The Myths and Magic of Violets

According to Maud Grieve’s Modern Herbal, there are over two hundred species of flower in the violet family. This leaves a lot of room for interpretation when it comes to magical workings. We’ll just take a look at violets in general, without going into details about specific members of the family.

In Roman myth, the first violet sprung from the spilled blood of the god Attis, who killed himself for Cybele, the mother goddess.

In other legends, Jupiter changed his lover, Io, into a heifer to protect him from the jealous rages of Juno–and violets sprouted up in the field so Io would have something to eat. It is believed that the word violet is actually a diminutive of Viola, which is the Latinized variant of Io.

Despite its legends connecting it to rather violent and jealous gods, today the violet is associated with tranquility and peace. The leaf offers protection from evil, and can be sewn into a pillow or sachet for a new baby. Carry the petals with you to bring about luck and enhance nighttime magic.

These pretty purple flowers are everywhere in the spring and early summer, so it’s a perfect opportunity to do a bit of flower magic. Dry the flowers in the sun, and use them in an incense blend to bring about sweet dreams and restful sleep. You may even want to sew them into a pillow like our Dream Pillow.

Take a square of plain muslin or cotton, and place a bundle of freshly picked violets in it. Tie the square shut and hang it over the faucet in your bathtub.

Run hot water, and allow the steam to spread the deliciously sweet scent of violets. Use this as a relaxing, cleansing bath prior to doing rituals or spellwork.

The violet is also associated with dedication and loyalty. If you want your lover to be constant and true, offer a bundle of violets as a gift, or plant a patch in front of the person’s home!

In addition to being magical, violets are one of the many edible plants you may find in the wild or in your garden. Violets can be candied–it’s time consuming, but the end result is lovely–or brewed into a water, a vinegar, or even a tea.

Grieve says that one seventeenth century cookbook describes the use of violets to make a sweet syrup:

“Take a quantity of Blew Violets, clip off the whites and pound them well in a stone morter; then take as much fair running water as will sufficiently moysten them and mix with the Violets; strain them all; and to every halfe pint of the liquor put one pound of the best loafe sugar; set it on the fire, putting the sugar in as it melts, still stirring it; let it boyle but once or twice att the most; then take it from the fire, and keep it to your use. This is a daynty sirrup of Violets.”