1. Brief botanical description
True lavender is a perennial aromatic shrub native to the Mediterranean region. It forms dense clumps with opposite, ash-green, almost silvery foliage, borne on square-section stems.
Its upright flower spikes, a deep blue-purple, appear between June and August and fill the air with their unique fragrance.
It grows wild in dry, sunny regions, on calcareous and rocky soils.
2. History
In ancient times, lavender was already used to perfume Roman baths. Renowned for its purifying properties, it repelled miasmas and parasites when infused into bath water. (The name "lavender" actually originates from the Latin lavare, "to wash.")
In the 18th century, the use of its essential oil began to appear, particularly to treat the liver, spleen and stomach.
Then, at the beginning of the 20th century, it was by chance that the engineer and chemist René-Maurice Gattefossé created aromatherapy as we know it today, by discovering the restorative properties of lavender on skin burns.
3. Associated legends
It is said to protect against evil spirits, and Provençal witches always kept a dried bouquet of it hanging on their door.
In some traditions, it was also associated with discreet love: slipped under the pillow, it could provoke a premonitory dream of the future loved one...
In the drawers of young girls, it symbolized fidelity, a vow of invisible tenderness.
Burned as incense or slipped into a sachet, it purified places, soothed souls and chased away nightmares.
In some rural areas, it was even said that a bouquet of lavender placed near the bed would ward off wandering spirits.
In the farms of yesteryear, it also served as a talisman of prosperity: it was placed in linen chests, near grains or precious fabrics, to attract abundance and protect against theft.
And during the change of seasons or the transition to the new year, it was burned with laurel to bless the house and brighten the future.
4. The Magic Path
Lavender soothes without drowsiness.
It acts like an invisible caress on swirling thoughts and subtle tensions.
It is a plant of inner space: it opens, purifies, recenters.
It helps bring clarity when the mind is clouded, and heals the pain left by unspoken words or sleepless nights.
It is a great ally of the hypersensitive, of wounded dreamers, of hearts that need calm but not oblivion.
Lavender is one of those memory plants, anchored in the collective unconscious like a floral memory common to all.
And you, what are your memories of lavender or your family and local traditions?