Living With Herbs: Love Charms
For centuries, herbs have been important to lovers, for a whole bouquet of reasons! Here are a few you might not have thought of:
- Honeysuckle. The scent of honeysuckle was thought to induce erotic dreams; hence, many parents forbade their daughters to bring it into the house.
- Periwinkle. It was believed that people who ate periwinkle leaves together would fall in love. Another potion, less tasty: powdered periwinkle, houseleek, earthworms.
- Bay. If you want to dream of your future lover, pin five bay leaves to the four corners and the center of your pillow, before you go to bed tonight. Be sure to repeat the traditional charm (it won't work if you don't): St. Valentine, be kind to me, in dreams let me my true love see.
- Yarrow. A lady hoping to attract a reluctant lover was advised to walk through a patch of yarrow, barefoot at midnight under a full moon. She was to pick some blossoms (with her eyes shut), then take them home and put them under her bed. If the flowers were still fresh, it was a sign that her lover would come around to the idea before long; if the flowers were dry, she should think about looking for another fellow.
- A two-leaf clover in your shoe could predict your mate:
A clover of two, a clover of two,
Put it in your right shoe.
The first young man you meet,
In field or lane or street,
You'll have him or one of his name.
Read more about herbs and love lore: Botanica Erotica: Arousing Body, Mind, and Spirit, by Diana de Luca
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