Herbs of the Faerie Realm - Violets
Violets:
We know spring is here when catching the scent of Violet (Viola odorata) on the breeze. Violets are members of the Violaceae (Violet) Family. You may also know them by alternative names such as heartsease, sweet violet, wild pansy, Johnny jump up, bird’s eye, kiss me at the garden gate, love idol, cuddle me, and three faces under a hood.
The name Violet is from the Latin Viola, a name for scented plants, and also a Greek nymph. Mythology recounts that Zeus (Jupiter in Rome) had several human lovers, one whose name was Ione (Viola is the Latin form of the Greek Ione). Zeus’s wife, Hera (Juno in Rome) became jealous and turned Ione into a white heifer. Zeus created violets to give Ione something lovely to graze upon, rather than coarse grass, where her tears had fallen on the ground.
“Whereso’r her lips she sets Said Zeus, be breaths called violets.”
- Anonymous
Gathering the first violet of sprig is said to grant your dearest wish. Violet faeries offer protection against negative energy and help one incur good fortune. Violet is closely allied with the faerie queen and violet faeries help one to feel well adjusted, and increase a psychic abilities.
Venus disputed with her son Cupid over who was more beautiful, herself or a group of young maidens. Cupid favored the maidens. Venus flew into such a rage that she 1 beat her competitors till they turned blue and became violets. In other versions, Cupid shot an arrow through a white pansy, changing its color forever. Their connection to Venus made violets a popular love potion and aphrodisiac.
Persephone (Prosporina in Rome) the daughter of Demeter (Ceres in Rome), the Earth Mother, was playing with her companions, gathering lilies and violets, and filling her basket and her apron with them, when Hades (Pluto in Rome) saw her, loved her, and carried her off to live with him in the underworld. According to another story, the great mother goddess Cybele loved Attis, who was killed while hunting a wild boar. Where his blood fell on the ground, violets grew.
Violets grew where Orpheus slept and it is said that wherever he lay down his lyre, a bed of violets would spring up. According to legend, Ion was leading his people to Attica and was welcomed by water nymphs, which gave him violets as signs of their good wishes. Thus violets became the city's emblem, and no Athenian home (the center of the Attican Basin), altar or wedding was complete without them. Violets have long been strewn on the bed of newly weds.
Both Greeks and Romans associated violets with funerals and death. Violets were routinely scattered around tombs, and as symbols of innocence and modesty, children’s graves were routinely so blanketed with violets that the grave was completely covered. During the Roman Empire, when a child reached its third birthday, celebrations were held and the child was adorned with violets to mark that the child had survived the most precarious years of infancy. Wearing violets when out hunting promised protection that the wearer would not fall from his horse.
Violets are an herb of Imbolc, the ancient festival held on February to honor the coming of the sun.
In the Christian tradition this holiday has been known as Candalmas and the feast of St. Brigid, also known as the goddess Brigid, Freya, and Friyya. In the Christian tradition, violets are said to have bloomed when the archangel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would bear a child of promise. Monks of the Middle Ages considered Viola tricolor, (three colored, also known as pansy, a close relative of violet) a symbol of the trinity. Medieval Christians believed violets were once strong, upright flowers until the day of the crucifixion, when the shadow of the cross fell upon them, causing them to bow their heads in shame for Christ’s persecution. Monks grew violets in monastic gardens to make fragrant retreats to contemplate the Divine Presence.
In Shakespeare’s Midsummer’s Night’s Dream, King Oberon caused much mischief by squeezing the juice of Pansy into the eyes of Titania, the faerie queen so she would fall in love withwhover next passed by.
“Fetch me that flower, the flower I shew’d thee once The juice of it on sleeping eyelids laid Will make a man or woman wildly dote Upon the next live creature that it sees.”
- William Shakespeare, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
Napoleon cherished violets and they were the symbol of his Imperial Party and Napoleon was referred to as Caporal Violet. On their wedding day, Josephine was given violets by Napoleon and another bunch each year on their anniversary. While in exile on the island of Elba, he supposedly confided to his friends that he would return to France with the appearance of the violets in the spring. To determine a loyal supporter, the question was asked of a stranger: --Do you like violets? If the reply was “Yes” (Oui) or “No” (Non), it revealed one who did not know of the plot. If the answer was “Eh bien,” it confirmed the person’s loyalty. Violets were one of Queen Victoria’s favorites.
Violets are purple, which combines the passion of red and the spiritual and calming qualities of blue. Violets have long been associated with love, protection, resurrection, immortality, humility and modesty, perhaps because they grow in the shade and the flowers are hidden amongst the heart shaped leaves.
It is considered unlucky to bring a single violet into the house, thus they are brought indoors in bunches. It has also been considered unwise to collect violets when there is dew upon them, or the death of a loved one might follow. Violet flowers are carried to bring good fortune and also to scent linen. A garland of violets around the neck or head protects against deception, dizziness, inebriation, headaches and hangovers. Violet roots have been tied around one’s legs to give strength in running. The bruised blossoms have been tied around one’s forefinger. If the patient slept, the prognosis was positive, if sleep elusive, the future was not as bright. If you are given violets plants as a gift, it's very auspicious. If this gift comes from your lover, even better. When violets bloom in the fall, they mean to warn us of imminent dangers. When violets appear in your dreams, fortune is not too long away, or perhaps, you will marry someone younger than yourself! In the language of flowers, violets indicate the love of truth or, conversely, the truth of love.
For thousands of years by millions of people, violet leaves and flowers have been used medicinally as antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, diuretic, and wound healing agents. Violet leaves and flowers reduce swellings and are used in the treatment of abscess, acne, anger, asthma, boils, bronchitis, cancer colds, cough, cysts, eczema, fever, fibrocystic breast disease, grief, headache, lymphatic congestion, mastitis, mumps, psoriasis, sore throat, tuberculosis, tumors, ulcers, urinary tract infection, varicose veins, and whooping cough. Violet has long been considered a cure for a broken heart, when eaten as a flower or blended into honey. Violet leaf tea is safe and gentle; it even can be used as a substitute for baby aspirin.
Topically, violet leaves can be used as a compress to treat boils, conjunctivitis, breast cysts, cancers, diaper rash, eczema, and hemorrhoids. Apply a cloth soaked in violet tea to the back of the neck to treat headaches. As a salve, it helps reduce for corns and warts. Oil infused with violets is used to treat tinnitus.
In homeopathy, Viola is for ailments that occur on the right side of the body. Violet flower essence helps those that feel lonely, despite being surrounded by others. It increases openness, faith and warmth and helps shy aloof people that want to share of them but feel overwhelmed. It improves the ability to interact with others while protecting the individual.
As long as the violet leaves are heart shaped, the leaves and buds, are edible raw in salads or as a potherb. Flowers are edible and make a beautiful garnish. The flowers are eaten as a breath freshener. Freeze the flowers into ice cube trays for a touch of elegance. Violet vinegar made from the flowers is visually purple. Violet sherbet, puddings, cold soup, and candied violets are sweet delicacies. Violet tea is most often prepared from the leaves. The flowers are used to make a cold-water infusion and also to color foods and alcoholic beverages such as wine. Violet is used to make the liqueur Parfait D’Amour. No wonder Venus cherished it!
Violet leaves and flower contain beta-carotene, vitamin c, iron, salicylates, alkaloid (violene), flavonoid (rutin), mucilage, and essential oil (flowers).
Violets have long been used to perfume soaps, lotions and perfumes. The flowers yield a pigment with is used in litmus paper to test for acid and alkaline levels. Violet is the state flower of Illinois, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.
Energetically, violets are considered:
Flavor: pungent, bitter, sweet
Temperature: cool
Moisture: moist
Planetary Association: Venus. Moon
Element: water
Polarity: yin
Do not substitute African violets as a medicine plant.
In the garden, violet provides nectar for early butterflies. Violets are native to western Asia and Europe but is 6 widely cultivated and naturalized. In gardening, violet leaves are used as a fertilizer for leaf crops. Cherokee Indians have soaked corn seeds in cooled violet tea to prevent insect damage during germination. Most violets (with over 200 species) are perennial, though there are a few annuals among them. They usually have five petals, two on the upper portion, two laterals, and one on the bottom. The flowers are cleistogamous (“closed marriage” meaning self fertilizing) and come in colors ranging from purple, lavender, and sometimes pink, yellow, or white. V. tricolor is also known as pansy, the cultivated cousin of violet and has multicolored flowers. Though flowers appear in early spring, the true seed-producing flower is inconspicuous and appears in autumn. The plant prefers full to partial shade, soil that is rich in organic matter, and moderate to high amounts of water. Violet makes a wonderful ground cover, providing food and medicine all year round without needing to be mowed. Lawn mowers are not the friend of the faerie folk!
“I think the King is but a man, as I am: the violet smells to him as it doth me.
- William Shakespeare, Henry V