Friday, May 29, 2009

Columbine

Columbine


Folly


Ophelia. There's rosemary, That's for remembrance; pray you, love, remember. And there's is pansies, that's for thoughts.

Laertes. A document in madness---thoughts and remembrance fitted.

Ophelia. There's fennel for you, and columbines. There's rue for you; and here's some for me. We may call it herb of grace a Sundays. O, you must wear your rue with a difference. There's a daisy. I would give you some violets, but they wither'd all when my father died. They say 'a made a good end.
Hamlet, William Shakespeare 1564-1616


Poor Ophelia rightly carried columbines in her arms for columbines are perfect for the bouquet of a deserted lover. The red flower signifies Anxiety and the purple, Resolution.

Its genus name, Aquilegia, is from the Latin word for eagle, The base of the flower resembling an eagle's claws. It reminded others of a flight of doves for it was named Columbine for the Latin "columba" meaning dove. It is due to this association that the flower has become a symbol of the Holy Spirit and appears in religious paintings by the great masters.

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