Magickal Valentine’s Day Bouquets: Seven Flowers For Love Magick
The valentine bouquet you buy, receive or see in the flower shop is bursting with magickal possibilities in every bloom. From elegant roses to simple carnations, using flowers for love magick is as old as witchcraft itself.
Greek mythology tells the tale of Medea using a potion made from yellow flowers to protect her lover, Jason in his quest for the Golden Fleece. In ancient Egypt, Cleopatra seduced Caesar and Mark Antony with the heady fragrance of lotus blossoms. But the clever Queen didn’t stop with using flowers for love magick. She was also well versed in the art of poisoning with flowers, and not above using the skill to keep her lovers loyal.
Ancient Magick
Flowers have long been the very stuff of magick themselves. Take the story of the tulip’s origin, for example. A tale both passionate and tragic, it may well have been Shakespeare’s inspiration for Romeo and Juliet.
Although the tulip is the national flower of Holland, this colorful standard bearer of spring originated in Turkey in quite a magickal way. Legend tells of a lowly stonemason in love with a princess. He sets out to prove his worth by completing a series of tasks assigned by the King.
The King, hoping to end the unacceptable love match, sends word to the stonemason of his daughter’s death. The aggrieved man takes his life. The princess, alive and well, is told of her love’s fate. She rushes to his side where she, too, kills herself, whereupon bright red tulips spring forth from the spot where their blood pooled together.
Yet another Greek tragedy relates a bloom of magickal origin in Hermes’ love for the mortal, Crocus. One day as the lovers were throwing the discus, Crocus was struck in the head killing him instantly. Overcome with sorrow, Hermes transformed Crocus into into a beautiful flower.
Modern Flower Magick
All flower magic isn’t ancient. Even as late as the 19th century flowers have been imbued with magickal meaning. The Victorian’s reveled in the secret language of flowers, using gifts of cut blooms and bouquets to convey their feelings. A tussie-mussie or nosegay of red roses may have indicated passionate love, whereas blue violets denoted fidelity. Each flower held meaning to covey lover’s messages discreetly
This Valentines Day you can use the language and magick of these seven flowers for love to find your true match, strengthen your love bond, or turn up the heat in your bedroom. For safety sake, keep in mind that commercially sold flowers are generally grown and treated with chemicals not safe to eat, drink or apply to the skin. If you’re making teas, tinctures or other preparations intended for consumption or application, be sure your flowers are not a toxic variety and are grown organically.
Rose
Send the object of your affections, and the universe, a message of your intentions by giving red roses for passionate, undying love, pink for flirtations, white for pure love, or yellow for friendship.
Use the petals from red roses to make beads. String onto a bracelet and tie around the wrist of your lover to bind your hearts together. Or tuck the beads into small, cloth bag along with a lock of your hair and that of your lover’s, then place the charm beneath their pillow.
Brew organic rose petals with hibiscus tea for a quick love potion. Adding ginger increases circulation, turning this brew into a mild aphrodisiac.
Indulge in a little self love with a rose milk bath fit for Cleopatra. Add one cup of powdered milk, 1/4 cup baking soda, and 12 drops of rose essential oil to running water—or use bath products infused with rose oil. Float rose petals on the water, for extra indulgence.
Carnation
Carnations, Pinks and Sweet William all belong to to the dianthus genus. Their sweet/spicy fragrance and wide variety of shades from deep burgundy red to pale pink and white, make them the perfect flowers for love magic of every sort. All varieties are edible when grown organically.
Is there a certain somebody you want to make a love connection with? Cover their photo with carnations. Inscribe a candle with both your names inside a heart. Use a white candle for pure love, a red candle for passionate love and a pink candle for playful, flirtatious love. Light the candle, focus on the flame and visualize the love you want to manifest.
String two colors of carnations into a flower lei, one color represents you and one represents your love interest. Twist the lie once to form a lemniscate (or figure 8 infinity loop), and place on your altar. Place a photo of you and your love where the lei crosses. Invoke a spell for eternal love.
Baby's Breath
A favorite in wedding bouquets, this delicate white flower is often used as filler in bouquets and arrangements. It represents, innocence, purity and everlasting, true love. As fragile as it looks, baby’s breath is a sturdy speicimen, able to thrive in poor soil conditions. This frilly flower is also a favorite of the fay, and is used in fertility spells.
To help love grow, and move to the next step, give baby’s breath to a shy lover. Hoping for a proposal? Grind dried blossoms of baby’s breath into a powder and sprinkle into your intended’s shoes to warm up their cold feet and encourage them to pop the question.
Kissing balls are traditionally a Yule or Christmas decoration hung overhead, presenting an opportunity to steal an innocent kiss. But you can make one from fresh baby’s breath that will last indefinitely when dried. Hang it over the bed you share with your lover, to invoke everlasting faith and fidelity.
Use baby’s breath in a fertility spell when you’re trying to get pregnant. Sprinkle the dried blossoms beneath your bed, or better, between the mattress and sheet.
Orange Blossom
Another favorite for wedding bouquets, this highly fragrant, small white blossom denotes union, fidelity, and in the case of marriage, wedded bliss.
To ensure a long and happy marriage, carry orange blossoms in your wedding bouquet. If you’ve already tied the knot, give an arrangement with orange blossoms on your next anniversary. Dry the orange blossoms from your wedding or anniversary bouquet, burn them along with a piece of paper on which you’ve written both names of the couple. Save the ashes in a safe place along with a piece of silver.
For more orange blossom magic, try making this orange blossom tea. Be sure to use organic blossoms. Call on the magick of happiness and fidelity to infuse your relationship. Sip the tea with your lover.
Tulip
Little else says “Spring is here!” like bright tulip blooms. Despite the tragic story of the stonemason and princess, tulips correspond with good luck. And, perhaps because of the star-crossed lovers’ ultimate sacrifice, tulips are also a sign of true love.
Use orange tulips for attraction magic and to manifest favorable outcomes in almost any situation. Scatter tulips on your working altar or incorporate them into spells by drying and crushing the petals.
Plant yellow tulips outside your door for protection for harmful energy. Add white varieties for a striking color pallet, to attract those with purest of intention.
Draw on the energies of divination using purple or mauve tulips to open the third eye. Infuse a base oil with the dried petals. Dab a small amount on your forehead in the area of the third eye—perhaps to see your future lover, or to know your hearts own desire.
In times of famine, tulips bulbs were a food source (just ask the bunnies in my garden how tasty they are). This makes tulips a good choice for performing abundance magic for manifesting basic necessities.
Daffodil
Another familiar flower of spring, it’s no wonder that the daffodil’s magic is abundance and prosperity. One only need see a hillside of hundreds of naturalized sunny yellow daffodils to know how prolific the flower is.
Use Daffodils in magickal workings for fertility and new life. However, keep in mind that all parts of the flower are toxic, so don’t use them in teas or tinctures, or ingest them in any way.
Try putting daffodils in a prosperity bowl along with gold coins or a piece of gold jewelry. Feed your prosperity bowl with a magickal blend of money drawing herbs like basil, thyme and mint—sprinkle the dried herbs into the bowl while saying something like, “By the energy of basil, mint and thyme, money comes my way.”
The daffodil belongs to the Amaryllidaceae family of flowers that includes paperwhites, jonquils and narcissus. Of course, we all know the tale of the comely Narcissus, so infatuated with his own beauty that he fell into a pond while admiring his reflection and drown.
And in some versions of Persephone’s abduction by Hades, the Lord of the Underwold used daffodils to distract Persephone before kidnapping her. With that in mind, one might successfully use daffodils in a spell to dispel conceitedness and increase awareness of others, as well as your surroundings.
Lily
Lilies are another prolific flower with many, many varieties, from the common orange daylily that easily invades a garden with its mass of tangled tubers, to delicate lily of the valley that spreads in shady groves, to the magnificent and fragrant hybrids like the Stargazer lily. Some lilies are edible, while some are highly toxic, so be sure to research each variety you use in your magickal practice.
All lilies correspond to happiness or contentment in some degree. Most of them are associated with peace and harmony. Lily of the valley is often use to restore these feelings, and can help alleviate grief.
Use lilies to repair broken relationships, both romantic and platonic. Include lilies in a bouquet offered to your lover after an argument. Ruled by Mercury, lilies are a good choice to help repair lines of communication after an argument—use their magic to increase the chance of a heartfelt apology being accepted.
Also, use lily magick to show yourself some love and care. Bring an Easter lily into your home and create a ritual of watering and nurturing the plant to blossom. Bind this ritual to habits of caring for yourself and encouraging your own qualities to flourish.
Self Love Flower Spell
Try this self care spell using a potted Easter Lily. Or purchase bulbs such as stargazer lilies, or lily of the valley rhizomes to force bloom indoors.
As I pour this water, and this lily I nourish.
So I feed and water myself;
May I give myself what I need to flourish.
May I care for myself as I care for this flower.
Let self nurtuing increase my loving power.
