FLOWER DIVINATION
What is Flower Divination?
Flower divination is a European folk tradition in which one plucks a flower’s petals one by one while alternately counting "loves me" and "loves me not," receiving the answer left on the final petal as the person’s true feelings. Widely known in France as the game of "plucking the marguerite," it has been enjoyed as a playful way to divine the course of a romance.
Overview
- System
- Omen Reading (reads chance outcomes)
- Origin
- European folk tradition
- What You Need
- A flower (a digital version uses a random draw)
- Best For
- Love, either-or decisions
- Time Frame
- Today, days ahead
Origins & History
Flower divination is a European folk tradition cherished in France as "effeuiller la marguerite" (plucking the marguerite’s petals). Known as a playful way of divining the course of a romance, one plucks a flower’s petals one by one while alternately counting "loves me" and "loves me not," and receives the answer left on the final petal as the person’s true feelings.
It spread through rural areas of Europe around the 18th and 19th centuries, becoming established as one of the customs surrounding courtship. It has also been embraced as a subject in literature and the performing arts, appearing in a scene of the ballet "Giselle," which premiered in 1841. The marguerite (daisy), with its easily plucked petals, is regarded as the classic flower for this practice.
How It Works
- 01Turn your feelings toward the person you want to divine about into a single question.
- 02Count the number of petals on a flower (a digital version uses a random draw).
- 03Alternately count "loves me" and "loves me not" for each petal.
- 04Receive the answer left on the final petal.
What It Reveals
This is well suited to seeking, in a playful spirit, an answer about feelings of love or an either-or decision. However, because it relies on the simple judgment of whether the petal count is odd or even, it is not suited to reading the subtleties of complex relationships or concerns outside of love.
Related Methods
References
- Wikipédia: Effeuiller la marguerite (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effeuiller_la_marguerite)
- Wikipedia: He loves me... he loves me not (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He_loves_me..._he_loves_me_not)