in-pictures-the-lovely-spiritual-symbolism-of-flowers-6072 - Page 9

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The milk thistle — virtue. Symbol of uncultivated earth, and by extension the virgin woman, it is the image of virtue protected by its quills. According to legend, the Virgin Mary, wanting to keep the Baby Jesus safe from Herod's soldiers, hid in a grove of thistles; she nursed him there, and some drops of her milk fell on the thistle’s leaves, staining them white.

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