In Wales, often used in predicting love, weather forecasting, as well as protection from spirits and the tylwyth teg. We have a lot of rituals and superstitions tied to them, and being a lover of using flowers in spells I’ve spent some time compiling an introduction to Welsh flower divination/magic use…
NOTE:These associations are geared to Welsh traditions. I think taking bio-region and culture into account is important when using flowers in magic, so yours might be different.
Bluebell(hyacinthoides nonscripta)
Spring. Enchantment and subsequent danger. The faerie realm. Do not venture in a wood to pick bluebells or you may be led astray. A field of bluebells indicates faery magic is at work, and the ringing of the flowers is a death omen. Take great care when working with them for they are prized among the folk.
Daffodil(narcissus poeticus)
Early spring. Water. Association with two Saints; Saint David and Saint Peter. In some areas they are called “babies’ bells” but only babies and children can hear their ringing, suggesting connection to the faerie realm. It is bad luck to see one blooming alone.
Daisy(bellis perennis)
Spring. Water. Returning innocence and cleansing burdens. Known as llygad y dydd, “eye of the day”.Used in matters of love, especially in the youth. One will pluck a daisy with a question in mind, and with each removed petal chant, “much- a little - devotedly -not at all”, with the last petal determining the question. It is said those who die young are reborn as daisies.
Forget-Me-Not(myositis species)
The Moon. Earth. Prosperity. Hidden wealth. Powerful when used for talismans and wealth spells. Unlucky for lovers. Do not trust faeries or apparitions who hold them in their hand.
Foxglove(digitalis)
Summer. A sacred and deadly plant associated with the Ellyllon, the Welsh grove faeries. Known as “meng ellyllon” as they and their Queen Mab wear the blooms as gloves. Used as offerings to earn their favour.
Lilac(syringa vulgaris)
Water. Predicting rain, working with rain. Ill omen if brought into the house. Guarding the dead. Mourning. The colour is said to bring on madness if gazed at too long.
Marigold(calendula)
Sun. Fire. Extroverted manifestation. Predicting storms, as they close when it will rain. Hang a garland on the doorknob to protect from evil spirits. Can used for yes/no or other picking choices in divination.
Meadowsweet(filipendula ulmaria)
Late summer. Death, eternal slumber, as well as brides. Gwydion and Math used meadowsweet (alongside oak and broom) to form the maiden Blodeuwedd. Useful in love spells, especially if done before the flower blooms in the wild.
Pansy(viola tricolor)
Water. Love. Marriage, partnership, all matters of the heart. A flower associated with brides. Do not gather on sunny days as it will rain and disappointment will follow.
Primrose(primula vulgaris)
Winter and early spring. Youth. A cure for pain and frenzy. Used in love drinks and potions, which become dangerously potent. They indicate the presence of faeries and can be used as offerings, but seeing them bloom in the summer is a bad omen.
Scarlet Pimpernel (anagallis arvensis)
Spring and Fall. Predicting rain. Known as “ploughman’s weatherglass” for their weather-predicting abilities. Said to cure melancholia and keep sad thoughts from those who wear them. Useful for sleep spells or banishing lower spirits.
Sources and further reading:
The Physicians of Myddfai
Britain’s Wild Flowers, Rosamond Richardson
Folk-lore and folk-stories of Wales, Marie Trevelyan
British Goblins: Welsh Fairy Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions, Wirt Sikes
The Sacred Twenty Eight: The Noble and Most Ancient Houses of Nott and Rowle
Ergi, the Rowles called them And sneered, But the Notts only smiled And wove on in silence. They might be ergi, but they were seiðmenn And they would never be blót.
The common wizards and witches of Britain had their own version of a very muggle saying - out of the frying pan and into the fire. Theirs was a little… different. For it went like this:
Fleeing the Blacks only to cross the Notts.
The Blacks were dangerous, but nine times out of ten you knew precisely where you stood with them - they wore their hearts on their sleeves. If you insulted them, you could rest assured they would curse you, probably using some obscure dark curse no one had heard of and things would be well. Mostly.
But if you crossed a Nott, you’d never know it. They merely smiled and continued as though nothing were wrong at all. Excessively well-bred, always courteous - haute ton. But once you had left, they would return home, still smiling, and take down an ancient distaff and spindle; magical objects passed down from generation to generation for each Nott versed in the magical art of Seiðr.
Magical Britain laughed at divination and called it a fuzzy art with no magical grounding, for charlatans and their ilk, and the Notts agreed with them. Crystal balls, tea leaves, reading sticks - amateurs. The future was what people made it, what a talented seiðmenn orseiðkonurcould make it. The future was whatever the Notts chose to weave on their tapestries. Each thread, carefully placed, turning thought into reality, fiction into non-fiction, lies into truth.
None knew this better than the Rowles. They had learnt firsthand, many centuries ago, that mocking the Notts - these students of Odin - came with a price. A blood price that might have been honor to those who paid it but was a blood price nonetheless.
The Rowles might have been warrior-shamans; berserkers invulnerable in battle; but the might of the sword or even crude magical power could not withstand the implacable weaving and reweaving of reality and fate that the Notts took part in. Theirs was deeper magic, darker magic, terrifying magic and when the Rowles and Notts came to England with the first of the Vikings to rule Scotland, they brought rumours of what the Notts could do to people when crossed and people fearedthem.Fearedthese mild mannered men and women who refused to let this new religion called Christianity and its sociopolitical order sway them; who failed to conform to the new order’s strict regimentation of gender and male and female occupations; who smiled when people spurned them and smiled even wider when their mockers were slowly ruined piece by piece.
So not a murmur was heard when Proserpina Nott, aged 16, took up the family seat in the Wizengamot in 1734 though she was the youngest of the Notts and had not yet finished her schooling. The Ministry kept mum when Tiresias Nott refused to use their curriculum when teaching divination and instead taught his pupils trance magic and weaving: the beginnings of Seiðr. Wizengamot members cast their eyes downwards when Isembardus Nott stood up to make speeches, lest he see the judgement in their eyes when he painted his face and persisted in wearing pompadour wigs in public (it was 1854). People turned the the other way when Cantankerus Nott, pureblood fanatic extraordinaire, put half his fortune into muggle stocks and bonds. And no one dared say a word when Charles Nott stood a little too close to Antinous Lestrange at Ministry press conferences.
No. Only the foolish with a death wish ever crossed the path of a Nott. For they would have their revenge, these children of Guðrún, protégés of Odin and their revenge would be cold, dark and terror-filled as the houses of Hel.
Myths on Magic: The Web Of Time from THE HOLY BIBLE, Containing the Old Testament, AND THE NEW: Newly Translated out of the Original tongues: & with the former Translations diligently compared and revised, with some Account of the Histories, Teachings and Workings of magic, by the Chief Warlock’s special commandment, Translators Unknown, 1715.
Now in those days, it was such that the eyes of men were loosened from the bonds of time and for them, night and day was as naught but a blinking of the eye, for they were as God and as for him, a thousand years is but one day, so for them, a thousand years was as a single day.
And it came to pass that those who walked among them and possessed the gift of magic grew discontent and they said unto themselves, “Come, let us fashion for ourselves a future after our fancy.” For they had been given such power as to steward time itself and thus, turn the future to their liking.
“For why,” they said, “Should we be mere stewards, when we might be lords?”
So saying, they began a great weaving with time and sought to bind it to their will with their threads.
And the LORD came among them to see the weavings they wove for the future.
And the LORD said “Behold, the people are as one, and they have such Sight; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
“Come, let us go down, and there, set a restraint upon their eyes, that a day be no more than the turning of a night and a day in their eyes and a thousand years be vaster than they may conceive of.”
So the LORD set a restraint upon their eyes and cast them thence from the weaving they had begun. And there he appointed three angels to guard the weaving, lest there return one who sought to bend the will of the world to his will.
And so struck with blindness, they turned to the LORD in terror and begged him to have mercy upon them.
“For we sought only to be as you,” they cried.
And the LORD had mercy upon them. To some he gave the gift of Sight, loosening the restraints upon their eyes, that they might see and that they might serve as but stewards and not lords of time, but to them he tied their tongues that they may speak in riddles so only those who heard would understand.
So it was that the Sight first entered the world and time was set as straight as a builder’s line: for the LORD declared that a day was to be no more to the eye as but the turning of a day and a night and a thousand years, a countless number of days, too great for the eye to see and to comprehend.
(The idea of time as a web owes its genesis to the webs that appear in LightningOnTheWave’s Sacrifices Arc. The story is a loose allegory to the story of the Tower of Babel.)
Tasseomancy or Tasseography is the practice and process of using tea leaves or coffee grounds to forecast, understand, or improve upcoming or current events. This can be used for planning ahead, or for personal growth, healing and development. One nearly finished a loose herbal concoction, and then flips the remaining biological powders onto a small plate. They then scry based off of the shapes or symbols the leaves lie in. Below are aspects to consider whilst using this method of divination.
Interpretations:
Symbolism:
There are numerous factors to consider from a representation approach. Which is why most use a plate and cup inscribed with key symbols with their corresponding location. That aside, animals, numerology, symbols, or signs also are important to be considered by the placement of the herbal remains as well.
Directions:
Most practitioners divide their cup into segments of based off of the directions, zodiac signs, planetary symbols, and elemental aspects. Hence, the beautiful aesthetic from the almanac or legend of a Tasseography tea-set. Considering that each direction has its own element and meaning in countless cultures across the world, there is many ways to interpret this from the Feng Shui Bagua, the Pentagram, or Earth Medicine almanacs.
First Glance:
The first thing you notice or recognize as a symbol is something that is important to consider, although should not be your only takeaway. Intuition at its finest will help provide clarity because your first sight is just as important as your analyzed inquiry. Once both are considered and potentially seen as a synchronization, you will have your takeaway.
Horizontal:
Considering this element is massively important because it is the method or process of seeing one’s entire life in a past, present, and future manner. This can be an essential aspect for those who are trying for introspection, emotional healing, or personal growth. The left is past influences, the middle is current events, and the right is upcoming occasions.
Symbolism:
Animals:
Bird:
Fortune, positivity, wealth, travel, freedom,and a likely exploration.
Butterfly:
Transformation, accomplishment, and pleasure.
Dragon:
Massive and sudden shifts or changes lie ahead of you.
Eagle:
Attainment, admiration, nobility, favour, and reserves.
Elephant:
Immense prosperity, wellbeing, and luck are ahead.
Owl:
Deceit, deception, loss, probable illness, or deprivation.
Pig:
Faithful love and romance, but jealous or lying friends.
Rat:
Defeats or failures from adversaries, possibly in a job sense.
Worms:
Deceit, treachery, dishonesty, and deception, defeat, or loss.
Nature:
Clouds:
If clear, trails and troubles are to come. If surrounded by dots, monetary success is coming.
Clover:
Upcoming luck. The higher up its located, the sooner it will come.
Mountain:
Forthcoming impediments, obstacles, and challenges.
Runes are an Ancient Germanic Alphabet that many use for divination. They can also be used as sigils because each Rune holds its own meaning. Witches write out the Runic Alphabet on small stones, bones, or marbles and gently toss them into a vessel and scry based on where they land or what falls at all.
The Elder Futhark:
The Elder Futhark is the oldest form of the Runic Alphabet, and is consisted of three aspects of three different deities being Freyja’s, Heimdall’s, and Tyr’s Aetts. Each Rune has a meaning and its own correspondences. The Younger Futhark are also referred to as Scandinavian runes, is considered to be a reduced form of the Elder Futhark, but still remains a runic alphabet with sixteen characters. These were most prominently used through the ninth century.
Freya’s Aett:
ᚠ Fehu:
Freya’s Rune, domestic cattle, power and position gained by your own hand, earned prosperity or regard.
ᚢ Uruz:
Auroch’s Horns, forces beyond our control are afoot, so stay serene and let it the process flow.
ᚦ Thursiaz:
Thor’s Rune, thorns and defense, protection within and around oneself or space, and security.
ᚱ Raido:
The Chariot, travel, intellect, logic, the arts, journey, action, effort, change, progress, and movement.
ᚲ Kenzaz:
The Torch, bending nature towards your will, paving your own way through with blazing passion..
ᚷ Gebo:
Sacrifice, substitution, replacement, exchange, trade, offering up something for something better in return.
ᚹ Wunjo:
Strength in bliss, companionship, splendor, delight, pleasure, happiness, company, and camaraderie.
Heimdal’s Aett:
ᚻ Hagalaz:
Precipitation, particularly Hail, Duality. Purging Chaos. The union of opposites. Fire and ice.
ᚾ Naudiz:
Determination, character, endurance, independence, desperation, self-reliance, force, and effort.
ᛁ Isa:
Ice, perfect stillness, introspection, sanctuary in seclusion, contemplation, being frozen.
ᛃ Jera:
Harvest, time, reaping what is sown, enjoying the fruits of your labors, abundance from work.
ᛇ Ahwaz:
Stability, reliability, firmly planted, grounded, connected, to be deeply rooted,
ᛈ Pertho:
The grail, mystery, magick, femininity, secrets, reproduction, fertility, nether regions.
ᛇ Eiwaz:
Horns of a stag, labor and sacrifice for development and growth, high strength of will.
ᛋ Sowilo:
The Sun, transformation, productivity, maturity. movement, achievement.
Tyr’s Aett:
ᛉ Algiz:
Odin’s Rune, defensive protection, intellect and wisdom, divine connection, and interaction.
ᛏ Tiwaz:
Tyr’s Rune, authority, power, leadership, honor, admiration, regard, and reverence.
ᛒ Berkanano:
The Birch Tree, new beginnings, openings, and journeys ahead. Growth and cycles.
ᛖ Ehwaz:
Horses, coordination, movement, independent cooperation to achieve the same goal.
ᛗ Mannaz:
Memories, union, fellowship, connection, the collective of humanity, harmony and peace.
ᛚ Laguz:
Leek, fluidity, emotion, insight, subconscious, processing, & divinity of the lake’s waters.
ᛝ Ingwaz:
Masculinity, fertility, potential, new perspectives, and opportunities, ripe with chance.
ᛟ Othila:
The hearth and home, sacred family, ancestral property, stability, inheritance, and hospitality.
ᛞ Dagaz:
Duality, balance, union of opposites, the day and night, oppositions finding peace.
Astragalomancy or Astragyromancy is a procedure of divination cast by throwing five dice, teeth, or bones engraved with celestial symbols, numbers, or letters. The placement and symbolism of each particular thrown item matters. In prehistoric times, mammal knuckles were primarily used in Astragyromancy.
Belomancy:
A structure of divination used by monitoring and examining the passage, performance, and landing of arrows during and after being shot off by a Bow. Different structures of arrows and materials should also be taken into account. This is not to be mistaken for or confused with Rhabdomancy’s use of arrows.
Cartomancy:
The use of playing cards, tarot, or oracle decks to gain insight into current, past, or future personal affairs. Crucial in personal development and individual progress from a spiritual standpoint. Each suit in playing cards represents a suit in tarot, with different elements and senses of their own.
Cleromancy:
A form of divination in which one is to cast a lot based off of random chance or divine will. “Casting a lot” is often gently tossing objects with their each individual significant meanings to analyze the pattern in which they land. There are so very numerous unique varieties and procedures to this.
Cowrie Shells:
Cowrie shells have been used for numerous purposes throughout different cultures across all time, created in Arica ranging from West Africa, Santeria, and Candomblé. There are effectively several different procedures to use these stunning shells for divination as well.
Favomancy:
This technique of Cleromancy involves casting a lot employing beans. The origins of Favomancy come from the Ubykh of Russia. However, most archaic methods were lost through the passing of time and are now open to interpretation. I must admit I wish I knew more about this fascinating concept.
Osteomancy:
The use of bone casting for divinatory purposes or perspective. Each distinct bone has covers a specific aspect of your life, and are thrown in order to determine your current position. Certain bones have specific values but the arrangement of the bones also should be considered.
Rhabdomancy:
Rhabdomancy is a kind of Cleromancy including the use of casting rods, wands, branches, or something similar. There are various ways to do this, but is most frequently used to cast lots for answering questions or insight. The items could range from arrows to dowels which I find incredible from a possibility prospect.
Rune-casting:
Rune casting is a process of divination in which a practitioner uses small items such as stones, crystal tumbles, or chips in order to determine ones current circumstances and upcoming opportunities. Runes are also extraordinarily commonly used as words of power and sigils but are predominantly established for this.
Tasseomancy:
A technique of divination developed by just about polishing off your cup of loose tea, and then flipping the tea leaves onto a plate for evaluation. Representation plays key to reading tea leaves, and all figures, characters, and placements account for something. Can also be preformed with coffee grounds or wine fragments.
Theriomancy:
Divination involving animals through either observing their movements, reactions, or demeanor’s shifts. Wildlife themselves have intuition and abilities that are easier for them to stay connected with. Almost all of these are also forms of Augury.
