After taking last weekend to focus on the release of my Slavic mythology-inspired fantasy book called A Dagger in the Winds, we return to Slavic Saturday with a tale around the Summer Solstice celebration of Kupala Night/Noc Kupały: the fern flower (also known as the fire flower, kwiat paproci, папараць-кветка, цветок папоротника, or цвіт папороті).
Love, Flowers, and Demons – Oh My!
It’s safe to say that the celebrations around Noc Kupały during early Slavic times emphasized the festival’s role as one of fertility and love. Like many cultures, young Slavs often had their marriages determined by their parents. Noc Kupały, though, offered a bit of a loophole. I talk more about the festival itself in the relevant post, but it is important to understand the romantic traditions around it if we’re going to discuss the fern flower.
One of the most famous traditions was that of the wreaths. Girls would spend the day of the Solstice weaving a wreath to wear upon their head and then send down the river. If a boy found it and brought it to her, then they could become engaged. In similar traditions, it was said that the girls instead went into the woods ahead of the boys, and if a boy emerged with a girl’s wreath, then they could be engaged. Thus, the loophole.
The latter of these stories goes with the idea of the wilds during the Solstice. Magic was supposedly plentiful during the sun’s longest day (and in some tales, during the shortest day in winter as well), and at midnight, the fern flower would bloom in only the deepest, most magical part of the wilderness. Legends told that, if collected, the flower offered its owner wealth, and in some stories, powers to ward off evil, speak to animals, and read minds. It was said that the couples going into the woods were often “searching for the fern flower,” but the phrase has carried on today with its actual, romantic meaning.
For those actually searching for the flower, though, demons, witches, and dark spirits loomed. The same magic that bloomed the flower gave them strength as well. Time was short, and the flower bloomed for only an hour around midnight. So, with such threats everywhere, some seekers would cover themselves in a herb used often to ward off spirits called mugwort. In Christian times, a rosary became the deterrent.
Regardless of how, if the seeker managed to reach the fern, they would see a glowing flower of red, gold, or purple upon its stalk. They must draw a protective circle around its base and climb to the flower as demons tempted them. Deafening and numerous, they surround the seeker, trying to make them look away from the fern flower. If the seeker did, they would die. If they were strong, however, and retrieved the flower, then they were one step closer to their dreams.
But once the fern flower was brought home, the seeker could face worse terrors than demons. Though the tale could be positive – with the seeker receiving their wonderful gifts at no cost – in others, the wealth was cursed to never be shared. They would watch those around them be poor and suffering, but the seeker could not offer them help. For if they gave away any of the wealth, it would all disappear.
The lesson for this was meant to be the strength of family and community. It was often seen that those who risked everything to seek the fern flower were desperate or selfish, and by leaving their families in pursuit of the flower’s wealth, they were dooming both themselves and those they loved. Family and community could make them happy, but all the flower’s wealth, unable to be shared, was nothing but a burden.
In The Frostmarked Chronicles
Because of the time of year, the fern flower doesn’t show up in A Dagger in the Winds, but I have plans for it to appear later in the series or in a side-novella, depending on how things work out. The temptations behind it are fun. As are the challenges one faces after taking hold of the flower.
That’s all for this week’s Slavic Saturday. Be sure to keep a lookout for more posts next week, and if you haven’t seen the full series of posts, be sure to check them out.
*As always just a quick disclaimer. Slavic mythology is broad and not written in many if any primary sources, so there’s a variety of interpretations. The interpretations I’m using here are from the sources I’ve found to be reliable.