The magic of the mundane: A tale about Lady’s Bedstraw

Lady’s Bedstraw Photo credit: http://www.naturescape.co.uk/acatalog/ladysbedstraw1.html

A magic week starts today. There is always a magic of the mundane. I can still sense the wonderful vibes of the 21st of June, the summer solstice. It was a rainy, autumn like day in Bucharest with no trace of sun. All one could do was to jump in the car and rush to the seaside or simply close the eyes and travel with the power of mind beyond the clouds. The fact is that day and night, bad weather or not, the Sun is always up. It take a bit of out of the box thinking and imagination to reach it.

The week is magic because I’ll be travelling to Ireland for the first time, to attend the BooksGoSocial Writers Conference but I’ll still be home on the 24th of June, a day the Romanian traditions consecrate to the Lady’s Bedstraw Fairy. People in the big cities have forgotten about it but those in the countryside, in villages untamed and untouched by consumerism, still carry on the old rituals. They celebrate the Lady’s Bedstraw Fairy as the one who bestows scent and healing powers on flowers, abundance on wheat and barley crops through ‘Lady’s Bedstraw Fairy’s’ Dance Ceremonial.  Women make wreaths of lady’s bedstraw flowers and wheat ears and put them on virgins’ heads or hang them on the house’ walls or fences, to protect them from evil.

A Lady’s Bedstraw flower put under the pillow will make a girl dream her future husband. Put in your hair or hide it in your bra, and you will become attractive and loving.

On the 24th of June, Lady’s Bedstraw Fairy is floating in the air together with her merry, nuptial procession made up of beautiful virgins and fairies. They rejoice in dancing and singing while the goddess is healing human suffering and ailments, protects the land from storms and hail, helps young women find their significant others.

Beware Lady’s Bedstraw Fairy wrath. She can get very angry with those who shows disrespect for her celebration. Dark clouds would cover the sky, high wind would pull out trees  from the ground, water would cover the roads, people would get sick, plants would bear no fruits, flowers would lose scent and healing powers.

Lady’s Bedstraw Fairy Celebration Ritual in Romania
Photo credit: http://www.europacasanoastra.ro/attachments/view/8825

Legend has it that Lady’s Bedstraw Fairy is born every year on the 9th of March and by the 24th of June she’s already grown up. I can see her, a tiny creature, with skin as fair as if the sun hid inside her from the cold, startling the chamois. No living form of life, except for the dried, prickly bushes, lived on top of the mountain during the harsh season. But here she was, agitating her little hands in the air, the loveliest smile on her face, looking human and not. The chamois gently grabbed her and took it to her burrow. The ants made her a dress of leaves, the lady – chamois fed the new born with fresh milk.

If you believe in magic, think about the Lady’s Bedstraw Fairy on the 24th of June. Wherever you are, she might pay you a visit.