I've done some additional searching, and I feel confident that "The Da
Vinci Code," by Dan Brown, is the book in which you found the
discussion of the five-pointed flower's female symbolism. I've
reposted two excerpts from the book below (there's more in the book
itself; I am only able to post brief excerpts because of copyright
concerns).
"Rosa rugosa, one of the oldest species of rose, had five petals and
pentagonal symmetry, just like the guiding star of Venus, giving the
Rose strong iconographic ties to womanhood. In addition, the Rose had
close ties to the concept of 'true direction' and navigating one?s
way. The Compass Rose helped travelers navigate, as did Rose Lines,
the longitudinal lines on maps. For this reason, the Rose was a symbol
that spoke of the Grail on many levels?secrecy, womanhood, and
guidance?the feminine chalice and guiding star that led to secret
truth."
"The Rose has ties to the fivepointed pentacle of Venus and the
guiding Compass Rose. By the way, the word rose is identical in
English, French, German, and many other languages. Rose... is also an
anagram of Eros, the Greek god of sexual love... The Rose has always
been the premiere symbol of female sexuality. In primitive goddess
cults, the five petals represented the five stations of female
life?birth, menstruation, motherhood, menopause, and death. And in
modern times, the flowering rose?s ties to womanhood are considered
more visual... the blossoming flower resembles the female genitalia,
the sublime blossom from which all mankind enters the world."
I have gathered some online information about the symbolic meanings of
five-petal flowers that I hope you'll find interesting.
"In the lives of women we can see five distinct phases; birth, the
onset of menstruation, motherhood, menopause and death. The Empress
represents the middle of this pentad; she is the nurturing mother who
is the fertile and creative queen of the world. She is the
down-to-earth version of the cosmic World card, which also symbolizes
the creative mother in the maiden-mother-crone triad of the triple
Goddess. The numbers five - related to the Empress - and three -
related to the World - have always been connected to the ancient
Goddess, and by extension, to woman...
In the hand of the Empress we see an apple cut crosswise to reveal the
five pointed star inside it. The apple is a very ancient symbol for
the Goddess. It was a nurturing fruit whose five-petaled flower also
bore her representative star. The apple is an ancient symbol of
fertility and love. It was often symbolic of marriage, which
presumably led to children. Even in the Old Testament the apple became
the fruit of knowledge - meaning carnal knowledge - an attribute of
the Mother Goddess, for whom sex has always been a gift and a sacred
rite. Behind the Empress the two trees express nature's productivity,
as the apple moves from blossom to fruit through the spring and
summer, reflecting the changes on the hills as the seasons fade from
green to harvest gold. These are her seasons: the season of fertility,
of birth and then of harvest."
The Wheel of Change Tarot: The Empress
http://www.wheelofchange.com/EmpressText.html
"The chapel also has two large murals, in what might be described as
'primitive American' style. One mural, Jesus at the well, features a
bare-torsoed Jesus in skin-tight pants, under a sky with pentagrams
and a crescent moon and star. Another mural, titled 'Jacob?s Well,'
features naked children, with five-petal daisies - one of the most
common symbols of the goddess in contemporary artwork - in their hair
as they dance on a field covered in spirals."
The Wanderer Press: The Goddess Cult
http://www.thewandererpress.com/a1-29-2004.htm
"In our western culture, since the time of the 'Wars of the Roses,'
the pink rose represents the colour of surrender, and the symbology of
the full red rose represents human passions turned into Love Divine by
the power of Her Immaculate Heart. The list of flower symbolism is
endless. The narcissus symbolizes self- exploration by exploring our
reflection in the mirror pool. The five petal-wheels of certain
flowers represent the five qualities of psychological perfection:
sincerity, faith, aspiration, devotion, surrender, and so on."
COSMIC CUBE CIRCUIT 2.5: TO GLORIFY MOTHER EARTH
http://usnisa.org/cosmic_cube/0205.html
"The cinquefoil (from the french, five-part) is a five petalled rose
found in Christian symbolism of the Middle Ages. The five-petalled
rose is often found affixed to the tops of Gothic arches, the vesica
pisces-shaped doorways and windows thought to represent the womb of
Mary. Some historians have speculated that the rose in Gothic
architecture is a secret symbol of the feminine principle, one of a
multitude of hermetic symbols found in these churches.
The symbol itself dates back to Roman times, where it was called the
'Rose of Venus.' The rose, with its characteristic five petalled shape
mimicked the pentagrammatic path traced by the planet Venus in the
night sky. This, combined with the flower's natural beauty, made it an
obvious symbol of the Goddess of love."
Alternative Religions: Cinquefoil (Rose of Venus)
http://altreligion.about.com/library/glossary/symbols/bldefscinquefoil.htm
"Thanks in part to computer imaging developed in the 1980?s, it became
possible to illustrate the way in which Venus? motion appears to
precisely trace the pattern of a 5 petaled rose against the night sky.
This remarkable pattern, in which Venus returns to the same point in
the zodiac every 8 years, while at its greatest brilliancy, inspired
the world?s oldest astrological text dating back to the 17th century
BCE, the Sumerian Venus Tablet from Nineveh called the Enuma Anu
Enlil.
In many traditions, the rose is the first, the most beautiful and
perfect of flowers. With its characteristic five petaled shape, the
rose mimics the pentagrammatic path traced by the planet Venus.
Combined with the flower?s natural beauty and scent, this made it a
universal symbol for the goddess of love. The ancient Greeks spoke of
roses as the 'queen of flowers.' In Roman times it was called the
'Rose of Venus.' According to the lyric poet Anacreon, the red rose
sprang from Venus? blushes when, bathing, she discovers she is being
observed by an appreciative Jupiter.
Often found gracing the peaks of Gothic arches, as well as the Vesica
Pisces shaped doorways and windows in Europe?s great cathedrals, the
cinquefoil (from the French, five-part) is patterned after a five
petaled rose. The distinctive shape of these arches is believed to
represent the womb of the Virgin Mary, often considered a
Christianized rendering of the ancient Goddess of Love.
In mystical Islamic tradition (Sufism), it is said that the original
rose was white. One night a Nightingale encountered a a particularly
beautiful rose and was struck by a love so intense that he he began to
sing the most beautiful song ever heard (before this night,
nightingales only croaked and chirped). Finally, overpowered by his
desire for her, he embrace her with such ardor that her thorns pierced
his heart. From that time on, the rose was stained red by his the
color of his blood."
Elemental Astrology: Venus Evenstar
http://elemental-astrology.com/blog/2005/12/29/venus-evenstar-augur-of-the-new-year/
My Google search strategy:
Google Web Search: female OR feminine symbolism "five petal OR petaled"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=female+OR+feminine+symbolism+%22five+petal+OR+petaled%22
Google Web Search: cinquefoil symbol OR symbolism OR symbology
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=cinquefoil+symbol+OR+symbolism+OR+symbology
I hope this is helpful! If anything is unclear or incomplete, or if a
link doesn't function, please request clarification; I'll gladly offer
further assistance before you rate my answer.
Best regards,
pinkfreud |
