Flower, Thistle

THISTLE FLOWER -  Is a symbol for protection because of its prickly-edged leaves.  The Greeks believed that a thistle would protect against demons and the Germanic people made a connection between the thistle and their god Donar who was supposed to protect everyone who carries a thistle with them.  But the symbol of protection only came in full effect centuries later when the Scotts started to use this plant as their national symbol around 1200 after Christ. The legend behind the protection of the Scotts through the thistle takes place during the Nordic evasion of great Britain at that time. An invading Viking army was trying to sneak up at night upon a Scots army encampment – during this, a barefoot enemey stepped upon a thistle, which caused him to cry out loud of pain and thus alerted the Scotts. “In gratitude, the plant became known as the Guardian Thistle and was adopted as the symbol of Scotland”, is stated on the Scottish tourism page. The thistle protects also in quiet a different way as it is has been known as a cure against diverse maladies for centuries in Europe where one spoke about the Blessed or Holy thistle.

Finally, the color purple which is often the color of the thistle’s flower was for a long time associated with royalty and nobility in Europe. Similarly, the thistle also stood for nobility of character in the Celtic language of flowers.