Plant Magic: Wisdom from the Green World

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Wood Anemone: Faery Flower, Witches’ Flower

The star-shaped wood anemone (Anemone nemorosa) flower is white with a ring of yellow at the center. The petals have a delicate vein pattern that looks like they were sketched on with a pencil. The flower closes its petals and droops on cloudy days, at night, and before it rains.

Commonly called windflower, the anemone was said to only open with the help of the wind. The Greeks had two legends about the flower. One is that the nymph Anemone fell in love with Zephyrus, god of the West Wind, but his jealous wife turned her into a wood anemone. The other is that the anemone grew from the tears of Aphrodite and the blood of Adonis when a wild bore killed him.

Although the Romans regarded the anemone as a lucky flower and wove it into chaplets, in later centuries it was sometimes associated with bad luck and called devil’s bite, possibly because of the irritant it contains. In spite of the name and skin irritation it may cause, the anemone was worn as an amulet for protection against sorcery.Believed to ward off witches, anemones were hung over doorways. Also believed to be used by them, in Germany anemone was called hexenblumen, “witches’ flower.” In England, picking the flowers was said to bring on thunderstorms and taking them into the house would attract lightning. That earned it the folk name thunderbolt.

Wood anemones were reputedly a favorite of the faeries, who were said to paint streaks on the petals in the moonlight. Faeries were also said to close the flowers when it rained and to use them as tents at night.

The energy of wood anemone supports courage and creativity, the emotions and relationships. For luck, blow on the first anemone you see and make a wish. To bolster determination, carry an anemone bulb in your purse or pocket. Plant anemones in your garden to bring harmony. When you see the flower close at dusk, say goodnight to the faery that may be inside.

 

 

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The author of over a dozen books, Sandra is an explorer of history, myth, and magic. Her writing has been featured in SageWoman, The Magical Times, The Portal, and Circle magazines, Utne Reader and Magical Buffet websites, and various Llewellyn almanacs. Although she is a member of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, she travels a solitary Goddess-centered path through the Druidic woods. She has lived in New York City, Europe, England, and now Maine where she lives in an 1850s farmhouse surrounded by meadows and woods.  

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