TANSY

TANACETUM VULGARE

THE CIRCLE OF VIOLENCE IS GUARDED BY THE MINOTAUR, keeping an eye on the tyrants and murderers that inhabit this stage of Dante’s journey.

Tansy, which is commonly found across Europe and you may have inadvertently passed by many times on the side of the road, was associated with resistance and hatred towards someone. In Victorian England, where flowers were meant to represent an array of emotions and served as a means of expression, gifting a bouquet of Tansy flowers was interpreted as a declaration of war.

Tansy’s bite is legendary in Piedmont and we have had to handle it with care, succeeding in giving it the last word in 9diDANTE’s pleasant bitter finish.

FOLKLORE - in Greek mythology, a beautiful youth by the name of Ganymede was carried up to Olympus by an eagle, where Zeus himself gave him a drink containing the herb to render him immortal.

OTHER USES - The use of Tansy is not as widespread as that of many other herbs, perhaps due to its excessive bitterness. Sometimes found in Vermouths, and also used in formulas for Alpine herbal sweets, Tansy is perhaps best known as the herb in the Liqueur d’Arqebuse.