Celebrating Violets!

Lavender Violets, Mikell Youell Worley, 8 1/2’ x 11"

Viola spp.

Gender: Feminine
Element: Water
Planet: Venus
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Violets delight me! They visit for such a short time in the spring, yet have numerous attributes and an extensive history. Violets will protect you from “wykked sperytis” and will bring luck and love. They are featured in mythology, folk lore, literature and poetry. They have been used to cure headaches, calm tempers, and induce sleep. They have been crystallized, used for syrups and jellies, and candied. 

There are over 550 species of violets, found in temperate climates around the world. They have many folk names and most of them are reminiscent of sex or love, as they are associated with the planet, and goddess of love, Venus.  In addition, their leaves are often heart shaped, giving them a place of honor with the romancing herbs.

Like the rose, the color of the violet has great significance in sending messages. Blue violets promise "My love will always be true", and purple send the message, "I return your love." White signifies "I'm willing to take a chance on happiness".  In William Cullen Bryant’s poem "The Yellow Violet", he associated the yellow violet with a lost love. In the language  of flowers, yellow symbolizes friendship, happiness, joy and success. All violets represents modesty and humility, as they often hide their spectacular beauty under their leaves.

Violets are highlighted in many myths and legends. One rather disturbing story comes from the goddess Venus asking her son Cupid if he thought she was more attractive than a group of maidens playing along the edge of the woods. He said he found the maidens to be more beautiful, so she beat them until they were blue. I doubt that it’s valid. She is the goddess of love, after all!

Another legend states at one time violets were white, but Mary's grief at seeing the suffering of Jesus on the cross turned them all blue. They have been associated with the modesty of the Virgin Mary, the Angel Gabriel, the Holy Trinity, and Greek and Roman legends and lore. Athens has been referred to as the "Violet Crowned City”. They have also been associated with Napoleon.

Corporal Violet (Napoleon Bonaparte) used Violets to
​Announce His Plan to Return from Exile

1815 Engraving by Jean-Dominique Etienne Canu, Le Secret du Caporal La Violette

​Napoleon chose the violet as his emblem, announcing that in spite of his exile in Elba in 1814, like the violet, he would return in the spring.  The violet postcards were sent to his loyal supporters to reassure them. He returned, as promised, but his victory was short-lived. 

Can you find the three faces in the postcard? The profiles of Napoleon, Marie Louise, and their three year old son Charles, are hidden among the violets. 

Spring Salad with Violets

My favorite use for violets is sprinkled on a tossed green salad (you could use spinach, red lettuce, kale, romaine, or any combination) when she first appears in the spring. She is rich in vitamins A and C, as well as antioxidants. Add raspberries or strawberries, orange sections, radishes, red onions and avocado. Use your favorite vinaigrette salad dressing or try my Raspberry Poppy Seed Dressing from an earlier newsletter!

Spring Salad with Violets