How I got into flower essences
A flower essence is a vibrational medicine that is made by imbuing spring water with a specific flower or plant to capture its energy. I have come to love using them and it’s now a medicine cabinet staple. My first introduction to flower essences was the Rescue Remedy from the Bach flower essences range.
I was attending massage school in 2010 after I came back from a 3 month backpacking trip in Southeast Asia. My teachers and peers were really into using natural and alternative medicine to sustain their bodies because massage is essentially a lot of physical labor.
Massage can also become emotional labor, especially if the massage therapist uses a lot of their energy to hold space for the client’s healing. This type of work can use up a lot of their emotional energy and leave them feeling drained at the end of the day.
As a student therapist,I took clients that paid me under the table. I only charged half of the standard rate because I was not licensed. As an empath, this was tremendously draining for me since I was pouring a lot of effort into the work I was doing – both physically and emotionally – and getting underpaid for it. I burnt out pretty quickly and considered quitting massage.
This was a great introduction to using when I was in my twenties as a hardworking, independent, young woman.
What is a flower essence?
It’s a common mistake to confuse a flower essence with essential oils because essential oils have really dominated the alternative plant medicine scene in recent years. They are completely different medicines. An essential oil is a product that is derived from pressing thousands of a pounds of plant matter to extract the oil. It’s a very costly process that requires tons of plant matter. The end product is a tiny fraction of what it takes to make it. Flower essences are rooted in vibrational medicine. It does not have any part of the plant matter in it.
How to make flower essences
A flower essence is made by taking the flower and placing it in a bowl of spring water and placing it in the sun for a length of time. By doing so, it allows the sun’s rays to imbue the vibrational energy of the flower into the water. That water becomes the flower essence.
How the flower is chosen and with what intention and ritual go into the process is an art form. According to Marysia Miernowska, an herbalist, author and director of the Gaia School of Healing and Earth Education, making a flower essence starts with the practitioner choosing a flower for its qualities that they want to work with. The practitioner begins the process by introducing themself to the flower and asking for its permission to make a flower essence from it. Holding the intention to make medicine with the flower’s specific traits, the practitioner can sit by the flower to meditate. This act of meditation allows fusing their energy with the flower’s. Then they pick the flower, or part of the plant, and places it in a bowl of spring water to allow the energy infusion to happen.
Choosing which flower or plant to work with is all about understanding that flower or plant’s specific traits and healing properties. For example, a sunflower stands tall, looks regal like a sunny lion king, and demands attention. A sunflower flower essence, according to One Willow Apothecaries, can help someone be assured “that you carry a brilliant light within, and that your gifts deserve to be seen.” I just think that’s so beautiful. I think flower essence work is so poetic as it is based on the practitioner’s perception of the energy a flower carries.
How I use flower essences
As you can see in the first photo above, I am dropping some sunflower flower essence from One Willow Apothecaries under my tongue. I love using this essence because it helps me get out of my “analysis paralysis” so that I can blog and let myself be bold and creative without fear or criticism! It’s funny, I actually gifted this flower essence to my husband because I thought it would be a nice ally for him to have on his journey as an entrepreneur. But I ended up using it way more often than him, so it’s mine now!
I also have a rose flower essence and a Mangano Calcite flower essence from Pacific Northwest Essences which I did an unboxing of on my IG. Honestly, I think the only reasons why I got through my traumatic and extremely stressful abscess experience was due to using these flower essences, as well as supplementing magnesium. I do not take trauma very lightly. It can really destroy a soul. Yet even though I experienced such a detrimental setback, I was able to bounce back all while raising a baby, run a household and take care of myself during a pandemic.
Flower essences can be really helpful if you know exactly what you need help with. I highly recommend them to people who are especially more sensitive to stress and anxiety due to the gentle power of the medicine. They are also very sustainable to produce since it does not contain any part of the plant, which also makes them very affordable. They are also super gentle, so there are no contraindications to using them!
Works Cited
Jirsa, Amy. Herbal Goddess
Miernowska, Marysia. The Witch’s Herbal Apothecary.
Hill, Amber Magnolia. “Flower Essences Are Story Medicine.” Mythic Medicine, Mythic Medicine, 11 Feb. 2021, https://mythicmedicine.love/blog-full-archive/flower-essences-are-story-medicine.
Leave a Reply