Tuesday 22 July 2014

Folklore of St Johns Wort








This plant blooms during the summer solstice and is at its most powerful on the 24th of June, St Johns Day. On this day it is ceremonially burnt on bonfires in honour of the festival.
It is  very powerful against faerie spells and will protect against demons, witches and evil spirits, hence its ancient name of Fuga Daemonum.

'St Johns Wort doth charm all the witches away
If gathered at midnight on the saints holy day
And devils and witches have no power to harm
Those that do gather the plant for a charm
Rub the lintels and the post with that red juicy
flower
No thunder no tempest will then have the power
To hurt or hinder your house; and bind
Round your neck a charm of similar kind'

The plant is imbued with magical powers and can be used for divination, but gathering the flowers can be difficult as the plant sometimes moves away from anybody trying to pick it.
It is also dangerous to step on, if you were careless enough to step on a flower during the day faeries would whisk you away on a wild ride across the countryside and then drop you in a ditch miles from anywhere. Stepping on a flower just before bedtime would ensure that you were kept awake all night by mischievous elves, but to ensure a good night's sleep, with no bad dreams, place a sprig of the plant with some thyme under your pillow.



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