All About Flower Essences: Wild Pansy

Well, it looks like the Fairies planted something in my garden...and yes, it makes total sense.

As many of you dear subscribers may know from previous posts or podcast episodes, I have a garden. In it, I grow many things: flowers, trees, herbs and vegetables. From the flowers, I make flower essences— and sell them on our Etsy shop HERE.

And, if you’ve been keeping up with our posts about our flower essence garden, you’ll know that the fairies and nature spirits have been increasingly interactive— and hilarious!

The latest adventure in this backyard fairy tale saga? Wild pansies.

A mystery plant

Up until a few days ago, the plant pictured above was a flowerless enigma.

For months, I’ve asked friends and family what they thought it might be, as I didn’t remember planting anything in this pot. One friend suggested catnip. My theory that it was marjoram was destroyed by my husband pointing out its lack of herb-y smell. And, almost everyday, I would spend a few moments starting at it, attempting to will the name of its genus and species into my psychic mind.

Spoiler alert: it didn’t work.

Or, I should say, it didn’t work until I saw a small flower bloom (see image above). I remember being super confused, wondering, “Is that a teeny tiny pansy?”

Turns out: it was. It is. And, apparently, teeny tiny pansies— otherwise known as wild field pansies, or violas— are totally a thing.

And not just any flower thing. They’re very, very magical— and were featured as a plant medicine quite prominently in the Shakespearian masterpiece A Midsommer Night’s Dream (more on that in the section below).

The weirdest part? I double and triple-checked my seed orders, and never purchased any pansies to plant. I don’t remember planting these. And it’s not like they’re scattershot throughout the garden in random locations. Rather, they’re all concentrated in what was otherwise an empty planter— right up by our back door, precisely the area in which the fairies like to leave us thoughtful gifts.

Coincidence? I think not.

A fairy tale

It’s even less of a coincidence when you research pansy’s prominence in literal fairy tales— including those featuring figures prominent in our TOTEM Tarot Deck, like Titania: the Queen of the Summer Solstice and all of the Summer Fae:

The exact lines pertaining to wild pansies in Midsummer Night’s Dream— in a conversation between Oberon and Puck— are all about how to use the plant’s “medicine” to enchant (and seduce) the likes of the Fairy Queen herself, Titania, as well as key play characters Lysander and Demetrius:

“That very time I saw …

Cupid all arm’d: a certain aim he took …

And loosed his love-shaft smartly from his bow, …

Yet mark’d I where the bolt of Cupid fell:

It fell upon a little western flower,

Before milk-white, now purple with love’s wound,

And maidens call it love-in-idleness.

Fetch me that flower; the herb I shew’d thee once:

The juice of it on sleeping eye-lids laid

Will make or man or woman madly dote

Upon the next live creature that it sees.

Fetch me this herb; and be thou here again”

Well, well well…what do we have here? “Love-in-idleness”? An “herb” that can be used to enchant and magic your heart’s desire?

But this particular flower isn’t just another iteration of a standard love potion. Rather, the very name of pansies— derived from the French word "pensee", which means "thought"— reflects a more sublime and subtle connection to contemplation and, in particular, the power of memory. Because of this, the magic of the pansy is linked to loyalty, devotion, and a spiritual understanding of life's mysteries.

In other words, the humble wild pansy is used to evoke the seductive power of reveries: daydreams and messages from the subconscious (or the spiritual realm) that tie us, via euphoric recall, to particular places, people, and moments in time.

What’s more: it is used by fairies and witches on fairies and humans alike, suggesting a cross-species and trans-medium capability unmatched in the flower kingdom.

Yep, that’s right. Unmatched even in fairy tales.

A flower of freedom

Another strange, fun fact about the humble wild pansy? They’re the official flower of the Free Thinkers Society, a group known for embracing independent thought.

This reference feels particularly resonant for me, and feels like a not-so-subtle *wink* from the fairy realm. You see, I’m all about freedom of thought. It’s probably the value that most permeates my shamanic work and overall paradigm in this life, as well as the “vice” that makes me problematic in polite company;)

What’s more: I’m sure that the fairies remember our last round of hosting the Summer Porch Tour in our backyard garden with Robbie Bernstein, featuring free-thinking comedians and enabling an open exchange of independent ideas. I can’t quite shake the feeling that the appearance of these little magical flowers after confirming this summer’s coming 6/1 Summer Porch Tour show is…not a coincidence.

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The language of flowers

Since deepening my work with herbalism and, in particular, our TOTEM Flower Essences, I’ve been blown away by the overt, sweet and overwhelmingly humorous interactions with the fairies that seem to live in (and enjoy) our garden.

It would seem that, almost everything they gift us, is a wink acknowledging our various (and very human) conversations, rituals, and attributes.

Our TOTEM Flower Essence Deck is designed to capture a bit of this magic, putting the energy of our backyard flower essences into your hands for your own magical encounter with the Fae, plant medicine, or flower power regardless of whether you live out in the country— or in a city walk-up!

And, this May, we’re going to be bringing you the childlike sense of wonder and joy that comes from the world of flowers, fairies and nature more broadly via our “May Flowers” series of Substack chakra readings— leveraging our TOTEM Flower Essence Deck to scan real deal people!

As Spring gains ground and the pagan holiday of Beltane looms closer on the horizon, it’s a great time of the year to step into the vibrant color and seducing aroma of the world of flowers— and the freedom they actually, really offer us all (if we know how to listen).

After all: if play is the antithesis of tyranny, then flowers— and the fairies that sometimes plant them as sweet little gifts— are certainly kryptonite for not-so-fun fascists of all stripes and spots.

Just saying.

And, in keeping with this theme of play…hell yeah I’m going to make a TOTEM Flower Essence out of these new Wild Pansies. And yes: it’s going to be called Fairy Dust! Keep an eye out for when this hits our Etsy shop, likely sometime later this year.

If nothing else:

Plant flowers. Smell them. Eat them. Make tinctures out of them and drink those. And look at them on beautiful, colorful cards that capture just a bit of the real magic to be found in nature:

-Rachel