Legend: Flowers (Carnation, Lily, Lotus, Marigold, Rose, Sunflower)

Please see the Introduction To Rabbit Hole Legend A-Z post for information about sources and purpose

Flowers: Flowers are another common theme for the Beatles, from Paul McCartney's albums, "Flowers in the Dirt" and "Red Rose Speedway" and his enigmatic "L.I.L.Y", to the sunflower image in Blue Jay Way and in Free as a Bird. The most intriguing flower image, though has to the the odd presence of (and ridiculous explanations for the presence of..) the black carnation on Paul's lapel in Your Mother Should Know.

{Carnation: In the movie, Magical Mystery Tour, the end segment involves a song-and-dance number called, Your Mother Should Know. In this, the Beatles are seen wearing white tuxedos and all but Paul wear a red carnation in the lapel. Paul has a black carnation...have you ever seen a black carnation? The explanation for this generally given has been that they ran out of red carnations, and only had black ones lying around, so he used that. This is despite the fact that red carnations can clearly be seen in the bouquet in his hand. He is the only one carrying flowers. Again...why did they just have black carnations lying around? You have to go through a lot of expense and effort to acquire black carnations....

"(Red) My heart aches for you, admiration." (CESS)

"For the most part, carnations express love, fascination, and distinction, though there are many variations dependent on colour. [...] Purple carnations indicate capriciousness. In France, it is a traditional funeral flower, given in condolence for the death of a loved one. In France and Francophone cultures, carnations symbolize misfortune and bad luck. Pink carnations have the most symbolic and historical significance. According to a Christian legend, carnations first appeared on Earth as Jesus carried the Cross. The Virgin Mary shed tears at Jesus' plight, and carnations sprang up from where her tears fell. Thus the pink carnation became the symbol of a mother's undying love. [...]

Some scholars believe that the name "carnation" comes from "coronation" or "corone" (flower garlands), as it was one of the flowers used in Greek ceremonial crowns. Others think the name stems from the Latin "caro" (genitive "carnis") (flesh), which refers to the original colour of the flower, or incarnatio (incarnation), which refers to the incarnation of God made flesh." <Follow link to Source>

"[Red Carnations] Their color means love, pure gratifying love. Light red carnations stand for respect and admiration while deep red, scarlet carnations have a deeper meaning, a meaning of desire and passionate love. They are used in fraternities as a symbol of loyalty and survival and they became, in 1904, the official state flower of Ohio.

Red inspires beauty, heat, strength – red is the color of the heart, and mixed up in the blooms of the carnations, it can only express one feeling – love.<Follow Link to Source>

" If you are invited to a German's house, bring a gift such as chocolates or flowers. [...] Do not give carnations as they symbolize mourning. Do not give lilies or chrysanthemums as they are used at funerals.

 Some older French retail old-style prohibitions against receiving certain flowers: White Lilies or Chrysanthemums as they are used at funerals; Red Carnations as they symbolize bad will; any white flowers as they are used at weddings." <Source>

"Black carnations are filled with mystery. They are often associated with negative things, but even though they seem dark and scary, black carnations can be quite elegant and fancy.

Black carnations are not naturally obtained flowers, they do not exist in nature as such. They are dyed or genetically modified, just like blue flowers.[...]

 Black carnations are obtained by using genetic engineering and hybridization techniques. The Australian company Florigene obtained black carnations by taking the blue pigment from the genes of a petunia and insert it in the DNA of a deep red carnation.[...]

 Black carnations are quite rare and avoided mostly because they symbolize mourning and, therefore, death. Also, there are a few stories in the folklore in which giving a black carnation to someone means that you want the death of that person." <Follow Link to Source>


Lily: Paul has alluded to "L.I.L.Y." on his Ram album (which means Linda I Love You), by placing a "lily" sign next to him during an interview, and insisting on having Lily plants in his dressing room. Stella McCartney just released a perfume called L.I.L.Y.. I'm also positive I remember seeing a lily by a head stone in either "Free as a Bird" or "Yellow Submarine", ...but I can't find the image at the moment.

 "along with the rose and the lotus, the lily comprises a sacred trinity of the most important flower symbols in the world.

[...]The Angel Gabriel  appeared to Mary carrying a lily, and he flower has always been associated with the Virgin. However, the shape of the lily's petals ad its phallic-looking pistils, standing erect from the center of the flower, means that the flower is a symbol of sexuality and reproduction.[...]

The lily is a symbol of the Goddess, in whatever form she may take, and the Babylonian Goddess Lilith- reputedly the first wife of Adam- who was later demonized by the Christian church, takes her name from the name of the lily or the Lilu (Lotus). The flower is also sacred to Astarte, whose name in parts of Europe is Eostre, which gives us the word, "Easter"; hence the lilies which have become a symbol of a much older association. [...]

The lily- particularly the calla lily- is also a symbol of resurrection, which is why it is used at funeral and sometimes appears on gravestones." (ISS)

"The flower most commonly associated with funeral services in the popular mind is the lily. Lilies are often interpreted as a symbol of the innocence that has been restored to the soul of the departed. A white stargazer lily symbolizes sympathy and any type of white lily expresses majesty and purity." <Source>}

Marigold: "The King of Marigold was in the kitchen / Cooking breakfast for the Queen / The Queen was in the parlor / Playing piano for the children of the King."

 " The marigold -- genus Tagetes -- is a popular traditional Indian wedding flower, with its bright orange-gold color and ability to stay fresh once cut. Celebrants make them into garlands and use them to decorate religious sites. Marigolds also appear at funerals. First discovered in Central America by the Portuguese in the 16th century, marigolds quickly became popular in India because the flower's color represented honorable people." <Source>


Rose: Most notably referred to by Paul McCartney's "Red Rose Speedway" album..where he is laying with his head on a motorcycle, with a rose "crammed" into his mouth, like a gag-ball or something, or so it seems from his wide, alarmed-looking eyes.

 "[...] The rose is a natural mandala or wheel, the layers of petals describing a perfectly symmetrical circle around its yellow center, itself reminiscent of the Sun.

The rose is also a symbol for secrecy, perhaps because of the way the petals hide its center, perhaps for some more obscure reason. To speak of something as being sub rosa- 'under the rose'- means that any information must be kept confidential. Some Masonic lodges and alchemy guilds still conduct meetings with a red rose hanging from the ceiling as a reminder of the private nature of the discussions taking place. There are three roses on the ceremonial apron of the Master Mason, acting as reminders of faith, silence, and secrecy." (ISS)

"Roses were scattered on Roman graves as funerary emblems of mourning to symbolize not only the painful brevity of human life but also the hope of life continuing in a world beyond this" (1,001S)

Lotus: The Lotus comes up in various Beatles images, especially associated with the Maharashi. Also- Tara Brown's car was a Lotus Elan.
"Both the otherworldly appearance of the [lotus] flower and its growing circumstances make it obvious that the flower is somehow very special indeed. It's therefore no surprise that the flower is one of eight auspicious symbols in both Chinese and Tibetan Buddhist iconography.

This sensuous and extraordinary flower, with its perfect petals, rises imperiously from muddy swamps, its head above the dirty water. The symbolism applied by generations of Egyptian, Indian and Chinese sages is obvious. First, the flower arises in complete perfection from the murky primal waters of creation. Next, the flower comes from the darkness into the light, woken by the sun; third, the lotus symbolizes the triumph of spirit over matter and is a metaphor for the journey to enlightenment.

Because the lotus retreats back into the water during the hours of darkness only to rise again above the surface of the water at dawn, the Egyptians saw it as a symbol of death and rebirth.

[...] Lotus has 8 petals, symbolizing the four cardinal directions and the four inter-cardinal directions, as well as the rulers of the eight directions of the universe, or Ashtadikpalas. [...]

In Hindu iconography, the lotus is seen as the base of the earth from which the holy mountains (such as Kailash and Meru) rise. The stalk of the flower is associated with the world axis which rises up through this sacred mountain." (ISS)

Sun Flower: Referred to in "Free as a Bird", was worn by John in "Blue Jay Way", the Wizards caps in MMT have Sunflowers on them, and Peter Brown stated that George put one on Brian's coffin when he was buried.

  "As its name signifies, the sunflower has close solar associations, not only because of its appearance, but because of its habit of turning its head to follow the sun during its journey across the sky. The sunflower has magical powers, too, and adorned the crowns of Roman Emperors, thereby conferring the ruler with the potent power of the Sun that the flower held within it. The sunflower was later adopted by the Christian Church to denote the saints, prophets, and apostles; as the flower follows the Sun, so the true believer follows God.

Greek legend had it that a nymph Clytie and the Sun God, Helios, were in love. but Helios cast aside poor Clytie for another lover. Clytie died of grief and was transformed into a sunflower, destined to live alone and having to follow the course of her former love. Therefore the sunflower, as a symbol has adopted an aspect of Clytie's personality: the inability to get over some the emotions or to "let go."

The Seed head of the sunflower contains a magical symbol. It shows a perfect example of the golden spiral that has been created naturally. The shape is one of the cornerstones of sacred geometry." (ISS)

" Sunflowers are symbolic of adoration. Sunflowers turn their heads to the sun, which is the origin of their common name. Sunflowers belong to the genus helianthus, a reference to Helios, the sun god. [...] Sunflowers are native to the Americas and are the state flower of Kansas and the national flower of Russia. Sunflowers bloom from July through September. Sunflowers are traditionally bright yellow with a central disk or reddish brown." <Source>

"Ovid tells the tale of a nymph, Clytie, who pined away for the love of Helios,the Sun, until she was transformed into a flower whose face always turns to follow her love through the sky. This heliotrope was probably not what we call the sunflower, which is named for its appearance rather than its behavior, but the sunflower has long been linked to the unrequited devotion of a lover, or to the longing of the earthbound soul for its heavenly home. A sonnet attributed to Dante laments the disdain of his mistress: ‘‘Nor did she who turns to see the sun / and changed, preserves her unchanged love, /ever have as bitter fate as I’. Blake’s evocative little poem ‘‘Ah! Sun-flower’’ takes the flower, ‘‘weary of time, / Who countes the steps of the Sun,’’ as an emblem of ‘‘the Youth pined away with desire’’and ‘‘the pale Virgin shrouded with snow,’’ who arise from their graves. Blake may have been prompted by an account of the neo-Platonic philosopher Proclus, who cites the heliotrope as a symbol of souls who long for spiritual illumination. The same source seems to have led Bronson Alcott to choose the name The Dial (i.e., sundial) for the journal of the Transcendentalists." <Source>
<Interesting stuff here about Sunflowers and Michael Jackson> }