pPant Tsor©, Tsegc'f^^/, on^ "I^i^rlcy. 549 



SORREL. — From May to August the meadows are often 

 ruddy with the Sorrel {Rumex Acetosa), the red leaves of which 

 point out the graves of the Irish rebels who fell on Tara Hill, in 

 the " Ninety-Eight;" the popular and local tradition being that the 

 plants sprang from the blood of the patriots shed on that occasion. 

 Sorrel is under the planetary influence of Venus. 



SOW-THISTLE.— Theseus, king of Athens, is said to have 

 received as a gift from the hands of Htcatc, the Sow-thistle {Souchus 

 oleraceus) and the Sea Fennel {Cvithmum maritimum). Like the 

 Sesame, the Sow-thistle, according to tradition, sometimes conceals 

 marvels or treasures; and in Italian stories are found the exclama- 

 tion, " Open Sow-thistle," used with the same magical results as 

 attend the invocation of the Sesame. A Russian legend states 

 that the Devil considers the Sow-thistle to be peculiarly his pro- 

 pert}', although in so doing he is in error (see Oats and Reed). 



The Sow-thistle is considered by astrologers to be under the 



dominion of Venus. 



SOUTHERNWOOD.— The Ahvotanum (Southernwood) is 

 a species of Wormwood, to which the Greeks and Romans, and in 

 more recent times the Germans and French, attributed wonderful 

 magic properties. According to Pliny, it should be classed as an 

 aphrodisiac plant, for, if it be placed under a mattress, it will evoke 

 sensual passions. Gerarde says the same thing ; and adds that " it 

 helpeth against the stinging of scorpions," and that, " being 

 strewed upon the bed, or a fume made of it upon hot embers, it 

 driveth away serpents." Lucan refers to this latter quality in the 

 following lines (Book 9) : — 



" There the large branches of the long-lived hart, 

 With Southernwood their odours strong impart;: 

 The monsters of the land, the serpents fell, 

 V\y far away, and shun the hostile smell. "^ 



Macer Floridus states that it will drive away serpents; and Bauhin 



narrates that it used to be employed against epilepsy. From 



an ointment made with its ashes, and used by young men to 

 proiiiote the growth of a beard, the plant obtained the name of 



Lad's Love. Astrologers place Southernwood under the rule 



of Mercury. (See also Mugwort and Wormwood.) 



SPEEDWELL. — The Veronica Chamadrys appears in olden 

 times to have been called " Forget-me-Not," a name that has- since 

 been universally applied to the Myosotis. Now-a-days it is some- 

 times called by country folk Cat's-eye, The plant derives its name 

 of Speedwell from the facft of its corolla falling off and flying away 

 as soon as it is gathered ; " Speedwell " being the old-fashioned 

 equivalent of " Good-bye ! " The bright blue blossom of the Ger- 

 mander Speedwell is in some places better known as Veronica, an 

 appellation derived from Vera (Latin) and Icon (Greek), and signi- 

 fying " true image." When our Saviour was on his way to Mount 



