedar: Healing, courage, purification, and protection
Chamomile: Sleep, meditation, love, and purification ( do not drink this tea if you are studying for exams
Cinnamon: Healing, knowledge, love lust, power, protection, psychic awareness, spirituality and success
Clover: Protection, love fidelity, and success
Coltsfoot: Peace, tranquility, promotes visions, and is used in spells involving animals
Comfrey: Healing, money, and travel safety
Copal Resin: Love and purification
Cyclamen: Love, truth, fertility, and happiness
Dill: Love and protects children ( great with cucumbers)
Elder Berry: Nature magic and protection (wine)
Elder Flowers: Seeking knowledge and crone magic
Eucalyptus: Healing, Australian Aboriginal magic, and protection
Frankincense Resin: Spirituality, protection, and consecration
Ginger: Success, love, Passion, and inspiration (great when candied)
Ginseng: Attracting love, luck, health and wishes
Hibiscus: Love and divination
Honeysuckle: Psychic awareness, memory, healing, power, and honesty
Hops and Flowers: Healing and sleep (not just for beer)
Hyacinth: Love and protection (You can sprout these anytime in a glass bulb vase)
Juniper Berries: Protection, health, and it increases psychic powers ( not just for making Gin)
Lavender: Love, peace, happiness, clairvoyance, and sleep
Lemon Balm: Esbat rituals, love and healing
Lilac: Protection(and the base for one of the worst perfumes on the planet)
Marigold: Fresh or dried flowers for protection and prophetic dreams
Mistletoe: Protection, love, fertility, and health (smooching)
Motherwort: Ease childbirth and female strength
Myrrh Resin: Spirituality, healing, and protection
Narcissus: Peace and harmony, love, fertility, and luck (pungent odor, not for gifting to hospital patients)
Passion Flower: Peace, sleep, friendship, and calming
Patchouli: Fertility, protection, and divination (Flashbacks to the 60's)
Pennyroyal: Strength, protection and peace
Pepper, Black: Protection and strength (soups and stews)
Peppermint: Love, psychic awareness, mental stimulant and energy
Pine: Healing, protection, and fertility
Primrose: Protection and love
Rose: Love, beauty, psychic powers, divination, healing, luck and protection
Rose Geranium: Protection, fertility, love, and health
Rosemary: Strega magic, memory , youth , protection, and love
Sage: Wisdom, animal guides, and wishes
Sandalwood: Spirituality, protection, wishes and healing
Sweet Pea: Friendship, courage and strength (more flashbacks to the 60's)
Thyme: Health, courage, purification, and attracting faeries
Violet: Animal guide work, beauty, wishes, peace, love protection, and transformation
Wormwood: Psychic powers, animals, calling spirits, protection, love and transformation
Yarrow Flowers: Courage, happy marriage, love, psychic powers, and longevity

Plants are necessity in our lives. Allow the language of herbs and flowers to speak to you and provide you with inspiration and comfort throughout the year.

Provided by Alice F. Pauser (Circle Magazine)