This magical herb can tell fortunes, but using it in flower arrangements requires mind power
A couple of days ago, Siyue took a Qixi Festival quiz, and the result was that on Qixi I would be working overtime all alone until the end of time. Tsk tsk tsk, today's quizzes are really scarily accurate.
Actually, divination doesn't have to rely on tarot cards and horoscopes. Many plants are born with "superpowers." Ordinary humans know nothing about the mysterious power of plants.
Today what Siyue wants to share with everyone is a flower that can be used for divination. Welcome to "Approaching Superstition"! Time to get superstitious, everyone, be serious!
Vale Of Tears
Jay Clifford
00:00/04:46
{Peony Girl Vol.845 }
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The herb that can tell fortunes
One petal, he loves me, one petal, he loves me not...
Pick a flower by the roadside, silently recite a name in your heart, and in the name of love begin the lowest-cost "divination."
Every girl has played this "fortune-telling" activity, with crude props and low accuracy, yet still never tiring of it. Its popularity is like today's lucky koi fish.
There's nothing much to say about the petal-plucking game. The plant Siyue is introducing today - yarrow (shi) grass - has been engaged in the activity of "divination" for over two thousand years.
Legend says yarrow can grow for thousands of years without dying, with 49 leaves, and 49 happens to be the number of heaven and earth in ancient times. It is also said that yarrow only grows in the land of sages, and where it grows there are divine dragons protecting it below and purple clouds swirling above.
Is this still grass? It's simply a deity descended to earth! Such immortal grass should of course be used to divine the fortunes of a nation!
So here comes the question: how did the ancients use yarrow for divination? Follow Siyue, silently recite in your heart what you want to divine, find a water source, take a stalk of yarrow, and let it float on the water...
Okay, I can't make this up anymore. The ancient method of divining with yarrow is very complex, requiring 50 yarrow stalks, then using a series of calculation methods to get the result. Anyway, Siyue can't make sense of it. Friends who are interested can search "yarrow divination" on Baidu to learn more.
Exactly how accurate yarrow divination is is not the question to delve into today.Because every flower and every blade of grass has a spirit, Siyue believes every plant has its own unique spirituality.
Rather than the divination method, I'd rather take you all to get to know yarrow comprehensively. What kind of grass is it exactly? Is it tasty? Can it be used in flower arrangements?
Lifting the mysterious veil of yarrow, it is also a flower with very high ornamental value,Native to East Asia, Siberia, Japan and China, it is a plant of the genus Achillea in the Asteraceae family, also known as yarrow, centipede grass, centipede yarrow, etc.
The stem of yarrow is upright, 35-100 cm tall,
It looks like a tall and slender woman, very elegant.
The leaves are pinnately divided,
Like an elongated, finely shredded version of mugwort leaves.
Yarrow blooms from July to September each year，
The leaves at the lower part of the stem gradually wither during the flowering period.
Compound corymb inflorescence, with small flowers blooming densely,
Somewhat resembling lace flower.
Pure white small flowers, with a dot of yellow in the center,
Like pairs of little eyes, instantly full of spirit.
Yarrow comes in many colors,
White, pink and yellow are the most common.
If planted in a garden,
With heights staggered and density well-balanced,
From a distance it looks like a brilliant cloud of rosy clouds.
Even when withered,
It still has a kind of sophisticated beauty.
Foreigners like to plant some yarrow in their own gardens,Not only because it looks beautiful, but yarrow is also one of the important herb plants.Foreigners' bland food really needs herbs to add flavor.
Pull off two tender leaves, cut them into fine pieces,
Add them to sauce, and they can be mixed into salad.
The fresh fragrance of the plant carries a hint of spiciness,
The taste is somewhat like pepper.
Chinese people have quite a few more ways of preparing it.
Likewise chop the tender leaves, pour them into beaten egg,
Stir-fry evenly in the pan, and the spiciness of the yarrow is reduced,
A dish of yarrow scrambled eggs with a natural fresh fragrance is born.
Or when making soup,
Add two tender leaves, to keep the goji berries company.
Dry the yarrow and brew it as tea,
It also has the effect of preventing and treating colds, dispelling wind and relieving pain.
Today's yarrow is no longer a mysterious divination herb. Having stepped down from the altar, it approaches our lives in a more down-to-earth manner. In the hands of wizards, it is an immortal herb with mysterious power, while in the hands of florists, it restores the beauty it originally had as a plant.
Similar to lace flower and yarrow, flowers with small blooms densely clustered into umbel shapes are beautiful even as a single bunch.
White yarrow has a first-love kind of face,
Pick a handful casually, and it's a bunch of natural style.
A combination of light colors, tied into a bouquet,
And it can debut solo~
A few stalks of yellow yarrow placed in a vase,
Even the coldest home can instantly brighten up.
Carrying an armful of yarrow as you walk past,
It's like a rainbow has fallen on your shoulder.
Yarrow comes in many colors, with extremely beautiful lines and flowers, and as a supporting player it is very popular in the floral art world.
Paired with round-shaped flowers of the same color family,
The finely textured yarrow makes the bouquet more lively.
In natural-style floral works,
Yarrow uses its slender stems to create a sense of layering,
Presenting a visual feeling of free and stretched elegance.
Paired with small flowers, placed in a classic vase,
It has an English pastoral style.
Yarrow with brighter colors doesn't look light enough. If you force its sense of line, placing it high will make it look top-heavy. For bright yellow, for instance, it is usually placed low.
If used as a dried flower, once the bright colors fade,
It gains yet another kind of beauty bestowed by time.
The finely textured small flowers of yarrow are suitable as an accent in wreaths.
Cut the grass into small clusters, embed them in the wreath,
And immediately there is a sense of autumn harvest.
Some artists, inspired by yarrow wreaths,
Directly coil yellow yarrow on their heads,
Like layered buns, and like a noble crown.
In the cover of the September 2017 issue of American Vogue, yellow yarrow was used in Beyonce's floral headpiece. The bright floral headpiece lit up the plain white dress and became the most eye-catching part of the cover.
This floral headpiece on the Vogue cover was not its first appearance. Yarrow, originally active in the world of Chinese classical studies, was already noticed by the fashion world last year.
Among last year's trending popular colors, there was one called pink yarrow. Pink yarrow is a pink with purple undertones, more vivid than pink, brighter than rose red.It is like a woman who has shed her youthful ignorance, yet still retains a rare authenticity amid the bustle.
Nars's Stefania is pink yarrow,
On the lips the color is vivid, with a strong aura.
Pink yarrow lipstick paired with eyeshadow,
Gives you the aura of a party queen.
Pink yarrow on the 2017 spring/summer runways,
Was the most eye-catching one of them all.
Puma's pink yarrow canvas shoes,
With bright colors, make your legs look fair.
Pink yarrow is an extremely individualistic color, relatively hard for ordinary people to pull off. Compared with the makeup and fashion worlds, its use in the home decor world is more approachable.
A simple sofa,
Can let you enjoy the beauty of pink yarrow.
A cabinet can make a white wall look brighter.
Pink yarrow is not suitable for large-area use,
Just one wall can make the home's style stand out.
Gradient pink yarrow,
Paired with cactus family plants, instantly gives a tropical vibe.
As an "ancient divine herb," yarrow can hold its own in Chinese classical studies, do floral art, and at the same time shine brilliantly in the fashion world.Using "all things have spirit and beauty" to describe yarrow could not be more fitting.
Having read this far, I wonder how much curiosity you still have about yarrow divination. If you are still fixated on it, you might as well buy a bunch of yarrow and put it in a vase. It doesn't require you to painstakingly do calculations; as long as you see it, your mood improves a little, and life gains a bit more color.
Having finished talking about yarrow, Siyue's curiosity has also been stirred up,
Do you all know any other flowers and plants with "mysterious powers"?
Speak up and let Siyue broaden her horizons,
Maybe next time it'll be their turn to be featured~
END
The images in this article are from Pinterest, instagram, Visual China