_SUPERSTITIONS CONCERNING PLANTS._
Superstitions connected with plants were more numerous than those
connected with animals. We have already noticed widespread prevalence of
tree worship in early times. The Bible is full of evidence bearing upon
this point, from the earliest period of Jewish history until the time of
the captivity. Even concerning those Kings of Judah and Israel who are
recorded to have walked in the ways of their father David, it is
frequently remarked of them that they did not remove or hew down the
_groves_, but permitted them to remain a snare to the people. In several
instances the word translated grove cannot properly be applicable to a
grove of trees, but must signify something much smaller, for it is in
these instances described as being located in the temple. It can
therefore refer only to a tree or stump of a tree, or it may be only the
symbol of a tree. The story of the tree of good and evil, and the tree
of life, has been the origin of many superstitious notions regarding
trees. The notion that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was an
apple tree, caused the apple to have a great many mystic meanings, and
gave it a prominent place in many legends, and also brought it into
prominence as a divining medium. In many parts of Scotland the apple was
believed to have great influence in love affairs. If an apple seed were
shot between the fingers it was understood that it would, by the
direction of its flight, indicate the direction from which that person's
future partner in life would come. If a couple took an apple on St.
John's eve and cut it in two, and if the seeds on each half were found
to be equal in number, this was a token that these two would be soon
united in marriage; or if the halves contained an unequal number of
seeds, the one who possessed the half with the greater number would be
married first. If a seed were cut in two, it denoted trouble to the
party holding the larger portion of the seed. If two seeds were cut, it
denoted early death or widowhood to one of the parties. If the apple
were sour or sweet, the flavour indicated the temper of the parties.
There was a practice common among young people of peeling an apple in an
unbroken peel, and throwing the peeled skin over the right shoulder in
order to ascertain from the manner in which it fell, first, whether the
person who threw it would be married soon, and second, the trade or
profession of the person to whom they would be married. If the skin
after being thrown remained unbroken, they would be married soon, and
the person to whom they would be married was ascertained from the form
which the fallen skin presented; this form might assume the shape of a
letter, in that case it was the initial letter of the unknown parties
name, or it might assume the form of some trade tool, &c. Imagination
had free scope here. The apple tree itself was considered a lucky tree
to have near a house, but its principal virtue lay in the fruit.
_Holly_. This name is probably a corruption of the word holy, as this
plant has been used from time immemorial as a protection against evil
influence. It was hung round, or planted near houses, as a protection
against lightning. Its common use at Christmas is apparently the
survival of an ancient Roman custom, occurring during the festival to
Saturn, to which god the holly was dedicated. While the Romans were
holding this feast, which occurred about the time of the winter
solstice, they decked the outsides of their houses with holly; at the
same time the Christians were quietly celebrating the birth of Christ,
and to avoid detection they outwardly followed the custom of their
heathen neighbours, and decked their houses with holly also. In this way
the holly came to be connected with our Christmas customs. (See chapter
on Festivals.) This plant was also regarded as a symbol of the
resurrection. The use of mistletoe along with holly is probably due to
the notion that in winter the fairies took shelter under its leaves, and
that they protected all who sheltered the plant. The origin of kissing
under the mistletoe is considered to have come from our Saxon ancestors,
who regarded this plant as dedicated to _Friga_, the goddess of love.
The _Aspen_ was said to have been the tree on which Judas hanged himself
after the betrayal of his Master, and ever since its leaves have
trembled with shame.
The _Ash_ had wonderful influence. The old Christmas log was of ash
wood, and the use of it at this time was helpful to the future
prosperity of the family. Venomous animals, it was said, would not take
shelter under its branches. A carriage with its axles made of ash wood
was believed to go faster than a carriage with its axles made of any
other wood; and tools with handles made of this wood were supposed to
enable a man to do more work than he could do with tools whose handles
were not of ash. Hence the reason that ash wood is generally used for
tool handles. It was upon ash branches that witches were enabled to ride
through the air; and those who ate on St. John's eve the red buds of the
tree, were rendered invulnerable to witch influence.
The _Hazel_ was dedicated to the god _Thor_, and, in the Roman Catholic
Church, was esteemed a plant of great virtue for the cure of fevers.
When used as a divining rod, the rod, if it were cut on St. John's Day
or Good Friday, would be certain to be a successful instrument of
divination. A hazel rod was a badge of authority, and it was probably
this notion which caused it to be made use of by school masters. Among
the Romans, a hazel rod was also a symbol of authority.
The _Willow_, as might be expected, had many superstitious notions
connected with it, since, according to the authorized version of the
English Bible, the Israelites are said to have hung their harps on
willow trees. The weeping willow is said to have, ever since the time of
the Jews' captivity in Babylon, drooped its branches, in sympathy with
this circumstance. The common willow was held to be under the protection
of the devil, and it was said that, if any were to cast a knot upon a
young willow, and sit under it, and thereupon renounce his or her
baptism, the devil would confer upon them supernatural power.
The _Elder_, or _Bourtree_ had wonderful influence as a protection
against evil. Wherever it grew, witches were powerless. In this country,
gardens were protected by having elder trees planted at the entrance,
and sometimes hedges of this plant were trained round the garden. There
are very few old gardens in country places in which are not still seen
remains of the protecting elder tree. In my boyhood, I remember that my
brothers, sisters, and myself were warned against breaking a twig or
branch from the elder hedge which surrounded my grandfather's garden. We
were told at the time, as a reason for this prohibition, that it was
poisonous; but we discovered afterwards that there was another reason,
viz., that it was unlucky to break off even a small twig from a bourtree
bush. In some parts of the Continent this superstitious feeling is so
strong that, before pruning it, the gardener says--"Elder, elder, may I
cut thy branches?" If no response be heard, it is considered that assent
has been given, and then, after spitting three times, the pruner begins
his cutting. According to Montanus, elder wood formed a portion of the
fuel used in the burning of human bodies as a protection against evil
influences; and, within my own recollection, the driver of a hearse had
his whip handle made of elder wood for a similar reason. In some parts
of Scotland, people would not put a piece of elder wood into the fire,
and I have seen, not many years ago, pieces of this wood lying about
unused, when the neighbourhood was in great straits for firewood; but
none would use it, and when asked why? the answer was--"We don't know,
but folks say it is not lucky to burn the bourtree." It was believed
that children laid in a cradle made in whole or in part of elderwood,
would not sleep well, and were in danger of falling out of the cradle.
Elder berries, gathered on St. John's Eve, would prevent the possessor
suffering from witchcraft, and often bestowed upon their owners magical
powers. If the elder were planted in the form of a cross upon a new-made
grave, and if it bloomed, it was a sure sign that the soul of the dead
person was happy.
The _Onion_ was regarded as a symbol of the universe among the ancient
Egyptians, and many curious beliefs were associated with it. It was
believed by them that it attracted and absorbed infectious matters, and
was usually hung up in rooms to prevent maladies. This belief in the
absorptive virtue of the onion is prevalent even at the present day.
When a youth, I remember the following story being told, and implicitly
believed by all. There was once a certain king or nobleman who was in
want of a physician, and two celebrated doctors applied. As both could
not obtain the situation, they agreed among themselves that the one was
to try to poison the other, and he who succeeded in overcoming the
poison would thus be left free to fill the situation. They drew lots as
to who should first take the poison. The first dose given was a stewed
toad, but the party who took it immediately applied a poultice of peeled
onions over his stomach, and thus abstracted all the poison of the toad.
Two days after, the other doctor was given the onions to eat. He ate
them, and died. It was generally believed that a poultice of peeled
onions laid on the stomach, or underneath the armpits, would cure any
one who had taken poison. My mother would never use onions which had
lain for any length of time with their skins off.
So lately as 1849, Mr. J.B. Wolff, in the _Scientific American_, states
that he had charge of one hundred men on shipboard, cholera raging among
them; they had onions on board, which a number of the men freely ate,
and these were soon attacked by the cholera and nearly all died. As soon
as this discovery was made, the eating of the onions was forbidden. Mr.
Wolff came to the conclusion that onions should never be eaten during an
epidemic; he remarks, "After many years experience, I have found that
onions placed in a room where there is small-pox, will blister and
decompose with great rapidity,--not only so, but will prevent the spread
of disease;" and he thinks that, as a disinfectant, they have no equal,
only keep them out of the stomach.
It was believed that, when peeling onions, if an onion were stuck on the
point of the knife which was being used, it would prevent the eyes being
affected.
The common _Fern_, it was believed, was in flower at midnight on St.
John's Eve, and whoever got possession of the flower would be protected
from all evil influences, and would obtain a revelation of hidden
treasure.
_St.-John's-Wort_. In heathen mythology the summer solstice was a day
dedicated to the sun, and was believed to be a day on which witches held
their festivities. St.-John's-Wort was their symbolical plant, and
people were wont to judge from it whether their future would be lucky or
unlucky; as it grew they read in its progressive character their future
lot. The Christians dedicated this festive period to St. John the
Baptist, and the sacred plant was named St.-John's-Wort or root, and
became a talisman against evil. In one of the old romantic ballads a
young lady falls in love with a demon, who tells her
"Gin you wish to be Leman mine,
Lay aside the St.-John's-wort and the vervain."
When hung up on St. John's day together with a cross over the doors of
houses it kept out the devil and other evil spirits. To gather the root
on St. John's day morning at sunrise, and retain it in the house, gave
luck to the family in their undertakings, especially in those begun on
that day. Plants with _lady_ attached to their names were in ancient
times dedicated to some goddess; and in Christian times the term was
transferred to the Virgin Mary. Such plants have good qualities,
conferring protection and favour on their possessors.
From the earliest times the _Rose_ has been an emblem of silence.
_Eros_, in the Greek mythology, presents a rose to the god of silence,
and to this day _sub rosa_, or "under the rose," means the keeping of a
secret. Roses were used in very early times as a potent ingredient in
love philters. In Greece it was customary to leave bequests for the
maintenance of rose gardens, a custom which has come down to recent
times. Rose gardens were common during the middle ages. According to
Indian mythology, one of the wives of Vishna was found in a rose. In
Rome it was the custom to bless the rose on a certain Sunday, called
_Rose Sunday_. The custom of blessing the golden rose came into vogue
about the eleventh century. The golden rose thus consecrated was given
to princes as a mark of the Roman Pontifs' favour. In the east it is
still believed that the first rose was generated by a tear of the
prophet Mahomet, and it is further believed that on a certain day in the
year the rose has a heart of gold. In the West of Scotland if a white
rose bloomed in autumn it was a token of early death to some one, but if
a red rose did the same, it was a token of an early marriage. The red
rose, it was said, would not bloom over a grave. If a young girl had
several lovers, and wished to know which of them would be her husband,
she would take a rose leaf for each of her sweethearts, and naming each
leaf after the name of one of her lovers, she would watch them till one
after another they sank, and the last to sink would be her future
husband. Rose leaves thrown upon a fire gave good luck. If a rose bush
were pruned on St. John's eve, it would bloom again in the autumn.
Superstitions respecting the rose are more numerous in England than in
Scotland.
The _Lily_ had a sacredness associated with it, probably on account of
Christ's reference to it. It was employed as a charm against evil
influence, and as an antidote to love philters; but I am not aware of
any of these uses being put in practice during this century.
The four-leaved _Clover_ had extraordinary influence in preserving its
possessor from magical and witch influence, and enabled their possessors
also to see through any deceit or device which might be tried against
them. I have seen a group of young women within these few years
searching eagerly for this charmed plant.
The _Oak_, from time immemorial, has held a high place as a sacred tree.
The Druids worshipped the oak, and performed many of their rites under
the shadow of its branches. When Augustine preached Christianity to the
ancient Britons, he stood under an oak tree. The ancient Hebrews
evidently held the oak as a sacred tree. There is a tradition that
Abraham received his heavenly visitors under an oak. Rebekah's nurse was
buried under an oak, called afterwards the oak of weeping. Jacob buried
the idols of Shechem under an oak. It was under the oak of Ophra,
Gideon saw the angel sitting, who gave him instructions as to what he
was to do to free Israel. When Joshua and Israel made a covenant to
serve God, a great stone was set up in evidence under an oak that was by
the sanctuary of the Lord. The prophet sent to prophesy against Jeroboam
was found at Bethel sitting under an oak. Saul and his sons were buried
under an oak, and, according to Isaiah, idols were made of oak wood.
Abimelech was made king by the oak that was in Shechem. From these
proofs we need not be surprised that the oak continued to be held in
veneration, and was believed to possess virtues overcoming evil. During
last century its influence in curing diseases was believed in. The
toothache could be cured by boring with a nail the tooth or gum till
blood came, and then driving the nail into an oak tree. A child with
rupture could be cured by splitting an oak branch, and passing the child
through the opening backwards three times; if the splits grew together
afterwards, the child would be cured. The same was believed in as to the
ash tree. In the Presbytery Records of Lanark, 1664:--"Compeirs Margaret
Reid in the same parish, (Carnwath), suspect of witchcraft, and
confessed she put a woman newlie delivered, thrice through a green
halshe, for helping a grinding of the bellie; and that she carried a
sick child thrice about ane aikine post for curing of it." Such means of
curing diseases were practised within this century, and many things
connected with the oak were held potent as curatives.