With over 10,000 species ferns are some of the most beautiful and diverse plants in the magickal cannon. Many indigenous North American people used them both magickally and medicinally. The Maori people believe they represent rebirth and new beginnings. While the Victorian language of flowers uses them to represent fascination, sincerity and humility. All around the globe these plants have been prized for a variety of uses across the ages.
Fabulous Facts About Ferns:
- Ferns are some of the oldest plants in the world dating back over 360 million years
- Some species can live up to a hundred years
- Fiddlehead ferns are considered a delicacy to some
- In Slavic folklore seeing a flower on this plant guarantees happiness and wealth
- Finnish legend says that finding a seed from a fern in bloom on Midsummer’s eve will grant the power to invisibly travel
- Shakespeare apparently knew this when he wrote in Henry IV, part I “We have the receipt of fern seed, we walk invisible.”
- Many dinosaurs had these plants as part of their diet
- In addition to green, some varieties have fronds that can be colored silver, white, orange, reddish, or yellow
The Magick of Ferns
Magickally these powerful plants can be used not only for invisibility, but for protection, luck, money, rainmaking and much more. The Enchanted Living website tells us ” It is more usual for ferns to protect against witches, especially the common bracken or brake fern, which grows all over the world in wooded thickets, open pastures, and moorlands. When the bracken stem is sliced at an angle it reveals a pattern that is interpreted in various ways and gives rise to its many names. Linnaeus, renowned eighteenth-century Swedish botanist, called it the eagle fern, others call it “King Charles in the Oak,” and it’s known in Scotland as the devil’s hoof. Some see the Greek letter “X,” which is the initial of Christ. This alone is said to keep witches, werewolves, and other evil spirits at bay…. Waving a frond before a witch was like holding a cross before a vampire. Shepherds in Brittany and Normandy used to create crosses out of ferns to protect themselves and their flocks, and in the Slavic countries, whenever anyone wanted to bathe or swim in a lake they would weave ferns in their hair to protect them from the legendary Rusalki, freshwater sirens that would drown a mortal if given the chance.” There are many ways to use this ancient plant. I hope you enjoy it.
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