THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Daisy

Lisa Karen Miller

“Bright flowers whose home is everywhere.” William Wordsworth

          In Hamlet, Ophelia goes to her watery grave wearing a crown of daisies, crowfoot, and nettles.  Shakespeare’s suggestion is that she wore a wedding garland of weeds, not flowers, betokening her failed romance with the Danish prince.  

          This flower’s genus name, Bellis perennis, tells of its value to the military – “bellum” means war. Roman doctors used it to treat battlefield wounds; it fended off infection and encouraged healing. The name could also derive from the Latin word for pretty.

           John Gerard, author of the first important English herbal, wrote, “The leaves stamped take away bruises and swellings….whereupon it was called in old time Bruisewort. The juice of leaves and rootes snift up into the nostrils purgeth the head mightilie, and helpeth the Megrim” (migraine).

          Pounded with unsalted butter, “Day’s Eye” was a treatment for joint pain and gout.

          Daisies were also used in divination.  We are familiar with the old “He loves me, he loves me not” exercise with the petals, but the French give it a new twist. Instead of an all-or-nothing approach to affection, they prefer to view the entire spectrum of sentiment: “He loves me a little, madly, sometimes, or not at all.”

          This is certainly more realistic, it must be said.

          Linked to the spring equinox, daisies signal that brighter days are coming.  In England, the traditional onset of spring is when you can put your foot down on nine daisies at once.

          Dreaming of daisies in spring or summer brings good fortune, but the opposite the rest of the year. Sleeping with daisies under your pillow will encourage an absent lover to return. Wearing a daisy chain will protect you from being abducted by fairies. 

          Symbolizing purity and innocence, they were often used in simple country weddings. They also represent resilience, as they survive being trampled relatively unharmed.

          In Norse mythology, the daisy is sacred to Freya, the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility. It became associated with child bearing, and was often given to new mothers.

          An old Celtic legend says that whenever an infant died, God scattered daisies on earth to brighten the spirits of grieving parents.

          The blossoms are edible, and can be used fresh in salads, drinks, and desserts.

          The saying “fresh as a daisy” derived from its habit of opening anew each morning and closing at night. It suggested the person was well rested.

          Pestered by neither insects nor diseases, the carefree daisy adorns our world for free.

© Copyright 2023 Lisa Karen Miller