Flower essences have quickly become one of my favorite healing modalities both for myself and in my practice. They are a less-well-known botanical medicine than herbs, but are just as effective. They differ in preparation than herbs and work on different levels of the body, which I will touch on briefly here.
Vibrational Healing
Flower essences differ from herbal medicines in that their healing properties come in the form of vibration. While herbs heal through the power of physical properties (vitamins, minerals, hundreds of different chemical constituents), flower essences heal through the vibration they carry. Every living thing carries a certain vibration, which carries a message. You can imagine this a bit like a personality. Each flower carries with it an energetic signature that is unique to it. Vibrational healing works on the subtle body, the energy centers of the body, on the mind, and on the soul.
“Qualities of mind and emotion that are expressed through the brain and physical nervous system are a product of energetic input from the etheric, astral, and mental bodies. By the ability of the flower essences to energetically impact upon these higher bodies, their effects are ultimately able to filter down to the physical body.”
Healing from the Inside Out
Flower essences are often used to calm imbalances in the mind, emotions, and spirit. They can be used to help clear long-standing emotions like grief, sadness, feeling isolated, fear of failure, etc. They are also used to enhance certain qualities, such as compassion, an open heart, stronger sense of self power, to ignite our inner healing process and the list goes on. They can also be used to help process and integrate or release old traumas and experiences.
To illustrate the power of flower essences, I want to share an example from my own experience with lavender flower essence. I can often have many thoughts floating around my head at any given time. Sometimes these are worries, anxieties, emotions coming up, a conversation I had yesterday. A variety of things, but it can sometimes feel like a mental tornado is brewing and it can be distracting! So, when I came across lavender flower essence, I decided to start taking it. Lavender flower essence works to calm the mind of those who take in a lot of energy, which can sometimes overwhelm the body/mind creating mental agitation. This flower essence works to calm and ground some of that spiritual energy and helps the soul learn to balance spiritual sensitivity with the physical needs of the body. I enjoy taking this flower essence under my tongue and when I am quiet, I immediately feel a sense of calm coming over my mind. I often notice tension leaving my face (especially forehead), neck, and shoulders.
How are flower essences made?
The energetic signature of the flower is transferred to water with the help of sunlight. The sunlight catalyzes the process and the vibration of the plant is transferred to the water it is in. This plant-imprinted water is combined with a little bit of brandy to preserve its properties. Flower essences can be taken as single essences or as a blend of a few different ones.
A few reasons I love flower essences
1. Economical: flower essences are cheap and easy to make. If made and stored properly, they last for many years.
2. Environmentally Friendly: unlike some botanical preparations (essential oils for example), flower essences use minimal amounts of plant material to create a large amount of medicine.
3. Safe and Effective: flower essences will not interact with medications or other herbs. They are safe for babies and pets as well as the elderly.