Birth Flower for September

Every flower has a history and every flower symbolizes something. Often the history and symbols are confusing and contradictory but they are still fascinating. If your birthday is in the month of September, your flower is the aster. Here is the story and language of your flower.

Linguistic Roots for the Name Aster

The Latin name for the aster is Aster, which literally means star. The association with stars, clearly references the flower’s shape. While we no longer use the word aster to refer to stars, we still use words that use the root aster in words with related meanings. The word asterisk literally means ‘little star,’ while the word disaster refers to something that occurred under a bad omen or something that was ‘ill-starred.’

The colloquial names for the aster are starwort and Michaelmas daisy.

Star in the name starwort again references the flower’s star-like blossoms. Wort referred to the root and was used in ancient times to indicate a plant with healing properties.

Asters are sometimes called the Michaelmas daisy because their blooms coincide with the feast of St Michael. Wells writes poignantly that ‚”Michaelmas was always the date of beginnings: the academic year at Oxford and Cambridge, the quarterly court session, the day for debts to be settled and annual rents (often including a goose) to be paid. In the garden both Michaelmas daisies and Chinese asters bloom in the autumn, magnificent curtain calls of summer but reminders too of new beginnings after winter’s sleep.” (8)

Legends Surrounding the Flower

According to Greek mythology, before humans fell into evil, the gods and goddesses walked the earth. When humans began to become more and more corrupt, Astraea the goddess of innocence left earth to dwell in the heavens as the constellation Virgo.

Eventually, even Zeus became tired of the corruptness of humanity and created a flood to cover the entire earth except for the top of Mt Parnassus. Two humans, Deucalian and Pyrrha survived the flood on top of Parnassus. However, after the flood receded they wandered the earth lost and alone. Astraea took pity on them and created starlight to guide them. As she wept from pity, her tears landed on earth and formed the star-like flower, the aster.

Speaking with the Aster

If you send someone asters you are speaking to them of romantic things such as Love; Daintiness, and Affection.

Take a look at a complete list of Flowers of the Month.

Sources

Ward, Bobby J. A Contemplation Upon Flowers: Garden Plants in Myth and Literature. Timber Press, 2005.

Wells, Diana. 100 Flowers and How They Got Their Names. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 1997