For the most part, the flowers of the hibiscus bush are used in love sachets, mojos and to decorate altars when working love spells. Scott Cunningham notes that the hibiscus was the chosen flower for brides on many South Pacific islands. Prognosticators on the island of Dobu looked into the future by watching the movements of hibiscus flowers floated on water in a wooden bowl.
The flowers can be dried and used in love incenses. For centuries around the Mediterranean, the flowers of the red hibiscus were dried and brewed into a tea. This was imbibed, almost exclusively by men, to encourage sexual vigor. In Ancient Greece, women were forbidden to drink - or even brew - this tea. According to Cunningham, that is still the case in some Middle Eastern countries where the hibiscus is known as the kharkady..
In hoodoo, hibiscus flowers are also used in love magick. Dried or fresh, they can be added to mojo bags or baths for this purpose. Small pillows filled with dried hibiscus flowers were made by young women hoping to dream of their future husbands. Bonne chance ~
Header: Painting Statuary by J. Gerome via Wikimedia
5 comments:
Cause we don't want the women gettin' all horny, so no drinking that stuff, now, Pauline...
Exactly; it's like the medications for ED that women and children shouldn't handle. "Don't put your lips on it," as Bill Murray famously said about something totally in that old SNL episode.
Is the painting a Gerome? I saw an exhibit of his work at the JP Getty in Los Angeles a couple of years ago and could swear I saw this piece.
Nevermind! I see your mention of Gerome now! :)
He is wonderful!
I believe that's where I first saw Monsieur Gerome's work as well, albeit about a century ago :)
So good to hear from you, Raven; stop in again soon.
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