The cactus is not a plant so it’s a good idea to offend. So we’ve decided to dedicate not one, but two articles to its endless awesomeness! In part one, we talked about the legends behind its origins, and how it got its spines and blossoms. We also talked about how it can protect your home from negativity — today. Let’s delve deeper into the subject of the uncanny mystical powers of the cactus. Scientists, steer clear.
Magic properties of the cactus
If you want to find your daughter a husband, rid your house of all cacti!
A folk wisdom
A sponge for bad vibes
It is said that cacti are very particular and require a double dose of care and reverence; some people actually believe that they can accumulate negative information and conserve it within themselves for a long time. So, on the one hand, they are supposed to rid us of this darkness; on the other, by doing so, they may attract similar energy, with us getting in the way.
By that logic, if there is any anger, irritation, resentment, and even hatred in the air, the cactus can use the situation to shake off its own bad vibes by letting them out and thus making things worse. Some say we can clear the plant from accumulated dark energy if we rinse the cactus under running water. There is another approach. It is replanting cactus (it is actually advised to replant cacti once a year regardless of whether you believe in this stuff or not).
This ability that cacti, such as opuntias, have to absorb flashes of negative energy supposedly makes them a perfect plant for angry and quick-tempered people. The jury is out, though, on whether the cactus absorbs only bad vibes. Some believers in mysticism claim that it can actually concentrate any kind of energy, including the positive one. And the cactus with good energy is indeed capable of accelerating the recovery of an ailing body part if put directly next to it. So everything depends on how we see it and how we use it, apparently, like most things in life.
Tolerance and clairvoyance (with a side dish of drowsiness and homelessness)
Two of the four elements, fire, and water, are supposed to be mutually destructive. But they seem to cohabitate in the cactus perfectly. In this way, the green hedgehog-like plant represents tolerance. It can promote large-heartedness towards things that rub their keepers the wrong way, too! A cactus in the house can help its owners accept each other’s shortcomings more easily.
If plants in general can be said to have a personality, so that the cactus has a volatile one. It often has a change of heart and radiates the feeling of imbalance. People interested in the mystical claim that if you make friends with a cactus, it can guard you against all sorts of troubles. These plants even help you develop some psychic abilities, such as clairvoyance, clairaudience, and a way to see the invisible world of the supernatural. Neat, huh?
But be warned: if a cactus ends up disliking the owners for any reason, it can supposedly attempt to drive them out of their home. Should a cactus experience starvation due to negligence, it is going to get its nourishment at the expense of others. And people surrounding it may start to feel weak or drowsy for no apparent reason.
Key takeaway: whether you consider all of the above gospel or quackery, if you get a cactus, be sure to care for it!
Off the deep end: cure-all, love potions, feng shui, and astrology
A curious fact: dogs of most breeds actively dislike cacti. Something that has long been known and was even taken advantage of by the first settlers of the Wild West. They would plant thickets of cacti around their settlements, thus protecting themselves from coyote attacks.
The tradition went on, and since then, people have grown cacti in their gardens as protection against unsolicited guests. It also gave birth to a curious superstition. Some people believe that a cactus in a bedroom would serve as a spiny guard that keeps the virtue of a woman intact. That is why it was considered a good idea for young women who wanted to get married to get rid of all the cacti in the house.
Early settlers of the Crimean peninsula found a use for the cactus that was more blood-pumping — literally: they produced a tincture out of opuntias that was said to help with making love, effectively functioning as a male potency drug. Men who consumed cacti even enjoyed great authority with the ladies!
A perfect plant
In the East, people used a cactus-based drink as a remedy against pain and fever. But that’s not all! Some of them believed that the miracle drug could help calm the nerves, detoxify the body, invigorate the spleen, and even reduce tumors! Doctors used the cactus to treat asthma, dysentery, and stomach pains. And farmers applied ash made from burning the cactus to pig and snake bites.
Chinese mystics believed that the cactus stimulates the circulation of blood and qi energy. Feng-shui, on the other hand, discourages having cacti in the house: their needles are supposed to disrupt the energy flow.
Astrologers deem the cactus a perfect plant for Scorpios, for it is just as loyal and full of contradictions. Capricorns can live in harmony with cacti. This plant helps them concentrate energy and stave off diseases. Aries should benefit from their protective power, too. Cacti also communicate well with Libras, Pisces, Virgos, and Geminis. But Sagittarii and Leos would not be well-advised to keep a cactus at home.
Now, to move beyond words:
- Our catalog of plants for international delivery will help furnish your faraway lover’s or remote friends’ homes with a noble evergreen bodyguard, a faithful companion, or a thing of beauty in a pot.
- To learn more about the legendary origins of the cactus, read part one of this article.
- Stay tuned, and be sure to share flowers on social media and in real life!
Born in Nalchik in 1966, graduated with a major in English Lit, and working as a school teacher since 1990. My interests are diverse: music, good literature, and computer technology at the user level. I like to try new things, and I bring what I started to its logical conclusion. Oh! And I do love my pets! I’m already 54 and I still believe in miracles and hobbits with elves and Gandalf. I myself am a bit of an adventuress like a hobbit, and I love mushrooms, too, like they do.