Found in the Hermetikon archive

Violet

Viola odorata

Violet 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: low concern
Books: 88
Contexts: 4
Mentions: 499

Overview Reading Contexts Citations Related Books

Archive Profile

Identity, safety, and search aliases used to connect this herb to the archive.

Herb identity

Common name: violet
Latin name: Viola odorata(ambiguous)
Identity note: Violet can be color language or flower; archive ranking shows strong floral presence.

Safety

low concern

Ordinary flower references are low concern; medicinal use depends on species and preparation.

Historical archive citations are not medical advice. Use modern clinical and poison-control sources for ingestion, dosage, pregnancy, and toxicity questions.

Kew POWO: Ordinary flower references are low concern; medicinal use depends on species and preparation.

Aliases

violetViola odorataviolets

Violet in Historical Sources

Curated archive synthesis of recurring uses, recipes, rituals, and interpretive problems.

Hermetikon's curated reading of Violet (Viola odorata) is built from 3 source-linked archive notes and 2 preparation or ritual-use entries. The strongest recurring contexts are preparations, folk magic, and astrology. Each note below links back to the archive source used for the claim.

Preparation

high

Culpeper includes violets in a common decoction for clysters with mallows, pellitory, beets, mercury, chamomile flowers, fennel seed, and linseed.

Culpeper's Complete Herbal | Nicholas Culpeper | 1653

Chapter 56

Astrology

high

Agrippa names violets among Venusian sweet flowers for good fumigations in matters of love, goodwill, and similar operations.

Three Books of Occult Philosophy | Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim | 1533

Page 147

Folk magic

high

Frazer records Bohemian spring processions where girls dressed in white wear first spring flowers, including violets and daisies, while leading a flower-crowned Queen.

The Golden Bough | James George Frazer | 1906

CHAPTER X RELICS OF TREE-WORSHIP IN MODERN EUROPE

Preparations and ritual uses

Syrup

high

Hill makes syrup of violets by the same flower-syrup method used for clove-gillyflowers and red poppies.

The Family Herbal | John Hill | 1755

Page 42

Clyster decoction

high

Culpeper's common clyster decoction uses violets with mallows, pellitory, beets, mercury, chamomile, fennel, and linseed.

Culpeper's Complete Herbal | Nicholas Culpeper | 1653

Chapter 56

Violet Archive Contexts

Compact source patterns from the extracted citation set.

Medicine

1 passage across 1 book; strongest source: King's American Dispensatory.

Matched as violets; high confidence.

Astrology

8 passages across 8 books; strongest source: Encyclopaedia of Occultism.

Matched as violets; high confidence.

Preparation

3 passages across 3 books; strongest source: Culpeper's Complete Herbal.

Matched as violets; high confidence.

Safety

1 passage across 1 book; strongest source: Young Folks' Treasury Vol. 2.

Matched as violets; high confidence.

Violet Cited Excerpts

Representative public passages with the herb mention highlighted and linked to archive source material.

5 shown

Culpeper's Complete Herbal

Nicholas Culpeper

1653

"...### DECOCTIONS. #### *Decoctum commune pro clystere.* Or a common Decoction for a Clyster. *College.*] Take of Mallows, Violets, Pellitory, Beets, and Mercury, Chamomel flowers, of each one handful, sweet Fennel seeds half an ounce, Linseeds two drams, boil them in a sufficient quantity of common water to a pound. *Culpeper.*] This is the common decoction for all clysters, according to the quality of the humour abounding, so you may add what Simples, or Syrups, or Electuaries you please; only half a score Linseeds, and a handful of Chamomel flowers are added. #..."

Chapter 56Open in Reader

Preparationalias: violetshigh confidence

The Family Herbal

John Hill

1755

"... pour off the clear liquor, and make it into a syrup as directed above: in the same manner are to be made the syrups of violets and red poppies: but less of the violet flowers will do, and more of the poppies may be added; thus, also, are to be made the syrups of damask roses, peach blossoms, cowslip flowers, and many others which will be recommended for that purpose in this book. Syrup of buckthorn, is to be made by boiling the juice down to half its quantity, with a little cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg, and then adding the sugar. The syrups of lemon-juice, mul..."

Page 42Open in Reader

Preparationalias: violetshigh confidence

Three Books of Occult Philosophy

Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim

1533

"... Sun, all gums, frankincense, mastic, benjamin, storax, ladanum, ambergris and musk; to Venus, sweet flowers, as roses, violets, saffron, and such like; to Mercury, all the peels of wood and fruit, as cinnamon, lignum cassia, mace, citron or lemon peel, and bayberries, and whatsoever seeds are odoriferous; to the Moon, the leaves of all vegetables, as the leaf indum, and the leaves of the myrtle and bay -tree. Know, also, that according to the opinion of the magicians, in every good matter, as love, good will, and the like, there must be a good fume, odoriferou..."

Page 147Open in Reader

Astrologyalias: violetshigh confidence

The Golden Bough

James George Frazer

1890

"...d of Libchowic (Bohemia), on the fourth Sunday in Lent, girls dressed in white and wearing the first spring flowers, as violets and daisies, in their hair, lead about the village a girl who is called the Queen and is crowned with flowers. During the procession, which is conducted with great solemnity, none of the girls may stand still, but must keep whirling round continually and singing. In every house the Queen announces the arrival of spring and wishes the inmates good luck and blessings, for which she receives presents. In German Hungary the girls choose th..."

X. Relics of Tree Worship in Modern EuropeOpen in Reader

Astrologyalias: violetshigh confidence

The Golden Bough

James George Frazer

1906

CHAPTER X RELICS OF TREE-WORSHIP IN MODERN EUROPEOpen in Reader

Astrologyalias: violetshigh confidence

Books Mentioning Violet

Complete public source inventory, placed after the interpretive reading so the page opens with the most useful synthesis first.

88 books

Culpeper's Complete Herbal

Nicholas Culpeper | 1653

violetsviolet

102 mentionscited

Anatomy of Melancholy

Robert Burton | 1621

Archive Profile

Herb identity

Safety

Aliases

Violet in Historical Sources

Preparation

Astrology

Folk magic

Preparations and ritual uses

Syrup

Clyster decoction

Violet Archive Contexts

Medicine

Astrology

Preparation

Safety

Violet Cited Excerpts

Culpeper's Complete Herbal

The Family Herbal

Three Books of Occult Philosophy

The Golden Bough

The Golden Bough

Related Archive Material

Related herbs

Books Mentioning Violet