Episode 06: Floral Ghillie Suits & Medieval Bile Theory- Carnations

Feb 8

botanical illustration of a pink carnation in bloom

Dianthus caryophyllus, also known as carnations, are a floral favorite, especially for Valentine's Day and Mothers Day. This plant also goes by the names: Pinks, grenadine, sops-in-wines, and gillyflower- imagine if you will- a Ghillie suit made entirely out of flowers……why blend in, when you were born to stand out, you know?

Thank you for visiting my cursed brain with me for a moment, now back to carnations-

As I mentioned, they are part of the dianthus genus - part of the Caryophyllaceae family, but a lot of people just call this the carnation family because all of these guys are so clearly related. All members of this family are flowers, with most of them being very common in gardens.

Carnations are believed to be native to to pyrenees, but those varieties exist anymore. We know they were cultivated in Greece and Rome first, and then gradually spread all over the world until they were pretty much a standard flower in garden’s across the globe. Today you’ll find them growing wild in mediterranean countries like greece, spain,

Today there are a bunch of different varieties and styles of carnation because of the Centuries we have had to experiment with them. Most commonly, they are round flowers with layers of ruffly, colorful petals. Originally they were just pink or peachy colors, but today we have yellow, white, burgundy, striped, and SO many more- it's truly a little bit wild to see how far we have come!

The fact that most of them have roughed or “crimped” looking edges is actually what SOME people believed inspired the name “pinking shears” as a fun fact for any of you sewing fans out there!

The leaves are long and slender and are a greenish blue color. The base of their flower heads are bulbous, and poke out of long stems. While they do produce seeds, it has been noted that a lot of them do better started from propagation, which isn’t uncommon for a lot of the flowers we see in gardens today that have undergone centuries of tweaking and changing.

While there are so many different varieties, there are a few things that are key characteristics of all carnations.The first is that the petals tend to taste pretty spicy- like a cross between clove and nutmeg, and have a sweet/spicy/floral scent that is still really popular in perfumes. Carnations are also called “flower of the gods” partially because of the taxonomy of the words (derived from corona-ae meaning crown in latin) and partially because of how frequently they pop up in mythology and folklore.

A great example is a story about athena- according to lore, Artemis found a shepard on her hunting land. Not wanting his flock to be hunted, he quickly scared them away. Artemis, in her anger, struck the man down and killed him. It wasn't until later, when she realized the harm her anger had caused, that she regretted her actions and asked her father- Zeus, for help. Zeus brought the shepard back as a flower- the one we now call a carnation. In a similar story, a hunter falls in love with the hunting goddess Diana, who cannot return his admiration because of her vow to remain chaste. Upon learning that his love is unrequited, the hunter kills himself, and Diana's tears turn to white carnations.

Due to their ties to powerful gods, Carnations were used in coronation ceremonies in both Greece and Rome.

Speaking of gods, in Christianity it is believed that carnations appeared after Christ was crucified. The legend is that upon seeing her son nailed to the cross, Mary wept, and was filled with such sorrow that her tears turned to beautiful flowers upon the earth, leaving a trail of carnations as she walked. It is because of this that carnations (especially the pink ones) are said to symbolize a mother’s love for her child, and are the official flower of mothers day.

But, that’s not all they symbolize. In fact, the Victorians started an entire SECRET LANGUAGE based solely on their love of hidden messages, passive aggression, and carnations - eventually they decided they needed to add more flowers though, because they could only say SO MUCH with carnation bouquets.

Today we know the language as “Floriology”, and the meanings of carnations are as follows

Red: passion, desire, deep love

Light Pink: Motherly love, gratitude

Dark Pink:fondness, new love

Yellow: Rejection or disappointment

White: purity and luck

Purple: can mean a person is unpredictable/unreliable, or that someone is sorry (usually an expression of sympathy and grief)- it really depends on the context and pairing

Green: Homosexuality- this was originated by Oscar Wilde

Solid: Affirmation/ acceptance

Striped: Rejection/ Denial

For those of you wondering, I *did* put this out before valentine's day so you could send your loved ones (and nemesis) secret messages or decode any sent to you….you’re welcome.

We didn’t JUST use carnations to tell people how we felt about them, we used carnations in ALL KINDS OF STUFF.

One really famous use for carnations was as a substitute for clove in flavoring wine, mead, and beer in medieval times.because carnations had a very similar profile, and were much more readily available, this was an easy and affordable substitute for anyone brewing on a budget.

Historically they have also been used to cure emotional ailments like bouts of depression and anxiety. Typically in this use case the petals would be steeped in a tea given to the sufferer on a regular basis until their mood changed. I know it sounds *a LITTLE* wild that carnations could cure this without containing any brain-altering chemicals, but it all makes sense when you consider medicine at the time…..

In medieval times , doctors believed in what we now call “humoral theory” basically, we all had 4 biles- black (poop) , green(phlegm) , yellow (stomach acid) and Red (blood) that needed to be balanced. If you had too much of any one bile, your mood would change and you could get a slew of related illnesses. Too much black bile would make you depressed, too much green would make you anxious, and too much yellow would make you angry, and red was a mix of those three…so I suppose it makes sense that carnations- which to this day are used in herbal medicine as a diuretic/ expectorant- would help you rebalance if you had too much black or green bile. And with blood? Well, that’s where the leeches came in.

Speaking of matters of the heart, did you know carnations were also used in love spells? The most commonly recorded concoction I could find for this consisted of Carnations, Bay Leaves, Marjoram, and Lavender.

While today most of us are turning to dating apps to find love, there are still lots of ways we use carnations.

The first, and by far most prevalent, is in our gardens and floral arrangements. With stunning flowers, a delightful smell, and a delicious petal, it’s easy to see why we keep these guys around. It helps that they are easy to grow and add a ton of color to borders and bouquets alike. Plus who could forget the secret message capabilities.

Because they are both beautiful and edible, it is also commonly used as a garnish, in teas, and even in some fancy cocktails or beers- mostly as a nod to their use in old time-y beers and wines.

On the spell work side of things, carnations are still used in love spells, but are more commonly used in work related to protection and trance breaking, due to their strong fragrance, and because of their ties to the gods- specifically feminine gods of the hunt and protection, depending on the specific witchcraft you practice.

While there aren’t a ton of application in western medicine for carnations, we do still see them commonly used in herbal remedies and eastern medicine, mostly in the treatment of utis, inflammation, stomach issues, and in skin/gum care, as carnation petals actually have soothing properties when infused in water.

This valentines day whether you’re looking to cure a stomach ache from too much chocolate, or finally tell your annoying coworker how you REALLY feel, I hope you’ll at least consider carnations. And next time you see one, give it a little kiss on the head and tell it thank you for the centuries it has spent growing alongside us.

Sources:

https://www.proflowers.com/blog/history-and-meaning-of-carnations/

https://harvesting-history.com/carnation/

https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/blogs/the-fairest-flowers-o-the-season-are-the-carnations-illustrations-of-carnations-in-rare-and-early-printed-books/

https://www.happybunch.com.my/blogs/stories/carnation-101-the-carnation-flower-their-meanings-in-different-parts-of-the-world

https://www.interflora.com.au/blog/post/the-mythology-of-flowers

https://sale-flowers.org/en/blogs/gvozdika-v-mifah-i-realnosti.html

https://www.fnp.com/blog/fun-facts-about-carnations-the-flower-of-gods

https://www.ftd.com/blog/share/carnation-meaning-and-symbolism

https://www.britannica.com/plant/carnation

https://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za/handle/10413/10268

https://www.flowershopnetwork.com/blog/flower-spotlight-carnation/