Flower Essences 101
©2009 Tenanche Rose Golden, M.A. Edited and Revised from an article published in The Cooperator, the monthly newsletter of the East End Food Co-op nataural-foods store in Pittsburgh, PA. All Rights Reserved.
HEALING WITH THE BACH FLOWER ESSENCES™
Have you ever seen the Bach Flower Essences in your local natural-foods store? Whether you have or not, you may want to know about these amazing “remedies”,
WHAT IS A FLOWER ESSENCE?
A flower essence is a remedy straight from Mother Nature. It is a liquid tincture that holds the energy pattern of flower blossoms. This tincture carries unique healing qualities of the flower to humans, animal and even plants. By combining the forces of earth, air, fire and water within its matrix, the essence reaches its full healing potential. This “essence” of the flower is then bottled in a light-sensitive dropper bottle for administering oral and topical dosages.
For many years wildflowers from every corner of the earth have been used to make flower essences. Many believe that each world region has its own unique healing qualities. Desert cactus flowers, mountain laurels and rainforest orchids can all help us to heal on mental, emotional and spiritual levels.
Don’t mistake a flower essence for an essential oil used in aromatherapy. They are not the same. Each is made and formulated by a unique distillation processes. Unlike an essential oil, a flower essence can be taken orally as well as applied externally on the body’s pulse, acupuncture and meridian points for personal healing. They are effective because they catalyze the body’s own natural healing response and work with the body’s natural healing processes.
Though considered a “new” science, the therapeutic use of flower essences dates back some 10,000 years, with the earliest known tradition being among Australian Aborigines. They continue to use flower remedies in their ceremonial practices and “flower saunas” which are still practiced today. A tradition of flower essence therapy in
FLOWER ESSENCES IN THE WEST
Dr. Edward Bach, a British bacteriologist and homeopath, was one of the first modern pioneers of healing with flower essences. He is credited with introducing the therapy to western medicine during the first half of the 20th century. Via meticulous research between the years 1930 through 1936, Dr. Bach introduced 38 basic flower remedies to the western world. In his findings he discovered that flower essences helped the body heal itself by working with its vital force or “life-force energy.” He also found that these remedies worked by balancing the emotions and mental attitudes that were the underlying causes of physical diseases! Through thousands of case studies over the years, these remedies have proven to be so effective that the U.S. FDA (Food and Drug Administation) gives them their stamp of approval.
The Bach Flower Remedies, and especially, the Rescue Remedy™, can be found in practically every health-food store in the world. Because of their supportive role in healing, thousands of holistic practitioners, chiropractors, acupuncturists, herbalists, massage therapists, psychologists, and counselors have incorporated these and other flower essences into their practices.
WHY USE ESSENCES?
The energy patterns in essences influence the body’s bio-energetic field. When this life-force energy is in a state of balance, it maintains the body in a state of health. Flower essences can help us to restore and harmonize our emotions, where negative emotional and mental attitudes have contributed to illness. In a non-invasive way, they can also assist us in clearing away the limiting thought patterns that keep us from being and living to our full potential. They are a great complementary therapy to any holistic health enhancement program that may include exercise, balanced diet, stress reduction, inner development, and holistic medical care.
THE 38 BACH FLOWER REMEDIES
Dr. Bach developed a system of natural healing with 37 different single remedies made from wildflowers and one remedy made with potentized spring water. Each remedy addresses personality traits and emotional states that he found to be common in the human psyche. These remedies and traits are:
Agrimony: mental torture; worry concealed from others
Aspen: vague fears of the unknown; anxiety; apprehension
Beech: intolerance; criticism; judgment (self and others)
Centaury: weak willed; follows the crowd and fads
Cerato: self-distrust; self-doubt; foolishness
Cherry Plum: fear of losing one’s mind; harming self or others
Chestnut Bud: doesn’t learn by experience; lack of self-observation
Chicory: self-centered, possessiveness; self-pity; domineering
Clematis: daydreaming; inattentive; sleepy; lack of ambition
Crab Apple: self-disgust; feeling unclean; despairing
Elm: feeling inadequate; exhausted perfectionist
Gentian: discouraged; doubt; depression
Gorse: hopelessness; despair
Heather: self-centered; fear of being alone; poor listener
Holly: hatred, envy; jealousy; suspicion; cut off from love
Honeysuckle: stuck in the past; nostalgic; homesick; regretful
Hornbeam: weariness, exhausted; stressed; boredom; laziness
Impatiens: impatient; irritable; extreme mental tension
Larch: lacks confidence; expects failure; irresponsible
Mimulus: fear of the known: (flying, dentist, public speaking)
Mustard: deep depression of unknown cause; gloom
Oak: despondency from relentless struggle and effort
Olive: complete mental and physical exhaustion
Pine: guilt; self-blame for the wrongs of others
Red Chestnut: excessive fear for others: (war, famine, disasters)
Rock Rose: acute fear; terror; panic from accident or near escape
Rock Water: self-repression; self-denial; rigid ; eating disorder
Scleranthus: procrastination; indecision; unreliable
Star of Bethlehem: after-effect of recent or past shock or trauma
Sweet Chestnut: mental anguish; hopelessness; feeling utterly alone
Vervain: stress, strain from hyperactivity and over-enthusiasm
Vine: intolerant; domineering; unsympathetic; ambitious
Walnut: difficulty adjusting to change yet desires to move on
Water Violet proud; aloof; self-reliant superiority; isolationist
White Chestnut: persistent mental arguments; insomnia; worry
Wild Oat: frustration; dissatisfaction; uncertain vocation
Wild Rose: apathy, resignation; emotionally flat
Willow: resentful, bitter, blames everyone else for adversity
Rescue Remedy™ is a composite formula of five of the remedies: Star of Bethlehem, for shock; Rock Rose for terror and panic; Impatiens for mental stress and tension; Cherry Plum for desperation; and Clematis, for being bemused, faraway and out of the body. Many people make a habit of carrying this remedy for use in emergencies. I found myself taking this remedy (along with my rose essences) after the traumatic events of September 11, 2001. It helped me to calm myself, to go to my job and to keep my composure, where I had been jittery, fearful and tearful for hours after the events.
Flower essences work best when you consciously chose and willingly work with them. If you feel that you might benefit from flower remedies it won’t hurt to add them to your own personal healing program. Follow the dosage instructions on the bottle, which generally instruct you to take a couple of drops under the tongue or sip in pure water or juice. Try to stay away from caffeine, tobacco, and other toxic substances that would interfere with the healing process within your body. You can also apply flower essences to pulse and energy meridian points on your body. You can use them in bath therapy as well as mist sprays.
If you have doubts about which essences would benefit you the most at this time, consult an experienced flower essence practitioner. She can assist and guide you in choosing essences that may benefit you from various essence makers who formulate hundreds of remedies made from flowers from all over the world. Various testing and diagnostic tools may be used, such as kinesiology (muscle testing), dowsing, self– and practitioner assessment. Some practitioners even use more intuitive methods of choosing essences. Remember to choose a practitioner you grow to trust and who is knowledgeable and experienced in working with essences.
In these challenging times flower remedies are wonderful tools to help us make it through the day. Perhaps they will also assist us in aspiring to find our greater potential as human beings in our ever-changing world.
Information presented in this article is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or mitigate any disease or condition. If you have a medical condition, please consult a qualified health care professional.
Notes
1. Vasudeva Barnao, “The Wildflowers of Australia – Living Essences of Australia” Essences of Nature Magazine, Vol. 3, Issue 3, p. 26.
2. Clare G. Harvey, Amanda Cochrane, The Encyclopaedia of Flower Remedies, p. 5.
Resources:
Ball, Stefan. Bach Flower Remedies. Teach Yourself Books, 2000.
Chancellor, Dr. Philip M. Handbook of the Bach Flower Remedies. Keats Publishing. 1971
Harvey, Clare G., Cochrane, Amanda. The Encyclopaedia of Flower Remedies. Thorsons, 1995.
Weeks, Nora. The Medical Discoveries of EDWARD BACH, Physician. Keats Publishing. 1994.
Essences of Nature Magazine, Vol. 3, Issue 3, p. 26.
www.essences.com (Website of the World Wide Essence Society)
© 2003, 2009 Tenanche Rose Golden. All Rights Reserved.
This article cannot be reproduced by any means or for any purpose without written permission from the author.
Tenanche Rose Golden, MA, MT, RMT, CFEP has been working with flower and mineral essences since 1989. She is a massage therapist, Reiki Master-Teacher, and Reflexologist who has studied Bach Flower Therapy with the British Institute of Homeopaathy. Tenanche is the author of the book, Rose Flower Essences: A New Guide to Natural Healing with 65 Remedies Made From The World’s Most Beloved Flower. She is currently working on a book about healing with rose essential oil. Tenanche can be reached at 412-721-7006. Her website is http://www.rosaflora.net
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