language of flowers – Feminism and Religion

I was captivated by a bunch of wispy, weedy zinnia flowers on my dining-room table, with its bright blossoms sprinkled on the curling stems. The zinnias pulled me from my current obsession with sea goddesses into a different zone, into the Kingdom of Plants (Kingdom Plantae). The Plant Kingdom is an important part of Goddess manifest, having come into being long before the appearance of our human family. It’s no wonder that flowers and other members of the Plant Kingdom play an important part in the mythology of our ancestors worldwide.

*Zinnia Joy*, gouache on paper by Judith Shaw

Instead of sending a billet-doux to your honey, present a tussie-mussie, a small bouquet wrapped in a lace doily or a fancier holder. Say you have a friend having a birthday and he already has too many neckties and she already has too many kitchen gadgets. Give them flowers or potted plants. The white camellia signifies “unpretending excellence.” Ivy, “with its clinging habit, is a feminine symbol” (sic., p. 53). The lily means purity. The peony symbolizes abundance. The primrose is a token of affection and respect. Get the idea? Your friends will be delighted by the flowery language.

William Shakespeare, The Winter’s Tale — A fancy tussie-mussie

Here’s flowers for you:
Hot lavender, mints, savory, marjoram,
The marigold, that goes to bed wi’ the sun,
And with him rises weeping: these are flowers
Of middle summer….
—William Shakespeare, The Winter’s Tale Continue reading “The Language of Flowers by Barbara Ardinger”