“Without our fully realizing it, flowers would become for us an expression in form of that which is most high, most sacred, and ultimately formless within ourselves. Flowers, more fleeting, more ethereal, and more delicate than the plants out of which they emerged, would become like messengers from another realm, like a bridge between the world of physical forms and the formless. They not only had a scent that was delicate and pleasing to humans, but also brought a fragrance from the realm of spirit. Using the word ‘enlightenment’ in a wider sense than the conventionally accepted one, we could look upon flowers as the enlightenment of plants.”
-Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth
What Are Flower Essences?
Flower essences are liquid extracts used to address emotional and psychological issues. Unlike essential oils, they don’t contain a flower’s fragrance or physical constituents. Instead, they capture the vibrational energy of the flowers, which is believed to affect the body’s energy fields. This subtle energy can help balance emotions, clear negative patterns, and support personal growth.
How Flower Essences Work
The concept behind flower essences is that flowers have unique vibrational frequencies. These frequencies can interact with our own energy fields, helping to restore harmony. For example, a person feeling overwhelmed might benefit from a flower essence that promotes calmness and clarity. By integrating these essences into their routine, individuals can experience shifts in their emotional and mental states.
Uses of Flower Essences
Flower essences are versatile and can be used for various purposes:
- Emotional Balance: They can help manage stress, anxiety, and depression.
- Personal Growth: Essences can support meditation, mindfulness, and spiritual development.
- Physical Well-being: While primarily for emotional health, they can indirectly benefit physical health by promoting overall balance.
The Different Kinds of Flower Essences
In 1930s England, Dr. Edward Bach pioneered the development of 38 flower essences and introduced Rescue Remedy, a renowned emergency formula. Among the Bach Flower Remedies, Rescue Remedy stands out as the most recognized. It effectively mitigates energetic distress that could otherwise manifest as significant physical symptoms. Composed of five key flower essences—Star of Bethlehem, Rock Rose, Impatiens, Cherry Plum, and Clematis—Rescue Remedy actively assists in preventing and recovering from these energetic imbalances.
Since Dr. Bach’s death in 1936, the Flower Essence Society (FES) has actively developed new formulas beyond the classic English remedies, starting in 1978. While the original line of 38 remedies addressed all possible states of mind, these newly emerged flower essences now actively meet genuine human needs and provide profound healing for the human spirit. Dr. Bach himself constantly revised and expanded his repertory, reflecting the dynamic evolution of flower essences. FES has responded to deep questions about the nature of human suffering by actively developing new flower essences.
How to Make Flower Essences
Making flower essences is a simple yet very mindful process. This step-by-step guide directly extracted from the directions in James Green’s “The Herbal Medicine-Maker’s Handbook.”
Equipment:
- One thin-gauge, plain glass bowl, approximately 8 fl oz. (Do not use an etched, cut glass, or otherwise ornate bowl or a pyrex type oven glass bowl)
- A quart jar with a lid to carry water to the flower site
- A 30 ml (1 oz.), amber dropper bottle with a glass pipette
Method:
1. When the dropper bottle and pipette have cooled from the sterilizing process, fill half the bottle with brandy (or half fill many bottles with brandy; you will be creating a relatively large amount of Mother Essence), cap it tightly, and label it with the name of the flower to be prepared. Note on the label that this is the Mother Essence. Dr. Bach preferred to use brandy as a preservative, considering it a purer and more natural agent than rectified spirit.
2. Decide beforehand which plant community you are going to harvest, and choose a perfectly sunny morning when there are no clouds in the sky that might obscure the sun’s light, so that you can immerse the bowl and its contents in the most animated energy of Earth’s crystal clear air element.
3. Take a bowl, jar, and dropper bottle and arrive at the site a little before 9 A.M. (Pick the flowers at about 9 A.M., so they are floating in place as the sun is gaining intensity during the hours between 9 and noon. By 9 A.M. the flowers will be freshly opened in full bloom, and most airborne, pollen-spreading creatures will have no yet arrived.
4. Sit with the flowers for a few minutes and focus on your intent; honor and extend gratitude to the plant community. Set your sankalpa (intention), and ask permission. Most flowers do want you to work with them, but it is important to feel a resounding “yes” or “no.” Ask the flowers if you can use their medicine to help heal yourself and in turn humanity. You’ll probably be feeling pretty good right now and couldn’t be in a better place than you are at this moment.
5. Place the bowl on the ground near the flowering plants, therby connecting the subtle essence to the stabilizing energy of the Earth element. Choose a location for the bowl that is well away from trees, bushes, tall grasses, fences – anything that might cast a shadow over the bowl of basking flowers as the sunlight brushes across the Earth’s surface.
6. Fill the bowl to the brim with the water you transported in the jar, or water from a clear stream, if one is nearby. Empty any unused water from the jar. Do not drink from this jar; it needs to remain sterile, as it will be used again later.
7. Pick some leaves, preferably from the plant you are preparing, or from some broadleaf plant, and place them on the palm of your hand. A Mullein leaf or one of similar dimensions is ideal.
8. Select the most perfect blossoms and carefully pick the flower heads just below the calyx (the external, usually green part of the flower that attaches to the stem) from as many plants or bushes of the same kind as possible. Let the flowers fall onto the leaf in your hand.
9. Quickly, carry the flowers to the bowl and float them on the surface of the water, thereby uniting everything with the fertile, receptive energy of the water element. Continue this process until the surface of the water is thickly covered. Overlap the flowers, but make sure each flower touches the water. (Throughout this process avoid casting your shadow over the bowl and avoid touching the water with your fingers. Eliminate the human vibrations as much as possible from the flower vibrations in the subtle infusion.)
10. Leave the bowl in full sunshine for 3 to 4 hours to absorb the energy of the fire element.
11. After about 4 hours, there will be slight signs of the petals fading, giving evidence that their subtle properties (vibrations) have been transmitted to the water. With a stalk from the plant you are preparing, or with a rigid portion of grass, lift the flower heads from the water. Do not touch the water with your fingers. The water will be crystal clear and full with minute, vibrant bubbles. Many herbalists confess to feelings of elation and ecstasy at this point.
12. Pour this Mother Essence into the jar that has been previously emptied, and from this fill the remaining half of the labeled dropper bottle (or as many bottles as you wish to prepare with this mother load). Cap it tightly.
How to Take Flower Essences:
- Standard dosage is about 5 drops, 5 times a day, or 4 times daily
- You can apply essence drops directly on the body during massage or on Ayurvedic Marma points.
- In emergency or acute situations, increase dosages to once every hour or more frequently, as with Rescue Remedy.
- Oftentimes, the flowers that you feel drawn to are the ones that you need most
- There can be a short period of emotional release. Taking too much too quickly can cause unwanted or overwhelming emotions to come up
- Sensitive beings should decrease frequency to once or twice daily
- “Sighing” after taking them is an indication that it is already having an effect on your subtle body
- It is not about how much you take, more so it is the regular, rhythmic usage that build its strength
- You can add them to baths, beverages, or apply them directly to the belly button
- You can add them to a glass spray bottle and spray them around your environment to “smudge” your surroundings.
- It is best not to combine too many essences at one time, as this may confuse or overwhelm the psyche. Practitioners commonly report using three to six essences simultaneously, though exact numbers are unspecified. Think of it like an artist’s palette of colors. Mixing too many colors unskillfully creates a “muddy” result without any clarity.
Additional Elements
Note: While flower essences can address short-term acute situations, they ideally facilitate long-term or deeper mental-emotional transformation. The standard cycle for essence use spans four weeks or one month, aligning closely with the emotional or astral body’s rhythms. Additionally, seven-day or 14-day cycles can also hold significance in the growth process. For deeply rooted changes, a series of monthly cycles may be necessary. Generally, noticeable changes can occur within about one month. During this period, it is advisable to re-evaluate or adjust the flower essence combination as needed. By continuing to use a formula or incorporating one or two key essences from the blend, even after observing initial changes, the essences can establish deeper connections within the consciousness. This practice supports the anchoring of essences at profound levels of awareness.
Fun Fact: Traditionally, flower essences were consumed from the dew on morning flowers. Alchemists would send their patients to the wild to drink these dew drops to experience their healing qualities. Nowadays, we have managed to scale the dew drops into elixirs.
Final Reflections
Learning how to make flower essences is a beautiful way to connect with nature and promote holistic well-being. By harnessing the subtle energy of flowers, you can create remedies that support emotional and spiritual health. Start your journey with these simple steps, and explore the wonderful benefits of flower essences in your life.
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