Marigolds: A Sunny Little Flower with a Rich & Colorful History
The relationship between marigolds and humans goes back thousands of years, and the folklore associated with them is as rich as it is deep
Every year around this time, we set up a Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) altar to celebrate this important Mexican holiday and honor our special loved ones who have died. It’s been a family tradition for a while now. My grandfather was raised in Mexico and my mother in various countries around South America. I’ve had the chance to visit Mexico several times as an adult, and it always feels like home.
So when my mother died on a cold October day a few years back, it was only natural that we plan we plan her Celebration of Life on the Day of the Dead. Every year since, we’ve set up our altar to celebrate all the amazing people that came before and helped prepare the way for us. We honor them by bringing out photos, hanging up traditional papel picados, setting out candles, and by putting out their favorite sweets and drinks, and we always make sure to have marigolds on the altar.
Celebrating Dia de los Muertos
Marigolds (Tagetes erecta) are native to Mexico. They are known there as cempasuchil, an Aztec word, and are deeply rooted in ancient Aztec rituals and traditions associated with the goddess, Mictecacihual, the Lady of the Dead. According to legend, the marigolds’ pungent odor and bright colors act as beacons to our loved ones home again.
Interestingly, the relationship between flower and deity is not limited to Mexico. For centuries, Christian peasants throughout Europe used marigolds as offerings to the Virgin Mary, in lieu of coins--which they couldn’t afford--and that is how they got their name, Mary’s Gold.
Marigolds are also used extensively throughout India in rituals and as temple offerings. They are also considered a good luck/love charm and a are symbol of the divine couple Lakshmi and Vishnu, so they are often used in wedding ceremonies as well.
In the Victorian Language of the Flowers, Marigolds were all about grief and sadness. Bouquets of marigolds were often given during times of mourning as a way of expressing solidarity and kindness--many felt that their cheerful colors could help ease the pain of grief.
Marigolds are also associated with magic, so how appropriate (a nod to Linnaeus here) that their Latin name refers to the ancient Etruscan prophet, Tages, who apparently taught the world how to use divination to predict the future. I also read where marigold leaves have a slightly hallucinogenic quality and that is you rub marigold water in your eyes it will invoke psychic visions of fairies! So, no wonder this flower has taken the world by storm!
I love that our relationship to this fragrant golden gem has so many cross-cultural similarities and is filled with such magic and mystery! I hope this has helped you come to a new-found appreciation of this powerful little flower!
Do you have a marigold story? I’d love to hear it in the comments below!
