Have you ever wondered who was the first lover to promise to get his beloved a star from the sky, to whom we owe the English word “aster,” and what this flower is called in Hungary? Make yourself comfortable. Today, we are going to talk about the secrets of the aster: a star-like beauty, that, although winter is around the corner, continues to blossom and tell its story to its celestials.
Stories that flowers can tell: the aster
A thing of beauty is a joy forever.
John Keats
At the beginning of September, delicate flowers blossom. Aster is a smile of the fall season.
The Oneida Indians tell a story about this flower. A young hunter fell in love with a girl, but she remained indifferent to him.
“If I knock a star out of the sky, will you be mine?” he asked the proud beauty. No one else from the tribe could make the bride happy with such a gift, and the girl, thinking that the hunter was just a braggart, agreed.
When the Indians from the neighboring wigwams learned of this, they began to laugh at the youth. But the hunter stood his ground. “Come to the big meadow tonight,” he said.
When the stars came out in the evening, all the Oneida men gathered to see if the young hunter could keep his promise. The young man raised his bow, drew the string, and sent an arrow high. A moment later, a silvery star broke into tiny sparks high in the sky. The sharp shooter’s arrow had hit the target.
Only the young man’s desired happiness passed him by. God was angry with a mere mortal who’d dared to shoot the stars down from the sky. After all, if other lovers followed his example, there would be no stars left in the sky, and the Moon was unlikely to survive.
He sent a terrible storm down to the earth. For three days and nights, a violent hurricane raged. Deep darkness covered everything on the ground. The sea overflowed its banks, and land appeared where the ocean had been. When the storm subsided, no one could find the daredevil who had knocked the star out of the sky. He had turned into a small flower, which the Indians gave the name “shooting star.”
“Aster” also means “star” in the language of the ancient Romans
If you look at a star for a long time, you will notice that it is not just a luminous point in the sky, but a point that emits blue, white, or pink light. In the middle, it is bright yellow, golden, and slightly darkened at the edges. The flickering light of the star seems to be sending signals to someone, or telling stories to someone. And after receiving the answer, the star sometimes breaks down and drops. Ancient people, noticing this, began to look closely at the trees and flowers, trying to identify who the star’s companion was. They saw small, light blue flowers with yellow circles in the middle, which, swaying in the light breeze, resembled the color and vibrations of stars.
“Astra!” they exclaimed. Since then, the name “star” stuck to the pale blue flower.
The Autumn Rose
The aster came to Europe from China. It is one of the oldest known flowers. Archeologists opened a two-thousand-year-old royal tomb on the outskirts of Simpheropolis, and an image of an aster was found there, among various garlands of acanthus, laurel, and pine cones. In Hungarian, the aster represents autumn and is called ostinati, which means “autumn rose.”
A bouquet of asters evokes various associations. Their subtle fragrance gives you pleasure but adds a little sadness, as well as stimulating thoughts of infinity and eternity of the universe: even in the dead of winter, they are still all blooming.
One of the floral legends says that the aster grew from a speck of dust that fell from a star. If you stand around some asters at night and listen carefully, you can hear a subtle whisper: that is the asters telling stories to their sky sisters.
Make these legends a reality
You don’t need to be a young archer to create a romantic mood! GoodChoiceFlowers.com is always ready to help you — not only with making out the conversation of the heavenly and earthly sisters but with making your own accurate choice.
- Check out the bouquets in our gifts for friends catalog and help them celebrate their landmark events!
- Bring joy to those who were born in autumn.
- Create a romantic mood.
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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.