Fortune-telling with flowers is an old folk pastime, most popular in summer when meadows and gardens are in bloom. People usually asked about love or whether a wish would come true. Of course it is a game rather than a way to see the future, but it still brings friends together at hen parties and birthdays. Here are the best-known methods.
Fresh flowers for your home or as a gift: garden roses and roses in a box.
The most famous love game. Hold a daisy, think of a person and pull off the petals one by one, saying “he loves me, he loves me not”. The phrase on the last petal is your answer. The Ukrainian version is longer: “loves me — loves me not, will spit — will kiss, will hold me close — will send me away”. For a simple wish, count the petals: an even number means “yes”, odd means “no”.
A lilac flower normally has four petals, but now and then you find one with five. Make a wish and search the cluster for such a “lucky” flower — tradition says the wish will come true. It used to be eaten, but we suggest simply making the wish and pressing the flower in a book.
Pick two calendula flowers in a bed: one answers “yes”, the other “no”. Ask your question and watch — whichever flower closes first in the evening gives the answer. The trick is that calendula closes its flower heads towards evening and in cloudy weather, so you get your answer the same day.
Pull off the little bells one by one saying “soon — not soon — never”. The last bell gives the answer. Important: lily of the valley is poisonous in all parts — never put it in your mouth, wash your hands afterwards and keep it away from children. Don’t pick armfuls of wild plants in the forest; use garden ones instead.
Put a rose in a vase, think of a person and ask whether they love you. When the flower fades and starts to drop, look at its base: if at least 2–3 petals are still holding on, the belief is that the feelings are mutual; if all have fallen, they are not. Care for the rose as usual — the fresher the water, the longer the suspense.
Dandelion. Make a wish and blow the clock in one breath. A bare stem means the wish will come true; a few seeds left — it will happen later; more than half — expect obstacles.
Sunflower. After making a wish, take 10 seeds from a ripe head. All full — the wish will come true soon; one empty — you will have to work for it; more than two — better wish for something else.
Take a flower with large petals, such as a gerbera or rose. Write the first letter of an admirer’s name on each petal, put the petals in a bowl and go out into the wind. The last petal left points to your chosen one.
Put different flowers in an opaque bag — at least as many as there are players: roses of various colours, a carnation, a daisy, a cornflower, a lily and a bellflower. Each player thinks of someone they like and draws a flower without looking. The meanings come from the language of flowers — read more in the language of flowers.
Fresh daisies, roses and carnations for the game or as a gift are available with flower delivery in Kyiv.
Folk tradition says three times — then see which answer came up most often.
Chamomile and garden daisies usually have anywhere from 12 to 30 or more ray “petals”, so the answer really is unpredictable.
Traditionally only live flowers are used — that is the whole point of the game.
Author: Maria Svitlovir
Graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Institute of Biology and Medicine (2001). BSc in Biology, MSc in Horticulture. Writes about plants, works at a garden centre selecting and repotting plants, and contributes to plant reference guides.
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