The violet is an especially medicinal little plant and making violet flower oil is literally magic. I went searching for these tiny beautiful flowers yesterday to make one my herbal oils that I often rave about. Though it took me three hours to find a healthy patch, once amongst the violets, it was all worth it.
Making herbal oils is quite easy, yet, if you haven’t made one there are several points to keep in mind. You can read the full details on making herbal oils here. Basically an herbal oil or an herbal-infused oil is macerating (soaking) herbal material (can be flowers, leaves, roots, seeds- any plant material) in a carrier oil.
Tips for Making Violet Flower Oil
1) Violet flowers are especially lovely, yet the leaves are quite medicinal as well. For a blend, you could do 75% flowers and 25% leaves or some other ratio.
2) It is great to let the flowers wilt overnight to avoid excess moisture in your finished oil. Water will make the oil get moldy and not very useful.
3) There are several methods to making herbal oils; I’ve detailed the stove-top method below.
4) Wildcrafting, especially in urban environments, comes with special considerations. Make sure to find a clean area: away from traffic, dog paths or chemically sprayed areas. It can be tricky if you don’t have a yard!
How to Make Violet Flower Oil Using the Stove-top Method
What you will need:
~Violet flowers and leaves- fill the jar to a light pack- if you can’t harvest fresh violet, you can purchase it here
~Sweet almond oil- I buy my oils here
Directions
1. Collect violet flowers after the morning dew and before any strong sun hits them. You want the flowers to be fresh, vibrant and intact. Lightly pack a jar the size of the amount of finished oil you would like. For example, I filled up a quart jar with flowers and some leaves too.
2. Allow the flowers to wilt overnight to evaporate some moisture.
3. Now time to make the oil. Set up a double boiler, which is basically a pan with water in which you will place either a pot or a heatproof glass jar.
4. Break up the flowers with a mortar and pestle and place in the jar or pot.
5. Cover with carrier oil of choice, fill to just above the top of the herbs. I used sweet almond oil for this infusion.
6. Place the jar in the water and turn on the fire.
7. Using a chopstick, continually check the temperature of the oil and agitate the herbs. You want the oil to be hot, but not burning. If it is burning your skin, turn the heat down and/or remove the herb/oil infusion until it gets right below that warm/hot spot.
8. Allow the mix to warm for an hour minimum and as long as four hours.
9. Strain the oil through an old cloth or cheesecloth. If using somewhat fresh herbal material, do not press the oil as that will make the water go into the mix. I just lightly tap the material to release some of the oil but don’t expect to collect it all.
10. If you think there is some water in your mix, allow it to rest and the water will fall to the bottom. You can then decant the upper layer of oil into a new jar.
Uses of Violet Flower Oil
The flower is especially:
~Cooling: making it a prime remedy for heat and inflammation
~Mucilaginous: very soothing and moistening texture, especially suited for dry and irritated conditions, including skin
~Dissolving: violet works with the lymphatic system to break down and move blockages
~Magical: violet is the color and holds the energy of the third eye, ajna, chakra and helps to open up intuition and seeing layers within present reality clearly. It can be used most effectively as an anointing oil for ritual use or before bed for revelatory dreams.
~Heart-Opening: keeping an open heart is a pre-requisite to accessing bliss. Little violet knows a great deal about the heart, remaining vulnerable and tender. Those tender spaces are where love resides.
The oil can be applied medicinally to certain areas or used as abyangha oil. It is perfect by itself but can also be blend. I am going to blend this batch with castor oil for a very detoxifying and healing abyangha oil, to move blood and chi. Here’s an article by herbalist Susun Weed where you can learn more about violet flower.