![]() Growing it outside your home also helped to encourage harmony inside. People stuffed the leaves of the plant into the marital bed to promote fidelity and happiness. Which makes it an odd choice to associate with condemned men! Travellers might also carry periwinkle for protection. These protective qualities extended to the living, and people hung bunches or wreaths of periwinkle on front doors to protect those inside. Plucking it from a grave in Wales brought bad luck, and could even see you being haunted by the grave’s owner (Baker 2011: 121). Condemned men wore garlands of periwinkles as they travelled to the gallows in medieval England (Baker 2011: 121). Called ‘fiore di morte’ (death’s flower) in Italy, it appeared in funeral wreaths for children (Baker 2011: 121). Periwinkle grows naturally in graveyards so it gained many associations with death. Perhaps this is an example of magical plants having tangible effects. One snippet of folklore suggests that gazing at periwinkle flowers would restore lost memories (Dietz 2020: 229). Periwinkle is believed to be used to banish negative energy and restore mental clarity (Dietz 2020: 229). ![]() This is interesting because the plant also represents early recollections, memories, and sweet remembrance (Dietz 2020: 229). It contains vincamine which is used in modern medicine as a cerebral stimulant. Periwinkle does actually have a range of medicinal uses. As a result, the larkspur is sacred to Apollo. An ‘ai’ appears on the petals, being the Greek word for ‘alas’. In both tales, the hyakinthos plant, or larkspur, springs forth from his blood. It strikes Hyakinthos in the head and kills him. The jealous Zephyros controls the wind to catch Apollo’s quoit. In another variation, Apollo is playing quoits with Hyakinthos. In one variation, Hyakinthos chooses Zephyros. The myth has a few variations, but in both, Apollo (god of the sun) and Zephyros (god of the wind) love Hyakinthos, the Spartan prince. Larkspur and Greek MythĪccording to Aaron Atsma, the plant we call the hyacinth is not the flower in the myth of Hyakinthos and Apollo. People once used its flowers to make blue dye. Pink larkspurs meant fickleness, while purple larkspurs meant haughtiness (Valentine 1867: 75). In the language of flowers, larkspur means levity, lightness, and an open heart (Dietz 2020: 64). Meanwhile, people believed looking through bunches of larkspur at midsummer fires would protect the eyes from ailments for the coming year (Baker 2011: 89). They kept larkspur on their desks and glanced at it often to soothe their tired eyes (Baker 2011: 89). There are many links between larkspur and ‘seeing’, especially for scholars. Larkspur could keep ghosts at bay, while the flowers also frighten off scorpions (Cunningham 1985: 152). People in Transylvania kept dried larkspur in their stables to protect animals from witchcraft. This would explain its use in protection spells. Yet despite its toxicity, some think that soldiers used larkspur to help control body lice. It’s more harmful to cattle than humans when ingested. Thankfully, there’s not really much about the plant that would say “Hey, eat me!”.
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