by Nancy Robbins
I have found great benefit in connecting to spirit guides as well as nature spirits for information, guidance, and healing. I regularly connect with the spirit of a large “grandfather” oak tree on our property and receive higher perspective and guidance. I also connect with the spirit of the Mulberry tree in the middle of my “vortex garden” and watched him grow and evolve with more sophisticated tasks. I have connected with over a hundred crystal spirits in making my two crystal card decks – Spirits of the Crystal Kingdom I & II.
To this list, I would like to add that I have found it very beneficial to connect to the spirits of flowers, and some of this work has turned into making flower essences that I use in making my spirit guided energy sprays, along with crystal essences, color essence and essential oils. I wanted to write an article on flowers and flower essences, particularly with the abundance of flowers during late spring and summer, because it really helps you connect to nature and its magical healing properties.
Communing with a flower
The beauty of a flower and its wonderful fragrance are not the only benefits of communing with a flower, they also have information, guidance, and healing aid to share. To start this adventure, use your intuitive abilities to choose a flower, or choose one that “calls to you.” Place your hands around the flower and sense its energy field. Perceive the physical details, which are often very symbolic of its healing abilities and qualities. Place the intention to connect heart to heart with the flower and open a conversation. Ask your flower for information, guidance, and any healing it can provide you. The flower may wish to work with you also, and receive mutual benefit. Open your senses to any impressions you receive in answer. Always thank your flower. If you choose to make a flower essence from your flower, ask the flower for permission to pick it. You then can follow the steps below to make the flower essence.
The Magic of Flowers
Flowers often blossom for only a short period of time, but their brief lives provide an abundance of beauty, nectar for pollinators—and a potent energetic structure that can lead to new ways of seeing and understanding the world. Spending time with flowers offers powerful nourishment in of itself, and flower magic can take that to a whole new level of discovery and enchantment! Flower essences offer the closest thing to bottling the presence of actual flowers, and as such, they hold the potent fingerprint of a blossom’s knowledge and healing qualities.
Flowers’ Qualities
Flowers contain solar energy, because they absorb and store sunlight. The color, scent, and shape of a flower all combine to send out a powerful magnetic frequency. This healing vibration can be captured in water since it is an excellent conductor of electromagnetic currents and retains their imprint. The resulting flower essence retains the flower’s healing frequency.
Flower Essences
Flower Power is back! Flower essences are liquid infusions of blossoms and light that shift the vibrational state of anyone who uses them. And they are becoming more popular all the time – because they are one of the most gentle, accessible, and still potently transformational healing remedies available. A flower essence is the vibrational imprint of the life force of the flowering part of a plant in a solar water infusion. This type of infusion harnesses the sun’s energy to transfer beneficial vibrational properties of the plant material into the water. Flower Essences/Remedies are mainly used for emotional health since they contain subtle energies. Flower essences vibrationally affect the meridians, chakras, and aura so that any imbalances will stop bringing about dis-ease. Flower essences are primarily used to support the emotional, mental, and spiritual body, that then affect the physical body, embodying the concept of self-care.
What kind of healing?
Every living thing has a vibrational frequency. Flowers have a vibrational frequency that carries healing information. We can capture that healing information and stabilize it in water for use as a flower essence. Flower essences can be considered energy medicine and they work on the level of the subtle body. They are not essential oils. They are very similar to homeopathy.
Besides making your own flower essences, you can also choose from any of the 38 flower essences created by Dr. Bach. (see the following list).
Bach Flower Essences
While flower remedies have been around since ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian times, they were largely popularized and standardized by British physician, Dr. Edward Bach. Dr. Bach believed that disease is simply a manifestation of negative emotions such as fear, anxiety, grief, and despair. By addressing the root cause of these imbalances on an energetic level, flower essences would facilitate healing and personal growth. He found that when he supported the personalities and emotions of his patients, instead of their symptoms only, their emotional upsets and bodily stresses would dissipate naturally as the body shifted back into a state of balance and began to work effectively again. Dr. Bach also believed strongly in the power of self-care and was passionate about empowering everyone to tap into their ability to support themselves and others.
Dr. Bach also classified all emotional problems into seven major groups:
- Fear
- Uncertainty
- Indecision
- Insufficient interest in present circumstances
- Loneliness
- Oversensitivity
- Despondency/Despair
In 1935, he created a simple flower essence line of 38 various flower essences to heal every negative aspect of the seven types of emotional illnesses by taking a few drops of the remedy diluted in fresh spring or rain water, or placed under the tongue. These 38 Remedies are still in widespread use today and are commonly referred to as The Bach Flower Remedies. Many consider Dr. Edward Bach the father of modern flower essence therapy.
Here is a list of the 38 remedies:
- Agrimony– For those who hide their worries behind a cheerful facade.
- Aspen– For fears of unknown origin.
- Beech– For intolerance and criticism.
- Centaury– For those who have difficulty saying no.
- Cerato– For those who lack faith in their own decisions.
- Cherry Plum– For fear of losing control.
- Chestnut Bud– For failure to learn from past experiences.
- Chicory– For possessiveness and self-centeredness.
- Clematis– For those who are dreamy and indifferent to the present.
- Crab Apple– For feelings of uncleanliness or shame.
- Elm– For those feeling overwhelmed by responsibilities.
- Gentian– For discouragement after a setback.
- Gorse– For hopelessness and despair.
- Heather– For those who are overly concerned with their own problems.
- Holly– For feelings of jealousy and suspicion.
- Honeysuckle– For those who dwell on the past.
- Hornbeam– For mental fatigue and lack of motivation.
- Impatiens– For impatience and irritability.
- Larch – For lack of confidence.
- Mimulus– For known fears.
- Mustard– For deep gloom without a clear cause.
- Oak– For those who are strong but feel exhausted.
- Olive– For exhaustion after mental or physical effort.
- Pine– For guilt and self-blame.
- Red Chestnut– For excessive worry about others.
- Rock Rose– For terror and panic.
- Rock Water– For rigidity and self-denial.
- Scleranthus– For indecision and uncertainty.
- Star of Bethlehem– For shock and trauma.
- Sweet Chestnut– For extreme mental anguish.
- Vervain– For over-enthusiasm and tension.
- Vine– For dominance and control over others.
- Walnut– For protection during times of change.
- Water Violet– For those who are aloof and withdrawn.
- White Chestnut– For unwanted thoughts and mental chatter.
- Wild Oat– For uncertainty about one’s direction in life.
- Wild Rose– For apathy and resignation.
- Willow – For bitterness and resentment
Additionally, Rescue Remedy is a popular combination of five of the essences used for stress and emotional shock
- Star of Bethlehem – for shock.
- Rock Rose – for fear and panic.
- Impatiens – for mental and physical tension if the sufferer cannot relax.
- Cherry Plum – is helpful for individuals who struggle with emotional control and may scream or shout.
- Clematis – for the feeling of weakness, which may lead to faint.
What to expect
Flower essences offer help with things like reducing mental chatter, reducing impatience, supporting energy levels, discovering life’s purpose, healing trauma, and bringing greater clarity and more joy to one’s life. Unlike pharmaceuticals which aim to suppress symptoms, flower remedies aim to reduce stress and remedy emotional imbalance.
Flower Essences are Safe and Effective
Flower essences work well and are safe for children and pets. In fact, research has shown they can help improve focus in children. They are safe for allergy sufferers, pregnant and lactating women.
Flower essences are NOT essential oils
The most common misconception is that flower essences are the same as essential oils. Flower essences are in fact NOT essential oils and they are not herbs either. Unlike essential oils and herbs, there are no physical substances extracted from the plant to make flower essences. Since there are no physical substances, they are not a biochemical intervention. Flower essences are commonly used alongside homeopathic remedies, herbs, and energy medicine. In fact, they are complementary therapy and have no contraindications with pharmaceuticals or herbal medicine either.
Can you use flower essences for physical pain?
Flower essences do not directly affect the physical body. For example, if you had specific physical ailments like carpal tunnel syndrome, acute pain in the body, or a bone fracture you wouldn’t use flower essences to remedy those specific physical ailments. Rather, you would use them to address the emotions you are having surrounding such physical ailments and physical illnesses. These emotions can take the form of fear, hopelessness, lack of energy, or any other type of emotional pain.
Making Homemade Flower Essences
Step 1 – Preparation
You can research the type of flower you need (see a short list below for ideas), or choose flowers that you are drawn to that are in your garden, or are wildcrafted away from any pollution where they are growing plentifully. Plan to make the flower essence on a clear, sunny day, when there are no clouds in the sky. Since you are part of the process, it is also important to check in with yourself and make sure you are energetically uplifted, in a good mood, and present in the moment, so that you are only adding good energy to the process. If astrology is important to you, you may want to consider those aspects as well when choosing the day to make your homemade flower essence.
Step 2 – Choosing and Harvesting the Flowers
When picking the flowers to use, it is traditionally recommended to use a leaf from the plant to cover your fingers so you don’t touch the blossoms and transfer too much of your energy into the flower essence. Only pick a few blossoms (with the flower’s permission) from each plant to ensure the plant can live a healthy life after your harvest. Fill a glass bowl with spring water. (or bottled water if necessary). Avoid chlorinated water or distilled water because some believe the ionization process destroys the water’s life force necessary to hold the flower’s essence.
Step 3 – Infuse the Essence
Place the flowers on top of the spring water in the bowl until the entire surface of the water is covered. Place the bowl in direct sunlight where no shadows will cross over it (including your own) for three to four hours. During this time, the essence of the flowers will be infused into the water through the energy of the sun.
Essences are usually made in the light of the sun, but you can also make them overnight using the full moon to extract the qualities of the flower. A sun essence will be infused with more of the vital life force and outward energy, while a moon essence will have a more potent intuitive and receptive quality with an affinity for unlocking mystery.
Step 4 – Strain, & Bottle the “Mother Essence”
After three to four hours, skim the flowers off of the water using a leaf from the plant if possible. The water left in the bowl is now called the “mother essence.” Pour this into a clean, amber glass bottle (or cobalt blue bottle), filling the bottle halfway with the mother essence and halfway with brandy (at least 80 proof) or 153 proof grain alcohol, which are used as a preservative and an anchor to hold the subtle essence vibrations in the water. The final mixture in the bottle should be half mother essence and half brandy or grain alcohol. Don’t forget to label your bottle! Write mother essence, the date, ingredients, where it was made, and any other important information on the label. Store it in a cool, dark, dry place. If made well and stored correctly, mother essences and stock bottles should retain their potency for six to ten years.
Step 5 – Making a “Stock Bottle” and using your homemade flower essence
The mother essence is to be diluted and never consumed directly. To dilute it, place two to ten drops of the mother essence in a one-ounce amber or cobalt bottle with a glass dropper and fill the remainder of the bottle with half brandy (or grain alcohol) and half spring water. This is called a “stock” bottle. From this stock bottle, take two to four drops under the tongue, up to four times a day, as needed.
Creating a Dosage Bottle
You can create a dosage bottle of several flower essences combined for a specific benefit. To create a dosage bottle you take a few drops from the stock bottle and then fill it with equal part spring water and a stabilizer like or brandy or grain alcohol. The dosage bottle can be comprised of a maximum of 6-7 different flower essences and should not be diluted further. Remember to label this bottle with its ingredients.
How to use the flower essences
- Choose a flower essence that aligns with your specific emotional and mental needs. You can use kinesthetic testing, choose intuitively, or use a pendulum for higher guidance.
- Set your intention for using the flower essence for the desired result – and this will infuse your experience with more healing.
- Take the flower essence in one of three ways.
- Under tongue – Place 3-4 drops under your tongue. Hold it in your mouth for 30 seconds and then swallow. Do this four times a day. This allows the essence to be absorbed through the mucous membranes and enter your system.
- In a liquid – Place 3-4 drops in purified water or a beverage of your choice, and sip slowly. Do this four times a day. If you are adding the drops to a large vessel like a water cooler, then several drops would be best. The temperature of the liquid you are adding it to doesn’t change its potency. Flower essences can work in both cold and freezing liquids as well as boiling hot ones.
- Topically – While most people use flower essences internally, they are also effective when applied topically. They may be misted onto your face and body, they may be used in the bathtub with some nice bath salts, or they may even be mixed into your favorite body wash or shampoo.
- Observe and Reflect – Pay attention to any shifts and changes in your emotions, and thought patterns, and overall well-being. You may want to keep a journal, noting any insights or observations. Sometimes the effects of flower essences may be subtle or gradual, while other times you might notice immediate changes.
- Create a personal blend – You can create a personal blend by combining different flower essences to address multiple aspects of your emotional and mental wellbeing. Mix them in a separate bottle using at least 3 drops of each essence, and label it with ingredients and the intentions you are targeting.
- How long will it take to experience results? Be patient and gentle with yourself – Flower essences work in harmony with your natural healing process and are not a quick fix. Be patient and compassionate with yourself as you embark on this journey of self-discovery and healing. While some people may begin to experience a subtle shift from 1-3 days of taking flower essence. It may take up to 3-4 weeks before you experience a notable shift.
Flower essences for gardening
Flower essences are also helpful for plants! When transplanting a plant or a tree, flower essences can help ease the trauma of the transplant. I’ve used Olive and Oak before to give them renewed vigor.
Flower essences for pets
Pets love them too. Many dog owners give their dogs Crisis Pets by The Flower Apothecary to ease the shock of 4th of July Fireworks, or Rescue Remedy.
Flower remedies are the best-kept secret in the health and wellness world.
They work at the root to heal emotional imbalances. Their healing scope is on the mental and emotional level. Flower essences can impart benefits to people, pets, and plants of all ages, and they are used throughout the world.
Flower essences are a powerful tool mental health practitioners can use to impart emotional benefits to their clients.
Use flower essences today to achieve emotional balance, establish a deeper connection with your true self, gain more insight into your behaviors, and feel your best! Flower essences are easy to administer. They are no pain, all gain!
Here are a few flowers and their energetic benefits:
Azalea – wisdom, spiritual understanding, clearing past-life issues.
Begonia – releases anger, irritation, and frustration, promotes calm patience.
Bird of Paradise – enhances spiritual communication with angels and deceased loved ones.
Black-eyed Susan – releases old emotions, toxins, heals past relationships, lifts depression, increases self-esteem, cuts ties to the past.
Bleeding Heart – heart healing, releases old pain and heavy emotions, brings about forgiveness.
Carnation – faithfulness, commitment, and attracting soul-mates.
Daisy – removing drama and stress, simplifying your life, relaxation, and self-care.
Dianthus – attracting joy, love, and romance; manifestation; granting wishes, and reminding you to play.
Echinacea – opening your third eye, enhancing clairvoyance, clearing fear.
Frangipani – spiritual communication, raising your vibration, and enhancing your intuition.
Freesia – healing spine and back, relieving back tension, finding the perfect health care practitioner, bringing strength and courage.
Fuchsia – rising above problems, leaving stress behind, and pushing forward.
Gardenia – releasing stress and worry; reminding you to play and have fun; the angels are listening to your prayers.
Geranium – energetic strengthening, protection and repairing of your aura.
Gladiolus – raising your energy, increasing happiness, releasing depression and grief, and healing heartache.
Hibiscus – unity, happiness, peace, togetherness.
Hydrangea – transformation, clearing procrastination for life-changing decisions.
Jasmine – peace, deep meditation, focus on what you would like to manifest.
Lavender – promotes calm and sleep, enhances clairvoyance, and brings comfort and reassurance on your spiritual path.
Lilac – lifts depression, brings a sense of peace and calmness.
Lily, Yellow – attracts abundance and prosperity.
Lotus – deep spirituality and wisdom, chakra clearing and balancing.
Passionflower – feeling the love of your angels, releases loneliness and brings comfort and peace.
Petunia – increases fun, joy, playfulness and connects you to fairies.
Rose, Pink – beauty, self-confidence and self-love and comfort.
Rose, Red – attracts love, passion, romance, and healing.
Rose, White – purification, peace, clears earthbound spirits.
Rose, Yellow – enhances calm, peace, joy, and concentration.
Sunflower – raises moods, uplifts energy, and promotes happiness.
Tulip – releases anger and irritation bringing grace and calm.
Here are a few signs your flower essences are working:
- Your dreams — look for shifting patterns in recurrent dreams, insights, and healing
- Your habits and daily patterns — notice subtle shifts that arise naturally and will make a bigger difference over time
- Your thoughts — again, notice subtle shifts in old thinking patterns, as well as new insights and inspiration
- Your intuition — you’ll begin to come into clearer connection with your inner knowing and meditation may feel easier
- Synchronicities — seemingly ransom blessings are actually the result of your own shifting energy
- Relationship changes — as you change, your relationships with those around will change too
- Physical wellness — you’ll start to just feel better, whether that means having more energy, peace, or joy
Remember: While flower essences can be a valuable tool, they are not a substitute for professional medical or psychological help when needed. If you are dealing with significant emotional challenges, mental health issues, or physical ailments, consider seeking guidance from a qualified healthcare practitioner or therapist.
RECIPE IDEAS FOR BACH FLOWER ESSENCE BLENDS
Dr. Bach’s golden rule advises not using more than 6-7 single flower remedies at a time, either individually or blended into one. Several flower essences (3 drops of each) can be mixed in a dosage bottle for multiple servings, or a glass of water for a single serving. For a dosage bottle you can use 5-7 flower essences (3 drops each) in a solution of 80% water and 20% brandy/grain alcohol. Here are a few recipe ideas for blends.
Tranquility – To quiet the mind and stop worrying. White Chestnut, Chicory, Red Chestnut, Crab Apple, Cherry Plum, Mimulus
Uplift – Helps balance challenges to reach a peaceful calm. Aspen, Scleranthus, Elm, Clematis, Beech, Willow.
Refresh – Get up and go, do the best thing for yourself. Hornbeam, Larch, Olive, Crab Apple, Gentian, Chestnut Bud
Calm Fortitude – You can get through anything. Elm, Gentian, Aspen, Olive, Rock Rose, Sweet Chestnut.