The Crocus Divine

This encore post, is part two,  from a series I wrote back in February, 2006.

Knowest thou
What solemn shores of crocus-coloured light,
Reared by the sunset in its realm of change,
Will mock the dream-lost isles that sirens ward?
–Clark Ashton Smith

Many of us are seeing the first welcome signs of Spring and one of the dearest of those signs is the exuberant appearance of the crocus. The history and mythology surrounding this tiny flower are quite magical, for of course, the little crocus is the source of that rarest and most sacred spice, saffron.

Coming from the dried stigmas of the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus), it takes 75,000 blossoms or 225,000 hand-picked stigmas to make a single pound of saffron, which explains why it is the world’s most expensive spice.

As mentioned yesterday, the crocus is sacred to Demeter and Persephone. In fact, Persephone was gathering the purple autumn crocus when She was abducted by Hades and taken to the Underworld. The sunny yellow crocuses heralded Her return in the Spring.

Additionally, during the Eleusinian Mysteries, initiates by the thousands honored the demi-God, Krokos as an important ancestral divinity. The origins of Krokos, possibly a fertility daemon, are not as well preserved as that of Hyacinthos, Dionysios, or Attis, but this seems not to be because he was of less significance. Instead, it would appear that he was of such intense importance that his meaning and nature were among the most guarded secrets of the Eleusinian Mysteries. One of its most secret ceremonies was known as the krokosis, the importance of which was never revealed to outsiders, though practiced into the Christian era.

Elizabeth Wayland Barber, in her book, Women’s Work: The First 20,000 Years (the source of much of this information), notes that saffron yellow was the color of women’s garments throughout the ancient world. And it was the saffron from the crocus that was used to dye the garments of women of high status, such as priestesses, in shades from pale yellow to deep orange-red.

The best-known Minoan Snake-Goddess figurine shows Her wearing saffron yellow garments. An additional pottery representation of an apron-like garment found at Knossos was decorated with images of crocus blossoms. The Saffron-Goddess of Crete later became the Greek and Roman Eos, or Aurora, the Goddess of the Dawn. She Herself, Her throne, Her sacred robes, even Her wedding bed, were all depicted as the colors of gold and saffron.

Saffron crocuses originated as sacred flowers of Crete, but then made their way into the east as far as India, carried along ancient trade routes. In many parts of Asia, to the present day, saffron robes are associated with Buddhist and Hindu divinities and priests, Buddhist monks and nuns, and with women’s garments in general.

In India today, the saffron crocus is called Kesar and is grown for divine purposes in the sub-Himalayan region. Today, the tradition of decorating the mystic third eye position on women’s foreheads has largely become a cosmetic affectation. But it originated as evidence of annointment and holy devotion, and the dye used was always saffron.

The Northern Buddhist Yellow Tara is a saffron-robed Goddess who is related to Hindu great Goddess Lakshmi and Vasudhara.  Thus She is a Goddess of abundance and wealth, as well as eloquence and intelligence.  She also protects the lands of the north, especially the Himalayas, from which flow the holy waters of the Ganges. Yellow Tara sometimes appears with eight arms, sometimes two, with Her hands in the mudra (finger positions) of divine generosity.  She is yellow in color and the palms of Her hands are dyed bright orange-red with, you guessed it, saffron.

So as you gaze upon these humble little flowers now brightening the dark, cold ground of our gardens, know that they are the legacy of over three thousand years of some of the world’s richest history, fable, and spiritual traditions.