Mythical flowers. Mythical plants. In what form are plants used in magic?
Let's take a look at what mythical plants are known in Indian traditions. World tree in the mythological model of the world of the Indo-Europeans, it is a symbol of the unity of three worlds - the upper (heavenly), middle (ground) and lower (underground). According to these beliefs, the crown of the World Tree reaches the heavens, the roots descend into the underworld, and the trunk marks the center of the earth, its axis. Relative to the surface of the earth, the trunk of the World Tree symbolizes the center of the main directions: east, west, north and south. Therefore, the World Tree is surrounded by four more gods with their sacred animals, indicating the cardinal directions. In Indian mythology, the axis of the three worlds is Mount Meru, but the symbolism of the World Tree is also present in many other myths.
Hindu mythology often mentions a tree growing in the Primordial Ocean. According to some sources, this is the Vetas tree, which grew during the creation of the world from fragments of the shell of the Golden Egg. Apparently, he has a real prototype, because vetas trees are mentioned in many sources as growing in nature. According to other sources, Narayana, the Supreme God, reclines on the leaf of a banyan tree floating on the primordial waters (Nara), and sucks his toe, symbolizing eternity. In another version of this myth, Narayana in the form of a baby reclines on the branches of a banyan tree growing from the Primordial Ocean.
In the Upanishads, the metaphor of creation is asvattha (pippal), “the root of which is above, and the branches grow down.” In the mythological symbolism of the Mahabharata, the nyagrodha tree (Sanskrit nyag-rodha – “growing downwards”) appears as the equivalent of the “world tree”. The name is explained by the specific structure of this plant: its branches-roots go down and grow into the ground. Ashwattha, pippal, banyan, nyagrodha are the names of plants from the ficus genus, which will be discussed later.
Mythical plants. Parijata tree.
The Parijata tree, obtained from the churning of the ocean, was planted in his garden by the god Indra, the king of the gods and the ruler of the heavenly world of Indraloka. The tree's bark was made of gold, and it was decorated with sprouting young copper-colored leaves and branches with numerous clusters of fragrant fruits. Rishi Narada brought a flower from this tree as a gift to his friend Krishna, who gave it to one of his wives, Rukmini. Narada informed Krishna's other wife, Satyabhama, about this, being surprised that the flower was not presented to her as his beloved wife. Satyabhama, of course, was upset, and then Narada advised her to ask Krishna as a gift of the Parijata tree itself in order to plant it near the house. But the tree belonged to Indra, who would not part with it voluntarily, and Krishna would have to kidnap Parijat. Having given such advice, the sage flew to Indra and warned him to guard the tree more strictly, after which he began to wait for events to develop.
Satyabhama retired to the “room of anger”, where wives who felt unhappy retired. When Krishna came to her, she asked to give her the Parijata tree as a proof of love. Sneaking into Indra's garden, Krishna began to dig up Parijata to carry away the tree with its roots and plant it near Satyabhama's house. Indra appeared here, however, seeing who the kidnapper was - after all, Krishna was an avatar of the god Vishnu - he generously allowed the tree to be taken away. Krishna proved his love to both wives by planting a tree in Satyabhama's garden, but its branches extended over Rukmini's garden, dropping its flowers there. After the death of Krishna, the city of Dwarka, where he lived, sank into the ocean, and the Parijata tree returned to heaven.
Probably, before “returning to heaven,” this wonderful tree managed to reproduce, since parijata trees, or har singhar, still grow in India. Their flowers resemble jasmine, but the corolla tubes are colored Orange color. Asvagosa, the spiritual mentor of King Kanishka, when describing the jungles of the lower belt of the Himalayas, mentions many beautiful trees, including parijata, shining in their grandeur and towering royally above other trees burdened with lush flowering. They are widely distributed in the gardens of eastern Rajasthan.
Mythical plants. Kalpa-vriksha.
The Indian epic often mentions Kalpa-vriksha, translated as “desire tree,” the image of which is depicted in ancient Indian sculptural decorations. According to legend, you need to stand under the branches of a tree and it will give everything that is asked of it. Kalpa Vriksha is dedicated to one of the earliest sculptures of vegetation in India. It was created in Besnagar in the 3rd century BC. and is now in the Calcutta Museum. M. Radhava describes this tree as a banyan tree, at the foot of which are depicted pitchers and a shell from which coins and lotus flowers fall. Kalpa-vriksha is also often called the coconut tree.
It is believed that kalpa-vrikshas used to grow in the forest of Vrindavan, Krishna’s favorite playground in childhood, but what kind of trees they were could not be determined. According to the Hare Krishnas, these trees did not fulfill the wishes of every person who approached them with a request. First the supplicant had to become a devotee of Lord Krishna. The wish tree is impartial and free from material attachments. It bestows fulfillment of desires only on those who deserve such mercy.
Indian botanist K.M. Vaid is inclined to consider the prototype of this magic tree baobab, but baobabs do not grow in India. Perhaps Vaid meant shemal (shalmali) - a cotton tree from the genus Bombax, the species of which are often also called baobabs. Cotton or silk tree (B. malabaricum or B. ceiba) is one of the largest trees in India. This tree is called cotton because its fruits contain a lot of fine hairs, which are used instead of cotton wool. In spring, its long branches are covered with scarlet cup-shaped flowers, “which makes the tree look like the many-armed goddess Lakshmi, who holds red lamps in her palms” (M. Randhawa).
Mythical plants. Jambu tree.
The Puranas tell of seven mythical continents, the innermost of which is our world. This world is called Jambudvipa (Djambu continent) after the name of the mythical Jambu tree, which grows on one of the mountains. The fruits of this tree are the size of an elephant, when ripe, they fall on the mountain, and their juice forms the Jambu River, the waters of which bring health and life. There is also a real jambu tree, or “pink apple tree,” that can be grown.
In Buddhist cosmogony, Jambudvipa is one of the four continents of the universe, the world of people, located on the southern side of Mount Sumeru. In the north of the mainland, between the Snezhnaya and Incense mountains, there is the dwelling of the king of dragons and the quadrangular Mapama Sea, on the shores of which the Jambu tree grows. The tree gets its name from the sound “jambu” with which its ripe fruits fall into the sea. Some of them serve as food for the king of dragons, and some turn into gold from the Jambu River, which is called “gold-bearing river”. Even further north lives the king of the trees, Sala.
Rich Greek mythology, of course, could not ignore the world of flowers and plants. Some myths telling about the history of their creation are known throughout the world and are especially popular.
In particular, the myth about the rose(Greek rhodo/triandaphyllo).
According to the mythology of the ancient Greeks, the rose was created by the goddess of flowers and vegetation, Flora.
Once Flora found in the forest the lifeless body of one of the nymphs, who were distinguished by their extraordinary beauty. Her sadness was so great that she turned her already lifeless body into a flower. But it didn't end there. The goddess of flora called the goddess of love Aphrodite and the god of wine Dionysus for help. Aphrodite gifted the flower with beauty, and Dionysus complemented her gift with nectar for a sweet fragrance. The wind god Zephyr (the western wind that dominated the Eastern Mediterranean) dispersed the clouds with his blow, allowing the sun god Apollo to shine with all his might and help the flower to bloom.
This is how the rose was created and this is why the Greeks called it the “Queen of Flowers.”
Peony - medicinal flower
It is believed that peony (Greek peonia) received its name from the healing deity Peonas, Peon or Penionas, famous, according to Homer, for healing Hades and Ares from injuries.
Peon treated with medicinal herbs. The myth associated with the peony flower says that Peon was a student of Asclepius himself, the god of medicine and healing. One day, Leto (Greek Leto) - the mother of Apollo and the fertility goddess Artemis - taught him how to get a magical root growing on Olympus, which could relieve the pain of women during childbirth. Asclepius, overcome with envy, tried to kill his student, and then Zeus saved Paeon from the wrath of Asclepius by turning him into a peony.
It is noteworthy that in ancient times the seeds of this flower were actually used to treat pregnant women.
Anemone - flower of the wind
The name of the flower is associated with the love story of Adonis and Aphrodite. According to myth, one day Adonis went into the forest to hunt, where, however, he was waiting for him ex-lover Aphrodite - the god of war Ares (Aris), who was incredibly jealous of Aphrodite for Adonis, because of whose beautiful eyes she left him.
Aris turned into a wild boar and attacked Adonis, mortally wounding the latter. Aphrodite, hearing the groans of Adonis, rushed to look for him. But it was already too late...
Inconsolable Aphrodite hugged the lifeless body of her beloved, sprinkling nectar on the wound. From blood mixed with nectar, a surprising beautiful flower. Only the life of this flower turned out to be very short: with a blow of the wind (Greek anemos), the buds of the flower open, while with subsequent gusts its petals scatter in different directions, far, far away... That is why the flower is called “anemone” (Greek anemone) or “anemoluludo”, that is, “wind flower”.
Adonis or wild poppy
It should be noted that drops of Adonis’s blood contributed to the appearance of another flower, endowed with healing properties. It’s called “Adonis”... Actually, we are talking about a wild poppy (agriopaparuna) with bright red, literally flaming petals against the backdrop of green meadows, as if reminding everyone of the droplets of Adonis’s blood. It is no coincidence that the red poppy was considered by the ancient Greeks to be a symbol of the power of love fire, as well as peace of mind, sleep and oblivion of eternity.
Maria Shonus-Afanasiadi
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. The role of Plants in mythopoetic ideas is determined primarily by the presence of a special plant “vegetarian” code, which is associated with the participation of plants in numerous classification systems. In a single plant image, embodying universal concept world, the world tree and its variants appear - the tree of life, the tree of knowledge, the shamanic tree, etc. The exclusive role of plants - wild and especially cultivated - in human life has contributed to the mythologization of the entire context in which plants appear, starting with the earth, understood as the mother's womb of plants and life in general, and ending with all the favorable factors influencing plants ( rain, winds, hail and so on.). The field itself (as well as the plants) was often represented as a living creature, a pregnant woman expecting offspring, or a grave hiding dead grain. In different traditions, a huge number of deities are associated with R., the earth that generates them, and the general idea of plant fertility - Gaia, Demeter, Persephone (and Kore), Dionysus, Narcissus, Hyacinth; Flora, Ceres, Virbium; Soma , Aranyani ; Ukko and others. In many traditions, R.’s isomorphism to man is also highlighted. There are mythologies about a god or a person hanging on a tree (Scandinavian Odin on a tree Yggdrasil, a Celtic deity on a tree, Jesus Christ on the tree of the cross, etc.), about a person growing from R. or sprouting in the form of R. (“germination » Osiris; the so-called gardens of Adonis, despite the fact that Adonis himself was born from the world tree; Attis in the form of flowers and trees; plant past of Dionysus; connection with trees of nymphs and dryads, etc.), about the transformation of mythological characters into R., in particular into flowers (Daphne, Narcissus, Hyacinth, etc.), about conception from the fetus of R. [the daughter of the Sangarios River conceived Attis from eating the fruit of an almond (option: pomegranate) tree], about the origin of R. from the blood or body of a mythological character. The symbolism of fertility, prosperity, wealth, new life, expressed in the plant code, is manifested in stories about how in this tradition they learned to grow R.; Wed Eleusinian mysteries as a memory of Demeter’s transfer of the beginnings of agriculture and grains of wheat to Triptolemus, personifying triple plowing of the earth, or how people (gods) learned to prepare an intoxicating drink from R., the consumption of which gives strength, prosperity, increases fertility, and opens the way to new life ( the highest form of such a divine drink is the drink of immortality, tasted by the gods). Special myths connect R. itself with a mythological character transformed into him, and with the drink obtained from him ( Soma in Indian tradition, goddess Mayahuel among Central American Indians, etc.). In Greek mythology, the motives associated with Dionysus are known: his birth from the thunderer Zeus, who struck Dionysus’ mother Semele with lightning, dismemberment by the titans (in the cult of Dionysus- Zagreya ), teaching people viticulture and winemaking, etc., in the Mesoamerican tradition - stories about the birth in the underworld (sometimes in a place struck by the arrow of the thunder god) of the god of maize, about the origin of its different parts edible fruits etc. In folklore, this scheme corresponds to numerous texts such as “John Barleycorn”, where an intoxicating drink (beer, ale, etc.) is prepared from the seeds (grains) of a personified plant. Many R. or their flowers and fruits are correlated with images male and female reproductive principles. eternal life and fertility can also be realized on the material of the totality of R., forming a garden, which in some cases is understood as paradise. In the biblical version, the tree of life and the tree of knowledge grow in paradise. In the Slavic mythological tradition, the symbolism of paradise is also associated with ai tree (or egg , containing cattle), and with increasing plant power, the harvest of bread (the image of paradise-loaf), and with a personified image of fertility - Paradise, sometimes alternating with another pronounced plant symbol of fertility (in some cases excessive, spiraling out of control ) - Let's spore.
In cosmogonic myths, Plants appear as actually the first object of everything that appeared or was created by the gods. At the same time, as an object of mythological and ritual systems, Plants crystallized later than animals. The core of mythopoetic ideas about Plants presupposes already more or less developed agricultural cults, and, consequently, agriculture itself, which appeared much later than cattle breeding and, especially, hunting and fishing. The late mythologization of Plants probably explains the weak (unlike animals) and also limited connection of Plants with totemism, which is noted primarily in the most archaic cultures familiar with the most primitive agriculture (the Papuans of New Guinea, etc.). Among the Marindanim tribe, totemic myths are characterized by the presence of such motifs as the origin of the banana, coconut palm, sugar cane, etc., which are well known outside the totemic scheme. The Germanic tribe of Semnones derived their origin from the trees of a certain grove, which they considered sacred; among European peoples there were widespread beliefs that people take babies from under trees (cf. German Kleinkinderbaum, lit., “tree of little children”) or that the souls of ancestors live in the tree, branches, leaves, flowers, etc. ( cf. a common motif of the divine voice or human voices heard in the rustling of leaves, and its use in predictions, the sphere of mantle and magic). D.K. Zelenin associated with totemism and the so-called. “construction” sacrifices, considered as compensation for cutting down trees from which a house, bridge, etc. was built. In folk beliefs, trees are often with each other (and even with people with special abilities), they cannot be beaten, chopped, sawed, defile. For the same reason, numerous taboos, signs, beliefs, etc. are often associated with trees and other Plants. Plants are often considered as the dwelling of evil spirits, evil spirits (aspen, elderberry, mandrake root). Particularly widespread are ideas about Plant spirits as carriers of the properties of a given Plant. Among them are the so-called grain spirits or demons, who were often represented in human or animal form: “bread mother”, “bread woman”, “bread old man”, “bread maiden”, “mother of bread”, “mother of rice”, “ rye man”, “oat bride” or “bread wolves”, “rye dogs”, “rye pigs”, “rye heifers”, “rye hares”, etc. It is characteristic that many typical plant deities (Dionysus, Demeter, Attis, Virbiy, etc. ) also have animal attributes (and sometimes hypostases). In folklore, the harvest itself is often likened to a bloody feast, a murder. In a number of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean traditions, there was a ritual of mourning the first harvested sheaf. In some cases, agricultural rituals embodied the most general idea of fertility (Christmas tree, willow or so-called "maypole" V Western Europe, bringing in a sacred branch, days of flowers, holidays like Roman floralia , Serbo-Croatian and partly Bulgarian "Lazarice" And "Kralice" , Green Yuri , Yarilina day I; Wed also curling a birch tree a day Trinity , Makovey , apple, etc. "saves" in Christianized Slavic traditions etc.), and in others they were devoted to specific cycles of the spring-summer season and corresponding agricultural work (meeting spring, going out into the field, sowing, harvesting, harvest festival, etc.; in the same row there are such ancient Greek rituals such as sacred plowing in the month of Pianepsion, timed to coincide with thesmophoria, cooking beans for the pre-plowing sacrifice, preparing and distributing sacred porridge, qualified as “all-grain”). Plant symbols in their natural and processed (food, drinks) form, ritual games and amusements, as well as corresponding texts ranging from indecent jokes to the theme of death (mourning) largely determine all other holidays not directly related to agricultural issues and themes Plants, primarily marriage rites (among the Greeks, the patroness of marriage and marriage unions were the goddesses of earthly fertility Demeter and Persephone - Thesmophores, i.e. legislators) and funerals. Plants are an important attribute of the ceremony of choosing a leader, poetic and other competitions, courts, etc. A special class of myths and ethnological legends explain the appearance and spread of cultivated Plants. Often their origin is associated with the activities of a cultural hero. The objects of mythologization are not only the Plants themselves, but also their roots, leaves, branches, as well as those parts that express the quintessence of not only this, but all Plants in general (flowers, fruit, grain, seed). The fruit (fruit) in various mythological traditions symbolizes the idea of abundance, fertility, success, harvest; in spiritual terms - wisdom (in heraldry - happiness, luck, peace, etc.). In Christianity, the fruit is a symbol of heavenly bliss, virtue, an attribute of the Virgin Mary. The forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is associated with apple, fig, lemon, orange, pomegranate, pear, quince. Spiritual fruit - in the Christian tradition is represented by a fig tree with fruits on it and flowers, plum, grapevine, etc. Grain and seed are the most common and deep of all plant symbols, emphasizing the idea of the continuity of the development of life and fertility (in the animal code corresponds to an egg).
Not only trees and other large plants, but also grass, moss and other objects are subject to mythologization flora. Grass often acts as a symbol ordinary people, humility, subordination, obscurity, inconspicuousness, but also usefulness. In the Japanese tradition, there is a known opposition between grass as the feminine principle and trees as the masculine principle. Ideas of longevity and health are associated with grass. In a number of traditions, there is a widespread idea of grass as the hair of a certain first man, from whose members the earth or Universe . Some mythologically marked herbs are widely used in rituals.
Special systems symbolic meanings form flowers and
V.N. Toporov Plants Myths of the Peoples of the World in 2 volumes. M., 1992
PLANTS. The role of R. in mythopoetic ideas is determined primarily by the presence of a special plant (“vegetative”) code, which is associated with R.’s participation in numerous classification systems. A single plant image that embodies the universal concept of the world is the world tree (see. World tree and its variants - tree of life, tree of knowledge, shamanic tree, etc.). The exclusive role of R. - wild and especially cultivated - in human life contributed to the mythologization of the entire context in which R. act, starting with the earth, understood as R.’s mother’s womb and life in general, and ending with all the favorable factors, influencing the river (rain, winds, hail, etc.). The field itself (as well as R.) was often imagined as a living creature, a pregnant woman expecting offspring, or a grave hiding dead grain.
In different traditions, a huge number of deities are associated with R., the earth that generates them, and the general idea of plant fertility - Gaia, Demeter, Persephone (and Kore), Dionysus, Narcissus, Hyacinth; Flora, Ceres, Virbius; Soma, Ara-nyani; Ukko et al.
In many traditions, R.’s isomorphism to man is also highlighted. There are mythologies about a god or a man hanging on a tree (Scandinavian Odin on a tree Yggdrasil, a Celtic deity on a tree, Jesus Christ on the tree of the cross, etc.), about a person growing from R. or sprouting in the form of R. (“germination” of Osiris; the so-called gardens of Adonis, despite the fact that Adonis himself was born from the world tree; the rebirth of Attis in the form of flowers and trees; the plant past of Dionysus; connection with the trees of nymphs and dryads, etc.), about the transformation of mythological characters into R., in particular into flowers (Daphne, Narcissus, Hyacinth, etc.), about conception from the fruit of R. [the daughter of the Sangarios River conceived Attis from eating the fruit of an almond (option: pomegranate) tree], about the origin of R. from the blood or body of a mythological character.
The symbolism of fertility, prosperity, wealth, new life, expressed in the plant code, is manifested in stories about how in this tradition they learned to grow R.; Wed the Eleusinian mysteries as a memory of Demeter’s transfer of the rudiments of agriculture and grains of wheat to Triptolemus, personifying the triple plowing of the earth, or how people (gods) learned to prepare an intoxicating drink from R., the consumption of which gives strength, prosperity, and increases fertility, opens the way to new life (the highest form of such a divine drink is the drink of immortality, tasted by the gods). Special myths connect R. itself with a mythological character transformed into it, and with the drink obtained from it (Soma in the Indian tradition, the goddess Mayahuel among the Central American Indians, etc.). In Greek mythology, the motives associated with Dionysus are known for his birth from the thunderer Zeus, who struck Dionysus’ mother Semele with lightning, dismemberment by the titans (in the cult of Dionysus-Zagreus), teaching people viticulture and winemaking, etc., in Mesoamerican tradition - stories about the birth in the underworld (sometimes in a place struck by the arrow of the thunder god) of the god of maize, about the origin of edible fruits from its different parts, etc. In folklore, this scheme corresponds to numerous texts such as “John Barleycorn ", where an intoxicating drink (beer, ale, etc.) is prepared from the seeds (grains) of a personalized plant. Many R. or their flowers and fruits are correlated with images of the male and female reproductive principles. The idea of eternal life and fertility can also be realized on the material of the totality of R., forming a garden, which in some cases is understood as paradise. In the biblical version, the tree of life and the tree of knowledge grow in paradise. In the Slavic mythological tradition, the symbolism of paradise is associated with the tree of paradise (or an egg containing cattle), and with increasing plant power, the harvest of bread (the image of paradise-loaf), and with the personified image of fertility - Paradise, sometimes alternating with another pronounced plant symbol of fertility (in some cases excessive, breaking out of control) - Sporum.
In cosmogonic myths, R. act as actually the first object of everything that appeared or was created by the gods. At the same time, as an object of mythological and ritual systems, R. crystallized later than animals. The core of mythopoetic ideas about agriculture presupposes already more or less developed agricultural cults, and, consequently, agriculture itself, which appeared much later than cattle breeding and, especially, hunting and fishing. The late mythologization of R. probably explains the weak (unlike animals) and, moreover, limited connection of R. with totemism, which is noted primarily in the most archaic cultures familiar with the most primitive agriculture (among Pas. -puas of New Guinea, etc.). Among the Marindanim tribe, totemic myths are characterized by the presence of such motifs as the origin of the banana, coconut tree, sugar cane, etc., which are well known outside the totemic scheme. The Germanic tribe of Semnones derived their origin from the trees of one grove, which they considered sacred; European peoples had widespread beliefs that people take babies from under trees (cf. German Kleinkinderbaum, lit., “tree of little children”) or that the souls of ancestors live in the tree, branches, leaves, flowers, etc. . p. (cf. the common motif of the divine voice or human voices heard in the rustling of leaves, and its use in predictions, the sphere of mantle and magic). D.K. Zelenin associated with totemism and the so-called. “construction” sacrifices, considered as compensation for cutting down trees from which a house, bridge, etc. was built. In folk beliefs, trees are often perceived as living beings: they feel, breathe, speak to each other friend (and even with people who have special abilities), they cannot be beaten, chopped, sawed, or desecrated. For the same reason, trees and other R. are often associated with numerous taboos, signs, beliefs, etc. R. are often considered as the dwelling of evil spirits, evil spirits (aspen, elderberry, root mandra-mountains). Particularly widespread are ideas about the spirits of R. as carriers of the properties of a given R. Among them are the so-called. bread spirits or demons, who were often represented in human or animal form: “bread mother”, “bread woman”, “bread old man”, “maiden of bread”, “mother of bread”, “ mother of rice”, “rye man”, “oat bride” or “grain wolves”, “rye dogs”, “rye pigs”, “rye heifers”, “rye hares”, etc. Characteristic that many typical plant deities (Dionysus, Demeter, Attis, Virbius, etc.) also have animal attributes (and sometimes hypostases). In folklore, the harvest itself is often likened to a bloody feast or murder. In a number of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean traditions, there was a ritual of mourning the first compressed sheaf. In some cases, agricultural rituals embodied the most general idea of fertility (Christmas tree, willow or the so-called “Maypole” in Western Europe, the introduction of a sacred branch, flower days, holidays such as Roman floralia, Serbo-Croatian and partly Bulgarian “Lazaritsa” and “Kralitsa”, Green Yuri, Yarilin’s day; cf. also the curling of the birch tree on the day of Trinity, Mako-vei, apple and other “spas” in Christianized Slavic traditions, etc.) , and in others they were devoted to specific cycles of the spring-summer season and corresponding agricultural work (meeting spring, going out into the field, sowing, harvesting, harvest festival, etc.; in the same row there are such ancient Greek rituals as sacred plowing in the month of Pianepsion, timed to coincide with thesmophoria, cooking beans for the pre-plowing sacrifice, preparing and distributing sacred porridge, qualified as “all-grain”). Plant symbols in their natural and processed form (food, drinks), ritual games and amusements, as well as corresponding texts ranging from indecent jokes to the theme of death (mourning) largely determine all other holidays, directly completely unrelated to agricultural issues and the topic of agriculture, primarily marriage rites (among the Greeks, the goddesses of earthly fertility Demeter and Persephone - Thesmophora, i.e. legislators) and funerals were the patronesses of marriage and marriage unions. R. is an important attribute of the ceremony of choosing a leader, poetic and other competitions, trials, etc. A special class of myths and ethnological legends explain the emergence and spread of cultural R. Their origin is often associated with the activities of a cultural hero.
The objects of mythologization become not only the flowers themselves, but also their roots, leaves, branches, as well as those parts that express the quintessence of not only this, but all flowers in general (flowers, fruit, grain, seed). The fruit (fruit) in various mythological traditions symbolizes the idea of abundance, fertility, success, harvest; in spiritual terms - wisdom (in heraldry - happiness, luck, peace, etc.). In Christianity, the fruit is a symbol of heavenly bliss, virtue, an attribute of the Virgin Mary. The forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is associated with apple, fig, lemon, orange, pomegranate, pear, quince. Spiritual fruit - in the Christian tradition is represented by a fig tree with fruits on it and flowers, plum, grapevine, etc. Grain and seed - the most common and deep of all plant symbols, emphasizing the idea of the continuity of the development of life and fertility (in the animal code they correspond to an egg).
Bamboo plays a significant role in Chinese and Japanese symbolism and is one of the attributes of New Year's, wedding and funeral images.
In a number of traditions, the birch symbolizes light, radiance, purity, obscurity, femininity, etc. In the Druidic tradition, the birch is the tree of the beginning, a symbol of the first month of the year (December 24 - January 21). In Rome, attributes made of birch were used when the consul joined the board. In Scotland, birch was associated with ideas about the dead.
Hawthorn in the Celtic tradition is the tree of the deity of winter and darkness; in another version, related to the same theme, the hawthorn is the father of Olwen, who, due to the heavy large eyelashes that covered his shoulders, was unable to see before until they (like the Slavic Viy) lifted an eyelash with a pitchfork. The Celts considered the hawthorn a tree of forced chastity. He associated with May as a month of ritual abstinence from sexual intercourse, which later became a month of orgiastic ritual festivities around the “May” tree. In Ancient Greece, hawthorn branches were lit on the altars of Hymen, and flowers decorated the bride at the marriage ceremony (cf. Russian hawthorn, hawthorn, young lady). In the Christian tradition it is associated with the Virgin Mary.
In the mythopoetic representations of different peoples, elderberry belongs to the group of, as a rule, dubious R. associated with misfortune, death, evil spirits, and creatures of the chthonic type. In some versions of the Christian tradition, Judas hanged himself from an elder tree; at the same time, some Christian authors call it the tree of the crucifixion. In Ireland, it was believed that witches used elderberry twigs as horses. The elderberry is associated with sending bad dreams, sometimes divinations (cf. the mythologized image of the elderberry in “The Golden Pot” by E. T. A. Hoffmann). At the same time, among the Prussians, elderberry is a sacred tree. Under it live Pushkaits and the gnomes-barzduks and marco-polis who are in his service.
The beech often acts as a symbol of majesty, prosperity, honor and victory, perseverance and fullness of vitality. Later, the symbolism of writing, literal knowledge, and literature begins to be associated with it (Russian letter, Anglo-Saxon boc, English book “book”, etc.).
In a number of traditions, the pomegranate acts as a paradise (golden) apple, a fruit from the tree of knowledge, a miraculous remedy (in a number of fairy tales). In Ancient Greece it was considered an image of death, oblivion, but also of divine food, hope for immortality, which is explained in the myth of Persephone, who swallowed a pomegranate seed. It was also believed that the pomegranate arose from the blood of Dionysus. In Christianity, the image of a pomegranate correlates with the gift that Jesus Christ brought from heaven (cf. also the idea of a pomegranate as a sign of God's blessing in Hinduism); pomegranate is one of the emblems of the Virgin Mary. In Korea, pomegranate was interpreted as food of the gods and was dedicated to deceased ancestors.
Oak in many Indo-European traditions is a sacred tree, a heavenly gate through which a deity can appear before people, the home of a god or gods. The oak is dedicated to Perkunas (apparently also to Perun), Thor, Zeus, Jupiter and other thunderers; An oak broken by lightning in some traditions was considered unkind, in others (for example, in Lithuania), on the contrary, auspicious sign. The oak sometimes acts as an image of a tree on which a deity (often solar) deprived of productive powers is crucified, which, however, is destined to be reborn. A special role in mythology is played by the image of an oak tree entwined with the “golden branch” of mistletoe. An oak log was also considered sacred; with his help the eternal flame was maintained in the temple of Vesta; it was ritually burned in the middle of summer, comparing this action with depriving the deity of his fertility male power. At the same time, the burning of logs was also considered as an act leading to the resurrection of the spirit of fertility (characteristic in this regard is the widespread use of oak ash in folk medicine). The oak club as a weapon of the thunderer or sun god symbolized the firmness of power and severity. A wreath of oak leaves referred to the idea of strength, power, and dignity. The most important rituals (sacrifices, trials, oaths, etc.) and holidays were held near the oak tree, revered as a royal tree. In the biblical tradition, oak (along with cedar) is a symbol of pride and arrogance; Abimelah becomes king at the oak tree, Saul sits under the oak tree, Deborah is buried under the oak tree, Jacob buries foreign gods under the oak tree, Absalom meets his end on the oak tree. For Christians, oak is the emblem of Christ (according to some versions of Christian tradition, the crucifixion cross was made of oak). In Ancient Greece, the center of the sanctuary of Zeus in Dodona was an old oak tree, under which there was a spring. A special winged oak tree was also dedicated to Zeus, on which a blanket with the image of the earth, ocean and stars was thrown. In Athens, a boy who pronounced the marriage formula during the Eleusinian mysteries was crowned with oak leaves and thorns (in Rome, oak branches were worn in marriage processes, seeing them as a symbol of fertility). According to some versions, the mast of the Argonauts' ship was made of oak. Philemon and Baucis were posthumously transformed into oak and linden by the gods. Greek dryads and hamadryads were also “oak” nymphs. Oak played a significant role in the mythopoetic ideas of the Celts. In particular, the hero of folk legends, Merlin, works his magic under the oak tree. In a number of traditions, the origin of the human race was associated with oak.
Spruce is a symbol of courage, boldness (to the point of insolence, recklessness), high spirits, fidelity, immortality, longevity, arrogance, and royal dignity. In Ancient Greece, spruce was considered a tree of hope (there was a belief that the Trojan horse was partially made of spruce; the Greeks used spruce branches for divination). In the Celtic Druidic calendar, the fir tree is dedicated to the day of December 23, when, according to Celtic tradition, a divine child is born, embodying the spirit of fertility. The Christmas tree symbolizes the beginning of the annual cycle and life in general. Fir cone is a symbol of the fire of life, beginning, restoration of health; in a number of traditions it is associated with the phallus. However, the spruce itself was a symbol of fire (including heavenly), perhaps due to its similarity
forms with the shape of a flame (cf. English fir, “spruce”, fire, “fire”).
Willow has different (often opposing) symbolic meanings, sometimes found in the same traditions. It can act as a world tree or tree of life and symbolize longevity and abundance of life. In the European lower tradition, willow was credited with charms against the moon and witches. In medieval Europe it was called the tree of singers and poets, because it was believed that it was capable of bestowing eloquence. In China, willow was associated with ideas about female beauty, softness, pliability, about spring; there was a belief about the ability of willow branches hung on gates to ward off evil spirits, which is consistent with the more general idea of willow as a means of communication with the spiritual world. The complex of negative semantics of the image of the willow includes such symbols as misfortune and ignorance (among the ancient Jews), sadness, sadness, death, funeral (cf. image weeping willow in folklore and poetry), In Ancient Greece, willow was dedicated to female deities, one way or another associated with the idea of death (Hecate, Kirk, Persephone). In Japan, willow is a tree of sadness, weakness, but also tenderness, girlish grace, tranquility, the need for constancy or connection.
The palm tree in many Middle Eastern traditions of antiquity (Mesopotamia, Phenicia, Egypt) acted as a tree of life (as a tree of life associated with a righteous person, the palm tree is sometimes depicted in Christian art), and in Ancient Egypt as an image time, year. In a number of traditions it is understood as an image of a phallus with a flame escaping from it, or as an androgynous and solar emblem, correlated with images such as the “May” tree. In Christian art, it is a symbol of martyrdom and purity, a sign of those who visited the Holy Sepulcher (also a talisman against temptation), “Palm Sunday” is the name of the day of Jesus Christ’s entry into Jerusalem.
The peach tree, its fruits, flowers and branches were especially revered in Ancient China as one of the main symbols of immortality. Branches and flowers, in particular, were used to drive out demons, in the treatment of diseases, as amulets (especially during epidemics). A number of ritual objects were made from the peach tree. It was believed that the arrows with which Zhang Xian struck heavenly dog. The idea of immortality, associated with the peach tree and fruit, was mythologically motivated by the legends about Si-wan-mu with her peach gardens of immortality. The peach color, distinguished by its special tenderness, symbolized the feminine principle (in the spring, during the wedding, the bride was presented with a blooming peach branch). The peach tree and fruits were also revered in Iran, the countries of the Middle East, Central Asia, etc.
Reed in the Eastern Mediterranean (in particular, in Egypt) acts as an emblem of royal power; in Christianity, on the contrary, it is a symbol of humility, but also of justice. The triad (reed, lily and oak leaf) in the Eastern Christian tradition embodies human weakness (reed), transformed through resurrection (lily) into strength (oak leaf). U ancient population Central America is a symbol of drought, lost youth and warmth of life. In Greek mythology, fire is associated with reeds as a vital principle (Prometheus brings fire to people in a hollow reed). In myths, various wind musical instruments are made from reeds, often appearing in mythological texts (cf. Pan's pipe).
The fig tree (fig tree) is understood as a symbol of marriage, fertility, lust, the feminine principle, but also truth; often compared with the image of a multi-breasted tree (the fruits are visible before the leaves). Leaves and fruits are sometimes interpreted as a combination of masculine and feminine principles, symbolizing life and love. Sometimes the biblical tree of the knowledge of good and evil is considered fig. The fig leaf was Adam's first clothing after he ate the forbidden fruit. In Muslim tradition, the fruit of the fig tree is considered sacred. In Buddhism, the sacred Bodhi tree is associated with the fig tree, under which the truth was revealed to Buddha.
Not only trees and other large plants, but also grass, moss and other objects of the plant world are subject to mythologization. Grass often acts as a symbol of ordinary people, humility, subordination, obscurity, inconspicuousness, but also usefulness. In the Japanese tradition, there is a known opposition between grass as the feminine principle and trees as the masculine principle. Ideas of longevity and health are associated with grass. In a number of traditions, there is a widespread idea of grass as the hair of a certain first man, from whose members the earth or the Universe arose. Some mythologically marked shi-roko herbs are used in rituals. Moss often symbolizes boredom and, in Japan, old age.
Special systems of symbolic meanings form flowers and mushrooms.
Fairy tales and legends are full of mythical plants and animals. The world around us is full of new, undescribed species, but we continue to invent new representatives of flora and fauna. My post today is dedicated to plants from old myths and legends.
The first thing that comes to mind is the four-leaf clover, which promises great luck to its owner. This symbol of good luck is so popular that it is hunted in many countries. Although it is difficult to find, this clover is a very real plant. I admit that I have never seen one in my life. The fantastic animated series Futurama told about the seven-leaf clover, which brought fantastic luck.
Many fairy-tale flowers or trees had prototypes in reality, but not all legends are based on reality. The most striking example is the fern flower. The Slavic peoples have a belief that on the night of Ivan Kupala you need to go into the forest in search of blooming fern. Further, legends differ in their testimony; such a flower can promise love, luck and untold wealth. In the latter case, you need to look for the treasure in the place where this one was found fairy flower(reminiscent of stories about the end of the rainbow and leprechauns). But the fern flower is only a figment of the imagination of storytellers. These ancient plants reproduce by spores, which can be seen on inner surface"leaf", so the ferns never bloom. Alas. But the legend continues to live, now it is part of the summer entertainment, and no one cares about the result, the search process is much more interesting.
In Chinese mythology, the five-color Zhi mushroom is very popular, which is a symbol of the boundless wisdom of the prince and is capable of working miracles, even raising the dead. Medieval writings mention green, red, yellow, white and even purple Zhi mushrooms. Five-colored zhi is a magical relative of the Ling zhi (or polypore) mushroom, which was considered very healing and was even called the mushroom of immortality.
IN ancient Greece there was a legendary food of the gods - ambrosia, which granted immortality and youth to anyone who tried it. By different sources it was invented by Demeter or it is produced by the moon or moonlight. Nowadays, this fancy name goes to a common grass that is a dangerous weed, and its pollen can cause hay fever. Not very divine, is it?
IN Greek mythology There was another mysterious plant - the Lotus Tree, the fruits of which caused a pleasant drowsiness. People who ate these fruits forgot their relatives and friends and remained to live on the island in laziness, eating only from this tree. Some analogy of the modern Internet. This myth led to the coining of the term Lotophagus to describe people who lead a decadent lifestyle but essentially live boring and meaningless lives.
One of the most dangerous representatives of the flora for people is the cannibal plant - this is very popular in late XIX century urban legend. These plants were large and bloodthirsty enough to feed on humans. Travelers of that time loved to describe such “predators” in their notes, apparently, this added charm and romanticism to their memoirs.
The plant Umdglebi belongs to the same variety, which destroys all living things around it with carbonic acid vapor. An article about it appeared in 1882 in Nature, but more than 130 years since its publication there is still no other evidence of its existence. Therefore, it is recognized as a hoax.
In many mythologies, plants themselves did not possess any mysterious powers, but were the dwellings of spirits. For example, in Yakutia, the legend of Al Luk Mas, an old tree where the mistress of the area lives, is very popular. Very old birches or larches were chosen for the role of Alukmas; these trees were treated with respect, their branches could not be broken under any circumstances.
Often in ancient times, trees themselves were a kind of divine symbol, connecting different matters: the roots go into the ground, and the branches go high into the sky. Apparently, this is why many peoples had legends about the world tree - a tree that unites all aspects of the universe. In Scandinavian myths, it was a huge ash tree (Yggdrasil), which is the structural basis of all things and connects the nine worlds. At the top of Yggdrasil sits a wise eagle, and its roots are gnawed by snakes and a dragon; a squirrel runs between the eagle and the pests of the roots, carrying messages. Descriptions of all the functions of this tree go into the details of Scandinavian mythology and without preparation it is extremely difficult to understand all its roots and branches.
However, the largest collection of mystical plants is, of course, in
