Yellow Flowers and Faeries
Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Sandra Kynes, author of several books, including The Herb Gardener’s Essential Guide, Plant Magic, and the new Witches’ Encyclopedia of Magical Plants, among many others.
Although a few old books note that faeries have an aversion to yellow flowers, the same texts also contradict this information. This is also true for some flowers used for protection against faery mischief that have been said to be used by them. When it comes to flower color, the fae seem to delight in the full spectrum, but the cheery color of sunshine is hard to resist. Following are some yellow flowers that can aid in contacting and working with the faery realm.
As their name implies, buttercups are cup-shaped flowers with rounded, slightly overlapping petals that earned them the folk names of elf goblets and fairy basins. And, of course, they are the color of butter. According to legend, faeries used the small ones for drinking morning dew and the larger flowers as basins for washing their hands and faces. Magically, buttercups can be used to manifest abundance and prosperity, and aid in divination and dream work.
Elecampane flowers have tangled rays of petals that make them look like scraggly, yellow daisies. Also known as elf dock and elfwort, faeries reputedly used the flowers to make garlands. Honeysuckle is noted in legends as marking a place where faeries like to gather and sometimes live, perhaps because they are said to enjoy sipping the sweet nectar from the trumpet-shaped flowers. Both elecampane and honeysuckle can be instrumental in developing intuition and fine-tuning psychic skills. They can also be used in love spells or to attract luck.
Perhaps more than any other flower, the foxglove is associated with faeries and is especially favored by them. It is also known as elf gloves, fairy bells, fairy caps, and goblin’s gloves. While the purple foxglove may be more common, yellow foxglove is also frequently grown in gardens, too. When you see a bent over flower stalk, it means that a faery might be nearby or that a faery or pixie is sleeping inside one of the flowers. The markings on the interior of the flowers were said to be where an elf had touched them. According to legend, these bell-shaped flowers make a magical sound that humans cannot hear. Magically, foxglove aids in opening awareness and fostering creativity as well as releasing whatever you no longer need in your life.
Hold one these flowers and invite any nearby faery to join you. When reaching out to faeries, you can speak to them aloud or in your mind. Whichever way you choose to communicate, do so clearly. Occasionally you may experience a slight surge of energy, but most often it may be a subtle feeling, the fleeting sense of a presence. Interacting with these beings from another realm takes time and patience. Don’t rush. It will be a privilege and soul-felt experience when they touch your life.
Our thanks to Sandra for her guest post! For more from Sandra Kynes, read her article “Powerful Plant Magic with the Allies Already Around You.”
