Flowers themselves are such delightful gifts from nature! These bursts of inspiration provide color, beauty, expression, and often some healing properties. Representing the cycle of life, flowers can be used to express celebration, love, joy, and condolences. They are commonly found in works of art and are often the focus of the art – paintings, sculptures, poetry, jewelry, and clothing, for example.
The essence of a flower, however, is a bit different. It is its individual vibrational frequency or life-force, which is what gently assists us on a subtle level. This is done by energetically addressing the mental, emotional, and/or spiritual issues that may be related to physical symptoms or conditions, and can in turn have a positive influence on the physical state. Each flower has a unique vibrational frequency that can help balance the different disharmonies we may encounter in our lives. Flower essence remedies are special to natural healthcare: they are safe, gentle, natural, and non-toxic and can be used by humans, animals, and even other plants.
Dr. Edward Bach (1886-1936) is credited with presenting flower essences for general use in modern history. Although trained as a medical doctor in England, he found himself growing ever more dissatisfied with allopathic results in regard to illness and patient recovery. His innate understanding, like that of Paracelsus and Hahnemann before his time, that health and wellness come from within eventually resulted in his leaving the medical profession entirely in 1930. His great compassion for all living things, his love of nature, and his highly developed intuition led him to link emotions and attitudes with illness. Through this link he developed the original 38 Bach flower essences and the essence blend called Rescue Remedy. One of his highest goals was to provide simple remedies that could easily be obtained and used by anyone who desired assistance.
While Bach discovered his original essences in his beloved Wales and the English countryside, where they are still prepared today, there are many companies around the world that offer flower essences prepared from the unique flowers native to their areas. Geographical differences, either within a country or from one country to another, will produce slight energetic differences within the same plant species. For example, a yarrow plant grown in the southern United States will have a different growing season and conditions than one grown in the northeastern United States, or from one grown in Australia or England.
For someone just getting started with the use of flower essences, he or she may find the amount of information about all the various essence remedies and the companies who supply them to be a bit overwhelming. Most manufacturers’ catalogs list the essences they carry and descriptions of what they address; you may immediately recognize some that could be of benefit to you (or your family members, your pet, etc.). Some people use a pendulum or muscle testing to assist their selection of the appropriate flower essence remedies to use.
Dr. Bach found a simple method to transfer the subtle essences of flowers to water by using sunlight. This method is easy to use and most anyone can prepare what is known as a mother tincture of an essence. (There is another method that Bach developed for a few specific plants that uses boiling water, but the sun method is most often used.) There are some important details to follow for this method, which will result in the highest quality of essence remedy.
Generally, the flower heads or blossoms, which contain the highest concentration of the life force of the plant and therefore the highest vibrational frequency, are used for flower essence preparation. It is important to be in a positive frame of mind when preparing essences, to always use clean utensils (like the scissors to cut the flowers), and to avoid touching the flower heads or the inside of the bowl.
Essences are created by starting with an individual flower type, using ethically wildcrafted flower heads of organically grown plants. It’s best to pick these at their full peak of growth and beauty, and place several of these in a clean glass bowl (approximately 1-2 quarts) filled with pure or distilled water. The bowl is placed in full bright sunlight for three to four hours, which allows the vibrational pattern of the flower to be transferred into the water. The flowers are then carefully removed by using a leaf or twig (being careful not to touch the blossoms with your hands) and an equal amount of brandy is added to the water as a preservative. (Those not wishing to use alcohol may use cider vinegar.) This mother tincture is then placed in clean amber-colored glass bottles labeled with the name of the flower. This tincture is used to create stock bottles, placing four to10 drops in a clean amber bottle and filling with equal amounts of preservative and pure or distilled water.
To create a formula for personal use by yourself or a family member, place two to four drops of individual essences from the stock bottles (using up to four to five essences) in a clean, amber-colored 1 ounce bottle, add a tablespoon of brandy or apple cider vinegar, and fill with pure or distilled water. Shake well before each use and store in a cool place away from electrical devices. This formula can be used (two to four drops at a time) in things like water, tea, juices, in spray bottles for plants or pets, in massage oils, creams, lotions, or in bath water. Flower essence remedy drops can be taken under the tongue or placed on the skin (for example, on small children or pets).
Some common essences and what they have been noted to address include: Aspen – fears, anxiety, nervousness; Cherry plum – anger, obsession; Chamomile - anxiety, relaxation; Chrysanthemum - fears; Impatiens – irritability, perfectionism; Vervain – concentration, obsession; Mimulus – fears, insecurity, procrastination; Honeysuckle – grief. With quiet inner reflection and/or meditation, you can confidently choose a few of the “gifts” to start with and know that since these are non-toxic, any “incorrect” essence will simply “pass through” you. The correct essences tend to allow a person to experience an increased awareness of what is currently happening (be it situational, mental, physical, etc.) and to feel more confident in creating some form of resolution.
For more information on Dr. Bach and/or flower essences, there are many books available to review – some suggestions include: The Bach Flower Remedies, revised edition, by E. Bach and F.J. Wheeler; The Flower Essence Society’s Flower Essence Repertory, by P. Kaminski and R. Katz; Flower Essences and Vibrational Healing by Gurudas; Bach Flower Therapy – Theory and Practice, by M. Scheffer; Energy Medicine: Healing from the Kingdoms of Nature, by S. Pettit; and Flower Essences: Reordering Our Understanding and Approach to Illness and Health, by M.S. Wright.
Angela L. Vail, D.C.
Angela L. Vail is a faculty advisor at Clayton College of Natural Health. She received her Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Life Chiropractic College (now Life University) in 1985, and although currently retired from practice, still works with flower essences.