Latin name: viola odorata
Plant Signature: Violets are a delicate perennial producing long stalked runners called stolons. The leaves produced in rosettes near the ground are heart shaped. Sweetly scented, they bloom in April through June. They have been admired for over 2,000 years by the ancient Athenians, Romans, and Celts, who all held the plant in high regard for its various healing properties.
FLOWER ESSENCE: Violet is the flower of simplicity and modesty. As an elixir the violet essence assists highly refined and fragile soul types. Violet assists individuals who have acute sensitivity of their surroundings and who display keen sensitivity of others. Violet essence helps people to be true to themselves while remaining open to the environment surrounding them. This essence is helpful for strengthening group or individual relationships. The violet is said to be sacred to all fairies, especially the Fairy Queen. It's heart shaped leaves attract sweetness and it offers this quality to humanity through it's delicate scent.
ARCHETYPE: Eve
No other creation myth has been more damaging to women and the feminine archetype than the story of Eve in Paradise. We tragically toss her out of our psyche as a way of cleansing ourselves from the cultural imbalance that this story has perpetuated between the relationships of woman and men. However, her image must be re-created in the hearts and mind of humanity so that we may give rise to a radically new mythos regarding Eve's story as first woman in the Garden of Paradise, and seek to regain equilibrium in the social, political, and religious paradigms of the future.
She was once known as "Goddess of all living things". It is said that she created woman and man out of clay, or, that she carved them out of stone, symbolizing the creation of material life on Earth. In a sense, Eve wove the material of the cosmos into shapes that would reveal something of her inner life and purpose. The world tree that Eve eligibly ate from is heralded by the ancients as representing the spiritual point of Balance; the secret of immortality. The imagery of the Garden as Sacred has roots into Egypt, where the Fig tree was regarded as "primal mother at the central place on Earth". Her branches ascended to the heaven, with fruit shining like stars". The Tree of Life or World Tree depicts the primal and abundant life force within the Goddesses body as "giver of life". Eve eats the fruit from the fig and apple tree nourishing herself with natures love for humanity and for herself.
The serpent or snake is revered by many cultures because it was the cause of individual existence. The alchemical serpent held the mystery of eternity, cycles, and transformation. Prior to the story of Eve both snake and the woman's body were seen as sacred for they held the secret of life and death. We have a radical leap to make if we are to offer Eve a way into the future with us, for she has been the primary archetype in the Western Christian culture, created by His-story, and sacrificed as an unequal wife and sufferer among women. Eve, in the Hebrew text, is named Isha, meaning woman. She is considered "first" woman. Allowing Eve to individuate from the Patriarchal bondage that has been cast upon her, we can free ourselves from within and shatter the cast of a very rigid portrayal of the Feminine from the past. We can honor her as devotional, sensitive, balanced, sensual, and nourished. It is due time her legacy be restored with dignity and grace.
HEALING: Eve has come to you today to offer you a new look at your freedom, liberation, and wisdom. An inverted heart shaped violet leaf covers the heart of Eve. The inverted heart was a religious symbol representing devotion and transcendent wisdom. Her hair, which symbolizes ego, is adorned with birds, symbolizing soul, and blends into the Trees of Knowledge that stand behind her. Nature is her guide and consort assisting her as she creates the vision of a New World; one that honors diversity and balance in the heart and mind of Humanity. On her vessel she paints the symbols of worldly knowledge and the image of two souls merging.
In peace and tranquility she sits among the violets as the newly hatched serpent re-births itself. This is a time of celebration, for the mysteries of life are entering a new cycle of rejuvenation and blessings. All of nature rejoices, for Eve creates the world through her purest feelings and sensuality.
You are invited into this sacred garden. How might you weave the world as you liberate into the image of New Woman. Nature surrounds you as your sister and the tender violets beckon you to enter into divine union with your Original Self. This nurturance will guide you toward your true purpose and destiny in the world.
Blessing:
Garden of violets is a paradise,
for the purity of Eve is re-born.
Passion and love are restored within me.
I create a New World with balance and equality.
I am free.
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