Identity
mediumThe featured iris evidence is mythological or personal-name material, not Iris germanica; Apollonius' Iris is the divine messenger who restrains the Harpies.
Found in the Hermetikon archive
Iris
Iris germanica
Iris appears in Hermetikon as an archive-backed plant entry, with references across historical medical, magical, symbolic, and ritual contexts where the source texts support them.
- Risk
- moderate
- Books
- 7
- Contexts
- 4
- Mentions
- 23
Archive Profile
Identity, safety, and search aliases used to connect this herb to the archive.
Herb identity
- Common name
- iris
- Latin name
- Iris germanica(ambiguous)
- Identity note
- Iris is also a mythic figure and visual anatomy term; botanical context is required.
Safety
moderate
Iris and orris preparations can irritate; species and plant part matter.
Historical archive citations are not medical advice. Use modern clinical and poison-control sources for ingestion, dosage, pregnancy, and toxicity questions.
- Kew POWO: Iris and orris preparations can irritate; species and plant part matter.
Aliases
irisIris germanicairis root
Iris in Historical Sources
Curated archive synthesis of recurring uses, recipes, rituals, and interpretive problems.
Hermetikon's curated reading of Iris (Iris germanica) is built from 2 source-linked archive notes. The strongest recurring contexts are symbolism and identity. Each note below links back to the archive source used for the claim.
Symbolism
mediumMyths of the Norsemen explicitly equates Greek Iris with the rainbow and compares her to Heimdal, supporting a rainbow-symbolism note rather than a botanical claim.
Myths of the Norsemen | Anonymous | 1200
SECTION II. THE DEATH OF BALDER THE GOOD.
Iris Archive Contexts
Compact source patterns from the extracted citation set.
Astrology
2 passages across 2 books; strongest source: A Book of Myths.
Matched as iris; medium confidence.
Folk magic
2 passages across 1 book; strongest source: The Coming of the Fairies.
Matched as iris; medium confidence.
Preparation
4 passages across 3 books; strongest source: Argonautica.
Matched as iris; medium confidence.
Symbolism
1 passage across 1 book; strongest source: Myths of the Norsemen.
Matched as iris; medium confidence.
Iris Cited Excerpts
Representative public passages with the herb mention highlighted and linked to archive source material.
The Coming of the Fairies
Arthur Conan Doyle
1922
"...etained. There is one point of Mr, Gardner's investigation which should be mentioned. It had come to our knowledge that Iris could draw, and had actually at one time done some designs for a j eweller . This naturally demanded caution, though the girl's own frank nature is, I understand, a sufficient guarantee for those who know her. Mr. Gardner, however, tested her powers of drawing, and found that, while she could do landscapes cleverly, the fairy figures which she had attempted in imitation of those she had seen were entirely uninspired, and bore no possib..."
Page 53Open in Reader
Astrologyalias: irismedium confidence
Argonautica
Apollonius Rhodius
250
"...torn them to pieces, despite heaven’s will, when they had overtaken them far off at the Floating Islands, had not swift Iris seen them and leapt down from the sky from heaven above, and cheeked them with these words: “It is not lawful, O sons of Boreas, to strike with your swords the Harpies, the hounds of mighty Zeus; but I myself will give you a pledge, that hereafter they shall not draw near to Phineus.” With these words she took an oath by the waters of Styx, which to all the gods is most dread and most awful, that the Harpies would never thereafter agai..."
BOOK IIOpen in Reader
Preparationalias: irismedium confidence
The Equinox Vol. 1 No. 3
Aleister Crowley
1910
"...contending kisses ! I rejoice, yea, I shout with gladness! till all my laughter, like enchaunted waters, is blown as an iris-web of bubbles from the lips of the deep, in the Glory and Splendour of Thy Name. 4. Ah! but I rejoice in Thee, O Thou my God ; Thou who broodest on the dark breasts of the deep ; Thou lap of the wave-glittering sea ; Thou bright vesture of the crested floods : Yea, I rejoice in Thee, Thou native splendour of the Waters ; O Thou fathomless Abyss of surging joy! I rejoice, yea, I shout with gladness! till the mad swords of my music smit..."
Page 381Open in Reader
Preparationalias: irismedium confidence
Myths of the Norsemen
Anonymous
1200
"...pon Odin’s shoulders. The masculine Heimdal, god of the rainbow among the Norsemen, we find in Greece as the feminine Iris, who charged the clouds with water from the lakes and rivers, in order that it might fall again upon the earth in gentle fertilizing showers. She was daughter of Thaumas and Elektra, granddaughter of Okeanos, and the swift-footed gold-winged messenger of the gods. The Norse Balder is the Greek Adonis. Frigg, the mother of Balder, mourns the death of her son, while Aphrodite sorrows for her special favorite, the young rosy shepherd, Ado..."
CHAPTER VI. THE NORSE MYTHOLOGY FURNISHES ABUNDANT AND EXCELLENT MATERIAL FOR THE USE OF POETS, SCULPTORS AND PAINTERS.Open in Reader
Preparationalias: irismedium confidence
A Book of Myths
Andrew Lang
1889
"In a valley among the black Cimmerian mountains the death-god Somnus had his abode. In her rainbow-hued robes, Iris darted through the sky at her mistress’s bidding, tingeing, as she sped through them, the clouds that she passed. It was a silent valley that she reached at last. Here the sun never came, nor was there ever any sound to break the silence. From the ground the noiseless grey clouds, whose work it is to hide the sun and moon, rose softly and rolled away up to the mountain tops and down to the lowest valleys, to work the will of the gods. ..."
CEYX AND HALCYONEOpen in Reader
Astrologyalias: irismedium confidence
Books Mentioning Iris
Complete public source inventory, placed after the interpretive reading so the page opens with the most useful synthesis first.
Argonautica
Apollonius Rhodius | 250
iris
8 mentionscited
Myths of the Norsemen
Anonymous | 1200
iris
5 mentionscited
A Book of Myths
Andrew Lang | 1889
iris
4 mentionscited
The Coming of the Fairies
Arthur Conan Doyle | 1922
iris
3 mentionscited
The Equinox Vol. 1 No. 3
Aleister Crowley | 1910
iris
1 mentioncited
The Discoverie of Witchcraft
Reginald Scot | 1584
iris
1 mention
The Prophecies
Michel de Nostredame (Nostradamus) | 1555
iris
1 mention