THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Anemone

Lisa Karen Miller

“The first spring-blown anemone she in his doublet wove,

To keep him safe from pestilence wherever he should rove.”

          This delicate flower sprang up where Aphrodite’s tears fell as she wept over the death of Adonis, so it is sacred to her and her Roman counterpart, Venus. A multitude of flowers are reputed to have sprung from tears or blood, precious human bodily fluids.

          Anemone pulsatilla, or purple pasque flower, has strong association with Passover and Easter. Anemone virginiana, a wildflower native to Kentucky, is commonly called Thimbleweed because of the shape of the fruit it bears after flowering. It can be found in glades and open woods, and is especially partial to limestone.

          The red anemone has often been called the blood drops of Christ; it is said the flower grew under the cross and absorbed the blood that dripped from his wounds.

          Anemone is also called Windflower because it is said to open only when the wind blows in early spring.  A legend says that the same wind that blows it open will be the one to blow withered petals away. Its fragile blossoms are quickly scattered to the winds and lost, so it symbolizes brevity:

“The winds forbid the flowers to flourish long,

Which owe to winds their name in Grecian song.”

          In China, it is called the Flower of Death and is planted on graves, along with roses and lycoris.  It was among the plants used in garlands for ceremonial rites in ancient Greece.

          Most Europeans believed they carried disease, and so would hold their breath while passing them.  Anemone nemorosa was once thought to be the cause of all diseases. Ancient Egyptians considered it an emblem of sickness.

          Conversely, Romans plucked their blossoms as a charm against disease and fever.  They carried this practice to ancient Britain, where people would pluck the first anemone they saw, wrap it in a piece of clean white silk, and carry it about as protection against pestilence. While plucking, the plucker must say, “Anemone, I gather thee for a remedy against all disease.”

          It was often included in a lover’s bouquet of wildflowers, to protect the beloved from harm:

“The earliest flowers of spring

To thee, beloved, I bring:

Anemone and graceful adder’s-tongue,

With golden cowslips, yellow as the sun.”

          Look for anemones when you first venture out after a long winter indoors.

          It couldn’t hurt, could it?

© Copyright 2023 Lisa Karen Miller