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Dignity can be difficult to muster in many situations; graciously, however, the dahlia promotes a strong sense of dignity. It is the ideal flower to connect with when going into a challenging situation, which in modern life might be any time at all. No one can anticipate the accidental tear in their slacks, or odious effects of certain cuisines. For certain times you can better prepare, such as if you know that you are prone to church giggles during funerals, or are being forced to wear an unflattering bridesmaid's gown.
Dahlias are a thoughtful gift to bring to the elderly, many of whom may find their need of aid to be undignified.
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TALISMANIC FLOWER MAGIC
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To be blessed with a sense of dignity, and to be seen as dignified by others, you simply need a pressed dahlia and a book. This book will become a talisman, and need only contain verse in praise of dignity. Choose your verse carefully, lest you pick Emily Dickinson's "One Dignity Delays" which speaks of death, a state you do not wish to invoke.
Alternatively there is a long magical tradition of using the Bible as such a talisman. Cora Anderson, an influential voice in the Faery Tradition, worked and taught this manner of scripture magic, which has roots in Hoodoo.
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Read Psalm 8 and place a pressed dahlia in your bible where that page begins.
Psalm 8 (KJV)
1. Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.
2. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
3. When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
4. What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
5. For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
6. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
7. All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;
8. The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
9. O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!
An alternative Bible verse can be found in Proverbs 31:25 (KJV)
Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
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FLOWER SORCERY
A Spell To Return Lost Dignity |
If your dignity has already been compromised here is a spell to get you standing tall again. Find yourself a dahlia according to whatever variety and color strikes you as being most regal.
Next, hold the flower in both hands, and whisper to it your woes. If you suffered a public embarrassment, or have been the been demoralized by gossip, confide this to the indwelling spirit of the flower. It needn't be just a sole event you express; delve deep, revisit your past, and unburden yourself.
Now, say to your dahlia:
"I accept your virtue as my own
My bad reputation to the west is blown."
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Remove the dahlia's petals from their receptacle, face the west, and blown the petals from your hand in that direction. Slap your hands with a wiping gesture three times. It is done. Turn and walk in the opposite direction.
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Bathing With Dahlia |
Though toxic to cats and dogs, the dahlia flower is safe for those who without sensitive allergies. It can therefore be used for a dignity bath. Beautiful and empowering, a tub full of dahlia flowers makes for an enchanting soak. Those with only a shower needn't dismay, as some varieties of dahlia, especially the Snowball Dahlia, can be gently rubbed across one's body in a manner that is as soothing as it is magical.
It is one of five floral ingredients for an Iron Pentacle bath, which includes:
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Jasmine for Sex
Amaryllis for Pride
Dahlia for Self
Gladiolus for Power
Rose for Passion
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Please note: The spells contained on this page are not intended as a substitute for any legal, financial, psychiatric and or medical services.
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PROSE & POETRY
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Many petals form your bloom
Devoid of floral scent or fume
A dignified authority
Breeds a proud minority.
- Storm Faerywolf |
Dahlia for Elegance and Dignity
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The Dahlia is a native of South America, hut is now extensively cultivated in Europe and North America. The shrub grows to a considerable height, and the flowers are large and beautiful. The most common colours are crimson and purple. No more appropriate emblem of elegance and dignity of carriage could have been selected. These qualities strike us at the first view of the Dahlia. -Dumont
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"The Dahlia you brought to our isle
Your praises for ever shall speak
'Mid gardens as sweet as your smile,
And in colour as bright as your cheek."
-Lord Holland
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And thus the soul if fortune cast
Its lot to live in scenes less bright
Should bloom amidst the adverse blast,
Nor suffer sorrow's clouds to blight
Its outward beauty, inward light.
Thus should she live and flourish still,
Though misery's frost might strive to kill
The germ of hope within her quite,
Thus should she hold each beauty fast,
And bud and bloom to the last.
-Anonymous
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Image left: "Dahlia"
by J. J. Grandville 1867 |
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Dahlia for Instability |
Named from the Swedish botanist Dahl. It was first introduced into England by Lady Bute (1789). These roots having failed, others were brought by Lady Holland in 1804; but it was not until 1814 that a further importation from France successfully established it in Britain. -Mc Caw
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THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT DAHLIAS
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A Popular Dahlia Hybrid Is Called
"
Stars of the Devil"
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In 1872 J.T. van der Berg of Utrecht in the Netherlands, received a shipment of seeds and plants from a friend in Mexico. The entire shipment was badly rotted and appeared to be ruined, but van der Berg examined it carefully and found a small piece of root that seemed alive. He planted and carefully tended it; it grew into a plant that he identified as a dahlia. He made cuttings from the plant during the winter of 1872-1873. This was an entirely different type of flower, with a rich, red color and a high degree of doubling. In 1874 van der Berg catalogued it for sale, calling it Dahlia juarezii to honor Mexican President Benito Pablo Juarez, who had died the year before, and described it as "...equal to the beautiful color of the red poppy."
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Its form is very outstanding and different in every respect of all known dahlia flowers." This plant has perhaps had a greater influence on the popularity of the modern dahlia than any other. Called "Les Etoiles de Diable" (Stars of the Devil) in France and "Cactus dahlia" elsewhere, the edges of its petals rolled backwards, rather than forward, and this new form revolutionized the dahlia world. It was thought to be a distinct mutation since no other plant that resembled it could be in the wild. Today it is assumed that D. juarezii had, at one time, existed in Mexico and subsequently disappeared. Nurserymen in Europe crossbred this plant with dahlias discovered earlier; the results became the progenitors of all modern dahlia hybrids today. -Wikipedia
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On Oct. 4, 1926, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution declaring that the Dahlia be recognized as the official flower of the city. Golden Gate Park, esteemed for its conservatory of flowers, has cultivated one of the most diverse and enchanting Dahlia gardens on earth.
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