THE LUCK OF FLOWERS
It has been a favorite pastime with maidens in all ages to try to foretell their future by the aid of flowers and plants.
One of the most popular fancies is provided by the four-leaved clover, the story of which is told in various legends. One runs to the effect that three beautiful sisters, Faith, Hope and Charity, came from over the seas, and wherever they walked three-leaved clovers, crimson, white and yellow, bloomed profusely. In their footsteps came another more beautiful being, whose name was Love, and in his honor the clover added a fourth petal to the trefoil.
In time, it became the talisman of love-sick maidens, who wore it in their shoe to ensure a speedy meeting with their sweetheart, wore it over their heart to frighten away evil spirits and to prevent being jilted. In the case of a quarrel, it served to effect a reconciliation.
Apart from its sentimental associations, a four-leaved clover has long been regarded as an emblem of good luck, and has been worn by those who believe in such things when they wished to increase their chances of good fortune.
SPRING FLOWERS.—Naturally, many beliefs flourish around the flowers of the garden and the hedgerow.
If you chance to find the first flower of the season on a Monday, it means good luck.
If on a Tuesday, big undertakings are likely to be successful.
If on a Wednesday, it denotes your approaching wedding.
If on a Thursday, hard work with little profit will fall to your lot.
If on a Friday, unexpected wealth reaches you.
If on a Saturday, you may look out for misfortune.
If on a Sunday, phenomenal good luck will come to you.
THE FIRST WILD FLOWER.—From the first wild flowers which you gather in spring, it is possible to discover the initials of your future husband or wife. If, for instance, they should chance to be daisies, violets and buttercups, then expect to find some suitable person with the initials D. V. B., but they may not be necessarily in this order.
If someone presents you with a yellow flower, then you may expect a gift of money directly.
If you can turn a bluebell inside out without breaking it, then your lover will be true as long as both of you live.
No. 21.
THE PANSY.—If you wish to know your future destiny, pluck a pansy, which takes its name from pensee, a thought. Count the streaks or lines upon the petals.
Four streaks tell that your dearest wish will be fulfilled.
Five streaks stand for hope with fear.
Six streaks suggest a surprise.
Seven streaks tell of constancy in your lover.
Eight streaks, fickleness.
Nine streaks, a change and then riches.
Markings leaning towards the left denote trouble.
Markings leaning to the right denote prosperity.
Should the central streak be the longest, then Sunday should be chosen as your wedding day.
THE DAISY.—One of the oldest of flower charms is to pluck at the petals of a daisy or marguerite. At first pluck, these words are said, "He loves me"; at the second, "He loves me not." These sentences are repeated alternately until the flower is deprived of all its petals. Whichever sentence was uttered last describes "his" affections.
THE IVY.—
Ivy, ivy, I thee pluck,
And in my bosom, I thee put.
The first young man who speaks to me
My own true lover he shall be.
No. 22.
THE HAWTHORN OR MAY.—Once upon a time, every porch was decorated with a branch of May to avert the evil eye and prevent witchcraft, but the idea has been departed from, and now it is regarded as a harbinger of ill-luck, and is rarely brought inside a house.
THE MISTLETOE.—From very ancient times, this plant has been regarded with curious veneration. Probably it gained special fame, in the first instance, owing to the peculiar manner in which it grew. The Druids looked upon it as a plant possessing marvelous properties, and they esteemed nothing in the world more sacred than it. They gathered it when the moon was just six days old because the moon was then thought to be at its greatest power. This done, they sacrificed two young bullocks which were milk-white. After that, the mistletoe was cut into small pieces with the aid of a golden hook or bill and distributed among the people present. These took it home and suspended it in a prominent place to ward off evil spirits. From these associations, the mistletoe has become an emblem under which young people may kiss, without any evil coming to them through their act.
HOLLY is used as a Christmas decoration because the Romans chose it to hang in their houses on the fast in honor of Saturn. Friends gave bunches of it to those whom they wished to endow with luck and happiness, probably because the prickly leaves symbolized the crown of thorns worn by Christ and the red berries the blood of the cross.