Linden Flower is used to draw friendship and romantic love - it is well suited for this with its reputation as the "Tree of Lovers" - and is also used to repel the evil eye. Linden Flower is also commonly used in sleep pillows.
Powers: Luck, Attracting Love, Balancing Energy, Neutralising Negativity, Heart Healing, Protection, Sleep, Stress Relief.
.” They believed the Elf King lived under a Linden tree and that dwarves also loved it, while heroes fell into enchanted sleep beneath it. Even dragons were said to rest in its shade, so much so they themselves were called “lindenworms”. In Germany and Hungary they planted the Linden outside of their houses to keep witches from entering. It was believed that the flowers could not be brought indoors, or else they would give the girls of the house erotic dreams. How exciting!
This association of the Linden with love and romance goes back farther than the Middle Ages to the Greeks. One could even say the Doctrine of Signatures destined this tree to be aligned with matters of the heart by bearing heart-shaped leaves. It may have been one of the factors rendering it sacred to Venus. In Greek mythology Homer, Horace, Virgil, and Pliny all mention the Linden tree in their works. In Ovid’s telling of the old story of Baucis and Philemon, she was changed into a linden and he into an oak when the time came for them both to die. This association of the feminine with Linden and Masculine with Oak can be seen in other cultures as well, such as in Lithuania.
In the Slavic world, they believed the souls of women moved into linden and fir, and women’s graves were marked by a linden cross. In the Slavic Orthodox Christian church, limewood was the preferred wood for panel icon painting. Its wood was chosen for its ability to be sanded very smooth and for its resistance to warping once seasoned. In Poland, many villages have a naming practice influenced by or derived from "Święta Lipka," which means "Holy Lime". It is also the root for the name of the German city of Leipzig, taken from the Sorbian name lips. The southern Slovenian village of "Lipica" means "little Lime tree" and has given its name to the Lipizzan horse breed, which, if you've never seen, are beautiful white beasts.
In Baltic mythology, there is an important goddess of Fate called Laima. The Linden is her sacred tree. She even dwells in a Linden in the form of a cuckoo. For this reason Lithuanian women prayed and gave sacrifices under Lindens asking for luck and fertility. It is said they treated these trees with respect and talked with them as if they were fellow humans.
In Biblical record, Mary Magdalene’s penance from Christ was that she “should have no other food and sleep on no other bed save one made of its leaves” ...“For Magdalene had loved much, and therefore her penance was using that which is a symbol of love”. It is no small wonder that this magical folk belief became entwined with a biblical story. But that is a thought for a longer article.
Medicinally, in Old Europe, the tea made from the blossoms was used for headaches. In France, “tilleul” (Linden Tea) was used often as a sedative drink. Taking a hot bath in the flowers was a remedy for insomnia and nervous irritability, which, if you have ever smelled their sweet scent, sounds quite lovely. A distilled water of linden was also used for epileptics, and even sitting beneath the tree was seen as helpful for the condition. Its flowers have also been known to make excellent, clear honey.
Linden Flower is used to draw friendship and romantic love - it is well suited for this with its reputation as the "Tree of Lovers" - and is also used to repel the evil eye. Linden Flower is also commonly used in sleep pillows.
2. 0z bag
