SOME forms of plant divination would appear to be based on. pure chance in that the diviner has little influence on the outcome, as, for example, with the practice of blowing seeds off a dandelion or pulling petals off a daisy to ascertain the faithfulness of a lover. In other forms this may not necessarily be the case, for there is the possibility, if not the probability, that though they seem on the surface to rely on pure chance or some supernatural event, they can be influenced or deliberately engineered by the participants in order to manipulate a relationship or to legitimize one. From the following examples I hope to illustrate this theory in further detail. Furthermore, because the forms of love divination are so many and so varied, I shall only concentrate on those which take place in the first six months of the year and are associated with festivals or saints' days. Many forms of love divining were associated with particular festivals, and often involved the appearance of the lover in a dream or as a ghost or image. In most cases, undoubtedly, the actions performed during the day or evening, such as sowing seed in a dark churchyard or garden, fasting, or placing objects under the pillow, coupled with the heightened emotions aroused during these actions, would be enough under the circumstances to induce the desired dreams. The supposed appearance of the lover as a ghost, particularly, though not exclusively associated with the hemp seed (Cannabis sativa) divination to be described below, may have in fact been the real person. In most cases, I believe, the girl would probably already know the man, who in turn would reveal his feelings by taking part in the little drama, by raking or mowing the seed thrown by the girl. These actions may be seen as an attempt by the couple to formalize their relationship or give it endorsement by a supposed supernatural occurrence. Some examples will serve to illustrate these points, and I shall begin with those taking place on St. Agnes's Eve (20 January). St. Agnes was the patroness of young girls, and the customs observed on her day relate to divinations formerly carried out almost exclusively by girls. Many forms of divination were practised, but a twenty-four hours' fast beginning on the Eve was a condition precedent to its completion. Another important point was the girl's direct appeal to St. Agnes, which is recorded in some accounts. This direct appeal occurs also in other divinations taking place on a saint's day, as may be observed later in this paper. In northern England and Scotland, for example, until the mid-nineteenth century, girls, and also in this case young men, met together at midnight on St. Agnes's Eve and going to a cornfield threw in handfuls of grain; the girl would then repeat: