Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Skye Kingsbury: The Dictionary of Flowers and Gems

The Dictionary of Flowers and Gems by Skye Kingsbury Part One: Something for Readers “The Dictionary of Flowers and Gemstones” contains specialized lists on subjects such as love and affection, friendship, courtship, and refusal. This list covers beauty: Amaryllis: Radiant beauty, Worth beyond beauty Cherry Blossom: Beauty, Female power, “Life is beautiful but transient” (Japan), Sexuality (China) Daisy: Beauty, Loyal love, Patience, Purity, Simplicity, Iris: A message promising love, Beauty, Faith, Majesty, “My compliments”, Perfection, Valor, Wisdom Jasmine: Beauty, Elegance, Friendliness, Grace, Sensuality Lily: Charm against evil, Death of a loved one, Female beauty and sexual attractiveness, Fertility, Majesty, Purity, Wealth Lily, Orange: “I burn for you”, “There’s a flame in my heart” Lily, Pink: “You are pretty” Lily, Tiger: Pride, Riches Lily, White: “It’s heavenly to be with you”, Majesty, Modesty, Perfect beauty, Purity Lily, Yellow: Fun, “I am walking on air”, Happiness Orchid: Beauty, Love, Many children, Mature charm, Refinement, Thoughtfulness Snowdrop: Beauty of spirit, Consolation, Hopefulness, New beginnings Violet: Faithfulness, “I return your love”, Modesty, Sweet beauty Water Lily: Beauty, Enlightenment, Love, Mental purity, Mystic powers, Purity of heart Part Two: Something for Writers I am both a writer and an artist, and quite often I like to include flowers in my work—I often choose the flower(s) with the meanings that fit the best. But I kept finding myself having to search not only multiple books, but also the internet to find a flower with the meaning that I wanted. This led to the creation of “The Dictionary of Flowers & Gemstones.” I use it in my own works now that it's complete, and it has its own place in my shelf of resources. That’s the lesson I learned: If you can't find the resource that you need, make it yourself. You don't have to settle for the half-done books when you can write the complete one yourself. It might be a lot of work, but you won't be digging through thirty texts for the information anymore. Part Three: Book Blurb and Buy Links Sunflowers for health and lavender for chastity; chrysanthemums for wealth and bachelor’s buttons for celibacy. For every emotion and feeling, the Victorians used flowers, bushes, and trees to express it. Not just love, attraction, and desire, but also doubt, indifference, slander, and cruelty. They created beautiful bouquets and tussie mussies to express their connection to the natural world and also their emotions — not all of them pleasant — to each other. We’re rediscovering this bygone way to communicate our deepest thoughts and emotions and “A Dictionary of Flowers and Gems” can help. We’ve taken over 2,000 plants, supplied their scientific name, and arranged them from Aaron’s Beard ([Hypericum calycinum]: Invincibility, Protection) to Zinnia, yellow ([Zinnia]: Daily remembrance, Remembrance). We also sorted the plants according to emotions, from Abandonment to Zeal. Finally, we created specialty lists to cover emotions such as courtship, love and affection, beauty, and refusal, making it easier to create themed bouquets and gardens. A bonus section lists more than 400 gems and crystals and their associated powers and benefits. See which ones strengthen the chakras, encourage feelings of peace and calmness, radiate love, and fortify your self-confidence. “A Dictionary of Flowers and Gems” provides an easy-to-use reference for all practitioners of the floral and gemstone arts. Amazon Amazon Kindle Kobo Apple Part Four: Short bio and media links My name is Skye, and no, it’s not my real name, but it’s the one I go by more often than not. If you’ve noticed that it’s somewhat familiar, it’s probably because you’ve stumbled across my Twitter or Tumblr, Earth_Fire_Skye. If not, then don’t worry too much about it. I’m twenty-one, though not for long if the passage of time has anything to say about that, and I enjoy many hobbies, which range from reading and writing, to drawing and crocheting random stuff. Currently, I live in a town in somewhat southern Pennsylvania with my dog and cat who I love very much, even if they do have the tendency of driving me nuts. Skye Kingsbury’s Link Peschel Press

8 comments:

nashvillecats2 said...

This was wonderful to read Susan, I love flowers but didn't know what their names represented. I will look out for many of them in future when I next purchase flowers.

Yvonne.

messymimi said...

What a brilliant idea, if you can't find the resource, create it.

mshatch said...

Sounds like a fabulous book!

betty said...

This would be fun to have around and then refer to it when looking at flowers to learn more about them.

betty

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Susan ... good to meet Skye - and her books sounds like it should be so useful to writers of all sorts. Yes - I love that she's been able to create her resource as there wasn't one - clever idea. Cheers Hilary

Pat Hatt said...

A great idea and way to learn indeed. Yeah, cats and dogs do tend to drive one crazy.

Susan Kane said...

The significance of flower meanings was big in Renaissance. Must check what they were.

Nick Wilford said...

Useful for writers, certainly. Fascinating how many different meanings are attached to plants.