Part 10 (1/2)
Cherries, again, indicate inconstancy; but one would scarcely expect to find the thistle regarded as lucky; for, according to an old piece of folk-lore, to dream of being surrounded by this plant is a propitious sign, foretelling that the person will before long have some pleasing intelligence. In the same way a similar meaning in dream-lore attaches to the thorn.
According to old dream-books, the dreaming of yew indicates the death of an aged person, who will leave considerable wealth behind him; while the violet is said to devote advancement in life. Similarly, too, the vine foretells prosperity, ”for which,” says a dream interpreter, ”we have the example of Astyages, king of the Medes, who dreamed that his daughter brought forth a vine, which was a prognostic of the grandeur, riches, and felicity of the great Cyrus, who was born of her after this dream.”
Plucking ears of corn signifies the existence of secret enemies, and Mr.
Folkard quotes an old authority which tells us that the juniper is potent in dreams. Thus, ”it is unlucky to dream of the tree itself, especially if the person be sick; but to dream of gathering the berries, if it be in winter, denotes prosperity. To dream of the actual berries signifies that the dreamer will shortly arrive at great honours and become an important person. To the married it foretells the birth of a male child.”
Again, eating almonds signifies a journey, its success or otherwise being denoted by their tasting sweet or the contrary. Dreaming of gra.s.s is an auspicious omen, provided it be green and fresh; but if it be withered and decayed, it is a sign of the approach of misfortune and sickness, followed perhaps by death. Woe betide, too, the person who dreams that he is cutting gra.s.s.
Certain plants produce dreams on particular occasions. The mugwort and plantain have long been a.s.sociated with Midsummer; and, according to Thomas Hill in his ”Natural and Artificial Conclusions,” a rare coal is to be found under these plants but one hour in the day, and one day in the year. When Aubrey happened to be walking behind Montague House at twelve o'clock on Midsummer day, he relates how he saw about twenty-two young women, most of them well dressed, and apparently all very busy weeding. On making inquiries, he was informed that they were looking for a coal under the root of a plantain, to put beneath their heads that night, when they would not fail to dream of their future husbands. But, unfortunately for this credulity, as an old author long ago pointed out, the coal is nothing but an old dead root, and that it may be found almost any day and hour when sought for. By lovers the holly has long been supposed to have mystic virtues as a dream-plant when used on the eve of any of the following festivals:
Christmas, New Year's Day, Midsummer, and All Hallowe'en.
According to the mode of procedure practised in the northern counties, the anxious maiden, before retiring to rest, places three pails full of water in her bedroom, and then pins to her night-dress three leaves of green holly opposite to her heart, after which she goes to sleep.
Believing in the efficacy of the charm, she persuades herself that she will be roused from her first slumber by three yells, as if from the throats of three bears, succeeded by as many hoa.r.s.e laughs. When these have died away, the form of her future husband will appear, who will show his attachment to her by changing the position of the water-pails, whereas if he have no particular affection he will disappear without even touching them.
Then, of course, from time immemorial all kinds of charms have been observed on St. Valentine's Day to produce prophetic dreams. A popular charm consisted of placing two bay leaves, after sprinkling them with rose-water, across the pillow, repeating this formula:--
”Good Valentine, be kind to me, In dream let me my true love see.”
St. Luke's Day was in years gone by a season for love-divination, and among some of the many directions given we may quote the subjoined, which is somewhat elaborate:--
”Take marigold flowers, a sprig of marjoram, thyme, and a little wormwood; dry them before a fire, rub them to powder, then sift it through a fine piece of lawn; simmer these with a small quant.i.ty of virgin honey, in white vinegar, over a slow fire; with this anoint your stomach, b.r.e.a.s.t.s, and lips, lying down, and repeat these words thrice:--
'St Luke, St. Luke, be kind to me, In dream let me my true love see!'
This said, hasten to sleep, and in the soft slumbers of night's repose, the very man whom you shall marry shall appear before you.”
Lastly, certain plants have been largely used by gipsies and fortune-tellers for invoking dreams, and in many a country village these are plucked and given to the anxious inquirer with various formulas.
Footnotes:
1. ”Primitive Culture,” 1873, ii. 416, 417.
2. See Dorman's ”Primitive Superst.i.tion,” p. 68.
3. Thorpe's ”Northern Mythology,” 1851, ii. 108.
4. ”Primitive Superst.i.tions,” p. 67.
5. ”Plant-lore Legends and Lyrics,” p. 265.
6. Quoted in Brand's ”Popular Antiquities,” 1849, iii. 135.
7. See Friend's ”Flower-Lore,” i. 207.
8. Folkard's ”Plant-lore Legends and Lyrics,” p. 477.