MARCH FLOWER

The daffodil, also known as Jonquil or Narcissus, is often recognized as a yellow flower but other colour varieties are white and orange. It is a widely cultivated ornamental plant with clustered flowers and a trumpet shaped central crown. This fragrant flower is native to southern Europe.

Romans, who brought daffodils to Britain, believed the sap of the flower had healing powers and it is from Greek mythology that the word narcissus comes from. A nymph named Echo was in love with a young Greek named Narcissus but he ended their relationship. Heartbroken, Echo hid and died in a cave. The handsome, and somewhat egotistical, Narcissus saw his reflection in a pool of water and in an attempt to get a better look, fell in and drowned. The Greek myth says he then became the flower.

Christians have adopted the daffodil as a symbol of Easter as it was believed that the flower first bloomed during the time of Christ’s Resurrection. The legend says it was in the Garden of Gethsemane during the actual time of The Last Supper which symbolized great sorrow and hope for much better things to follow.

In Germany the flower is known as Ostergloken or ‘Easter bells’ and in England they are known as Lent Lillies where Prince Charles receives a single daffodil annually as a tradition. It is considered a rent payment for the unattended lands located in the Isles of Scilly.

The daffodil is also a symbolic flower for Wales while the national emblem is the Leek. In Welsh ‘cenhinen’ is leek and daffodil is ‘cenhinen pedr’ or Peter’s leek. Over time both were confused which is why each have been known as the official flower of that country.

The Druids saw that daffodils symbolized purity and accepted it as their national flower and Persians celebrate Nawruz (New Year’s) with daffodils. It is also a New Year’s decoration in China and Arabians used it as an aphrodisiac.

Daffodil juice was used as a cure for baldness by Medieval Arabs and Egyptians used narcissus as a wreath to hang at funerals.

It was believed that bad luck would occur if a single daffodil was taken into a home and the best way to avoid such misfortune was to give a full bouquet as a present and the household would be filled with good luck.

The word daffodil can be traced back to the 1500’s replacing the original name of ‘affodyle’, which meant ‘that which comes early.’ The word ‘de affodil,’ a Dutch adaptation of the Greek myth of asphodel is where the origin of the flower name is said to come from. The asphodel flower, according to the Greek myth, was associated with death as the flower blossomed over the meadows where the souls of the dead were said to wander.

The word ‘jonquil’ comes from ‘jonquillo’ a Spanish word meaning ‘rush’ as in a description of the leaves of the plant that are ‘rush-like.’

When giving a daffodil, the message being sent is “You Are An Angel.”

FEBRUARY FLOWER

The February flower is Violet.

This is a low, herbaceous plant that comes in various shades of blue, mauve, yellow and cream as well as several species identified as pansies and symbolize faithfulness, humility and chastity.

The violet has appeared in myth, paintings and literature in history.

Folklore tells us that Attis, a dying earth god, mutilated himself under a pine tree and as a result during spring equinox a felled pine tree would be brought to earth mother goddess Cybele. It would be wrapped in wool swaths decorated with violets, as it was believed they appeared from Attis’ blood on the ground.

A similar legend points to violets growing where Greek Ajax killed himself in shame over an act of cowardice. The Greek dramatist Aristophanes used the phrase “violet-crowned city” to describe Athens in one of his plays, and English historian Macauley did the same.

As the flower symbolizes love of truth, or the truth of love, the tomb of Roman tyrant Nero was said to be decorated with violets each spring by someone who had secretly admired or loved him.

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, violets are used to convey constancy and devotion and appear in lyrics to a song sung in Act IV, Scene 5 that states, “I would give some violets, but they withered all when my father died.”

Violets were apparently used as a food source for the Tartans having been cooked down into a soup. In the Middle Ages, Monks called them the Herb of the Trinity and favoured the violet for its scent. Medieval herbalists believed violets had antiseptic properties and claim they soothed pain and also stopped the growth of malignant tumors. Romans believed they cured spleen disorders and gout.

The word ‘volet’ is believed to originate from the word ‘vias’ which translates to mean ‘wayside.’

Hidden messages of the Violet included “I’ll Always Be True” (violet) and “Let’s Take A Chance” (White/Cream).

In the United States, the violet is a popular symbol with four states adopting it as a state flower. Wisconsin chose the wood violet in 1909 as state flower; Rhode Island selected it in 1897 and adopted that choice in 1968.

Illinois picked the violet as their state flower in 1907 and the ‘common meadow’ violet became the official state flower of New Jersey in 1971.
The flower associated with St. Valentine’s Day has often been identified as the rose, but in actual fact, the violet is connected to the Christian priest who was imprisoned by a Roman emperor. As the legend goes, St. Valentine kept encouraging believers with messages of friendship and love.

He apparently crushed violet blossoms found outside his cell to make ink, which he used to write on leaves with a dove delivering the messages.

American poetess Phoebe Fulkerson Harris documented the tradition of sending postcards and letters on St. Valentine’s Day with violets with her poem “Lines accompanying a bunch of violets sent on St. Valentine’s Day” in 1900.

It is also a well-known practice in New England to decorate a Valentine’s Day gift of a box of chocolates with a bouquet of violets.

JANUARY FLOWER

The January flower is the Carnation.

The carnation, also known by the nickname ‘carn,’ has been cultivated for centuries for its ruffled blooms, favoured for its fragrance and hardiness.

The scientific name Dianthus caryophyllus contains the Greek word ‘dianthus’ which means “flower of the gods,’ and the original pink blooms of the flower led to its common name which is said to mean ‘flesh toned.’

Others believe carnation gets its name from the word ‘coronation’ or the Greek word for ‘flower garlands’ which is ‘corone.’

This Eurasian plant has a spice scent, and is also called the Clove Pink or Gillyflower, and can be found in numerous colours ranging from pink to purple-red and are said the symbolize love, fascination and distinction.

As legend has it, pink carnations were said to have appeared below the Virgin Mary’s tears as Jesus carried the cross and as a result, the pink variety symbolizes a mother’s love.

This connection between the carnation and Mary was immortalized in the 1475 painting “The Madonna with the Carnation” by Leonardo da Vinci. It is housed in Munich, Germany as part of a collection of famous works and is also called the “Munich Madonna.”

Carnations carried the meanings of love, fascination and distinction.

Some of the specific messages attaches to Carnations include “My Heart Aches For you” (red), “I’ll Never Forget You” (pink), “You Have Disappointed me” (yellow) and “I Wish I Could Be With You”. 

Other meanings attached to carnation colours include passionate love (red), rejection or distain (yellow), innocence and steadfastness (white) and whimsical and capricious (purple).

Word of the Year for 2017: FOCUS

But the question then is--- what am I to FOCUS on, what is the FOCUS I am directed to in coming year? I have prayed and meditated, sought conscious contact with my Higher Power, my God & Savior. And JUST as the year turned from old to new:

Last night I slept very well and had several dreams. One I do remember, vividly. The Lord was there and He was showing me All About Flowers. All kinds of flowers, names, zones, climates, terrains, nicknames, meanings, x-rays & physical aspects I have no sensory means of perceiving with. It was amazing and it was beautiful and it was beyond words. And then.... at one point.... it occurred to me that the topic of gardening might be coming up and so I said to the Lord "I have no dirt".... meaning I cannot garden. Everything stopped. HE stopped, For awhile. I could not tell His mood, so to speak. And then.... He laughed! Heartily. About me telling him I had no dirt. Evidently. And then I saw all kinds of things.... drawing, painting, photography, collecting pictures, collecting & flattening flowers, learning Latin names, learning symbolic meanings, sewing, crocheting, WHATEVER......

And so, strange as it may seem, I believe the FOCUS for the upcoming time however long that may be is FLOWERS.

LUGHNASSA

Lughnasa (pronounced Loo-nassah) is one of the ancient Celtic feasts celebrated on August 1st marking the time of the beginning of the harvest and the gathering in. It is said to honor the Celtic sun-god Lugh who was an ally to the farmer in the struggle for food. With the Summer Solstice six weeks before, you can start to really feel the shortening of the days in August in Ireland. There is a subtle shift in the light and the air that leans towards autumn’s crispness and cooler days. The energy in the world is changing.

Autumn and winter are my favorite seasons so I love this time of just beginning to really feel the darkness growing. The doorway to mystery is beginning to open. In the mystical tradition of Christianity, darkness is seen as a rich time of incubation and rest. The fullness of summer’s growth has reached its peak and is now starting to wane and you can just begin to see the signs of nature moving toward her own storing up of energies for the journey inward the seasons ahead will invite.

Lughnasa is a time to gather in and to reap what has been sown. The other side of the wheel from Lughnasa is Imbolc, February 1st, when the very first signs of spring started to rumble awake on the earth. In these last six months, we have seen a cycle of flourishing and fecundity, both around us and perhaps also within.

It is sometimes thought of as the time of “first fruits” and is when the grain is gathered in. One of the central rituals for this feast is cutting the first corn and making it into a loaf for the Mass at church on August 1st or 2nd. In the Hebrides in Scotland, it is recorded that families would celebrate Lughnasa on August 15th in connection with the feast of the Assumption of Mary. Each family member would take a piece of the bread and walk sunwise around the festival fire and sing a song to Mary.

There is also an ancient tradition at this time of year in Ireland to go on pilgrimage, especially to climb the sacred mountains. The weather made for good traveling and sleeping under starlight. A pilgrimage is, of course, not a vacation, but an immersion in a landscape and a courting of holy disruption along the way.

~~~~~~ Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE

GOING ON A PILGRIMAGE THIS COMING YEAR

And just what is a pilgrimage? 

One definition:

A pilgrimage is a journey or search of moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith, although sometimes it can be a metaphorical journey into someone's own beliefs.

~~~~ Wikipedia

And another:

(Middle English, pilgrime, Old French, pelegrin,   derived from Latin peregrinum, supposed  origin, per and ager—with idea of wandering over a  distance).

Pilgrimages may be defined as journeys made to some place with the purpose of venerating it, or in order to ask there for supernatural aid, or to discharge some religious obligation.

~~~~ Catholic Encyclopedia

And so--- study on PILGRIMAGE begins. In the meantime, just call me Peregrina. 

FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT

And it appears I am in another time of transition. Again. Some more. Will this process ever be complete?

I guess it's because of things that are happening internally. I have written before about the sense of being in some kind of transition, and finding it disconcerting, confusing, maybe scary. One gets used to things how they are, one gets used to seeing themselves a certain way. Transition goes from one state of being to another, in such a way that nothing will be the same again. Using Labor & Delivery as a metaphor, first we're not a mother, then we are-- even if we lose the child then or at any time after, first we have X children, now we have X+1, and so on and so forth.

For me, I have seen myself in a vocation, of a "Sermon on the Mount" variety, for many years, and am both good and bad with that, comfortable & uncomfortable. I especially noticed something late last week, when I was participating in an End-of-Life Planning Meeting with a family in conflict over these issues, among themselves, and with their nursing home resident, who is his own person. No details needed about the meeting, but I had some kind of silvery thing happen and became very nostalgic, like looking at an old movie.

The process of "leaving" that vocation is well in process now. No real outward changes to report. I am still going to work, have no indication that I can "retire" (my husband will not even rationally discuss me retiring before I turn at least 68), and have pretty much resigned from or otherwise let everything else go, as concerns lay ministry. HOWEVER.

The time is HERE, and the Lord Himself is to be my Focus, and my Ministry.

I can't see how this will go, how it might look. 

My husband requires an enormous amount of attention, and I have four adult children plus three grandchildren to think about. I'm not the best wife (two divorces thus far prove that) and there have been all kinds of issues with the kids, so I guess it's fair to say that I get, at best, "mixed reviews" as a mother/stepmother. 

I've got a very good work reputation (not bragging, it appears to be fact) but have never made much in the way of salary and have no idea if whatever service I could render was of temporary, permanent, or eternal benefit. I've also been valued as part of various lay ministries, and some protests were made about me leaving some of these now, till I could explain, however poorly and briefly, that I am aware of a "change in season" from the Holy Spirit, and then was blessed to have had that confirmed by leadership in the not too distant past.

About all I know is that the Lord Himself, who has appeared to me a few times requesting that I comfort Him (as I've told you) is going to start showing me HOW to do so. And this will be for the rest of my life, now and perhaps into Eternity.

I hope this makes sense. I will report on my progress or lack thereof as we proceed. BTW: I have no idea where sewing/quilting fits into this change. Maybe it's to "distract" me as I leave work, make it easier to do so, by being another kind of work, with a different purpose. The lack of clarity as to purpose of sewing/quilting for me parallels my lack of clarity with change in focus in general.