Using the magic of flower power to spring clean your home

Spring has sprung in Maine, and it’s better late than never! As you may have guessed from reading my Beltane post, I’m more than ready to shake these winter blues. And there’s nothing like sunshine and flowers to move that process along!

I actually spent some time on May 1 gathering some of the first spring wildflowers to appear — violets.

I’ve never harvested violets before. These pretty purple blossoms stay close to the ground, but a quick walk around my field revealed a plethora of them! I roamed my field with a basket over my arm, feeling like Claire Fraser gathering plants for food and medicine.

This year, I was inspired to collect the flowers after seeing a recipe for violet simple syrup in my Llewellyn’s Witches’ Datebook*

However, after infusing the petals in water, I realized violet simple syrup is probably best used for cocktails, and I don’t drink those. Maybe I could’ve crafted a mocktail with it, but I chose to do something better, instead.

I used it to spring clean my house.

How to use flowers for spring cleaning

I’ve been making my own nontoxic cleaning products for a while. It’s amazing how far you can get with good ole white vinegar, citrus essential oils, and maybe some baking soda. I’ve also been infusing my daily rituals with positive intentions to add some magic. For example, I chant affirmations into my morning latte before taking the first sip. 

Likewise, I often feel a sense of spiritual clearing when I clean my house. So, I was especially intrigued by yet another housewitch tip from Llewellyn — this time their wall calendar — that suggested spring cleaning your floors with a magical mop mixture.

Making a magical mop mixture with flowers

I adapted the recipe for my own purposes to include:

• 1 mop bucket of hot water
• 1 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1 cup baking soda
• ½ cup rubbing alcohol 
• ½ tsp tea tree oil
• ½ cup water infused with violet petals for 24 hours
• ¼ cup water collected from spring rain, infused with a citrine quartz crystal beneath a full moon

I modified the amounts based on what I had. The recipe called for spring flower essential oil instead of infused water. Also, the idea to use rainwater infused with a crystal was my idea. I already had this jar of citrine-charged rainwater, and I didn’t have any other plans for it.

You can use whatever you have on hand. Charging your water with crystals is totally optional 🙂

How to make spring cleaning magical

Following Llewellyn’s instructions, I meditated for five minutes before mixing my ingredients. I focused on the cleansing energy of a spring rain, the scent of flowers on the breeze, and the sense of tranquility I wanted in my home.

Then, I mindfully mixed the ingredients in my new mop bucket, lit a beeswax candle I made myself, and got cleaning. 

I have tile floors throughout most of my house and only used this mixture on those. I avoided the hardwood floor portion of my home, but the recipe in the calendar says this mixture is safe for any hard surface, like countertops and sinks.

I’ve been reading about Feng Shui, and intentionally cleaned the areas of my home that correspond to aspects of my life I feel could use a boost of fresh energy. I set about mopping the floors with love and gratitude in my heart, and felt really good the entire time.

After I was finished, I smudged with oakmoss, blew out my candle, and then dumped the bucket of dirty water out the back door of my house.

Now, I can honestly say my home is buzzing with spring energy. The whole vibe can only be described as radiant, especially in the room I focused most of my energy. Flower power to the max!

Other ways to use violets for witchy wellness

When I gathered violets on Beltane, I was careful to take no more than ⅓ of what was out there. However, as I mentioned earlier, my field is absolutely covered with these beauties!

Violets have also taken up temporary residence on the resting beds in my veggie garden. Since I knew all of these were going to get uprooted when I turned over the soil, I harvested heavily.

Now, I find myself wondering what to do with all these violets? I did some research, and here’s what I found.

Magical properties of violets

According to The Green Witch by Arin Murphy-Hiscock* the violet is a delicate flower with the following properties:

• Peace
• Hope
• Tranquility
• Harmony
• Protection
• Love
• Luck
• Sleep

She recommends putting dried violet and lavender petals in a child’s herbal pillow to promote peaceful sleep and good dreams. I don’t have children, so I’m going to craft a dream pillow for myself! I already have dried lavender blossoms from last year.

Honestly, sleep usually isn’t a problem for me. But I could always use more peace, harmony, and tranquility in my home!

Medicinal uses of violets

Violets are a star feature of another one of my favorite books, Northeast Medicinal Plants but Liz Neves.* From this book, I learned it’s not only violet flowers that are beneficial, but their leaves as well. 

Violets are cooling, nourishing, moisturizing, and mildly pain-relieving. Eating violet flowers and leaves offers a nutritional boost in vitamins A and C, calcium, magnesium, beta-carotene, and bioflavonoids.

You can throw them in a salad, or use violets to wildcraft your own herbal medicine. Violet-infused honey can calm a cough, while a poultice or infused oil can relieve a headache brought on by heat. 

Neves suggests the following herbal preparations for violets:

• Tea
• Infused honey
• Infused vinegar
• Infused oil
• Tincture
• Flower essence

I’m interested in trying some of these — especially the flower essence! According to Neve, violet flower essence is great for highly sensitive people who have trouble opening up in social or group situations. 

Hello, introverts!

I’ll keep you posted on how it goes! Until then, thanks for reading!

And if you want help harnessing your own magic, I offer empowering tarot readings, 1-1 energy healing, and intuitive coaching for that. Hit me up!

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