What Is A Flower Essence?
Each plant has unique gifts to share with the world. Flower Essences are homeopathic preparations that contain that distilled wisdom. Working with flower essences helps us to bloom in our own lives and bring forward the medicine that we came here to share.
Flower essences are the most gentle form of herbal medicine. They contain no flavor, fragrance, or physical trace of the plants from which they came. It is their subtlety, however, that makes them so incredibly potent. Western culture tells us that more is better. When it comes to herbs, this often translates into a belief that strong medicine is needed in large quantities for maximum benefit. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Gentle medicine shapes the world and our lives. The changes that flower essences facilitate are subtle at first, but profound over time. A canyon is formed by a single fissure in stone, worn away by wind and water, to reveal a landscape transformed. With the help of the essences, drop by drop, even the most hardened parts of our own psyches inevitably begin to yield, soften, flow, and grow wider than we'd ever dreamt possible.
I would not be who I am today without their support. As a highly empathic person, they have helped me to develop healthy boundaries and experience closeness without codependence. They've helped me to make peace with food and to genuinely love and accept my body. Working with the essences has allowed me to achieve more in life than I ever have imagined. They've given me the confidence as well as the compassion that I've needed to overcome obstacle after obstacle, both personally and professionally.
Flower essences have also exponentially increased my sense of intimacy with the Earth. Since beginning my work with them over a decade ago, I now notice subtleties in the flowers and the trees that I surely would have missed before. The ground beneath my feet feels holy, like a living being whose language I understand innately. As I walk through the woods, I can sense the vast networks of mycelium beneath the forest floor, whispering prayers that make the world within me come alive.
This connection is something that we all ache for. While we may taste it here and there, but the ability to sustain this level of intimacy with Earth is simply difficult to do in the modern world. But that's where flower essences come in. Working with these subtle energetic remedies re-attunes us on a cellular level to the wisdom of the Earth. As they help us remember how to listen, we begin to heal. And as we heal, so does she.
Flower essences are the most gentle form of herbal medicine. They contain no flavor, fragrance, or physical trace of the plants from which they came. It is their subtlety, however, that makes them so incredibly potent. Western culture tells us that more is better. When it comes to herbs, this often translates into a belief that strong medicine is needed in large quantities for maximum benefit. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Gentle medicine shapes the world and our lives. The changes that flower essences facilitate are subtle at first, but profound over time. A canyon is formed by a single fissure in stone, worn away by wind and water, to reveal a landscape transformed. With the help of the essences, drop by drop, even the most hardened parts of our own psyches inevitably begin to yield, soften, flow, and grow wider than we'd ever dreamt possible.
I would not be who I am today without their support. As a highly empathic person, they have helped me to develop healthy boundaries and experience closeness without codependence. They've helped me to make peace with food and to genuinely love and accept my body. Working with the essences has allowed me to achieve more in life than I ever have imagined. They've given me the confidence as well as the compassion that I've needed to overcome obstacle after obstacle, both personally and professionally.
Flower essences have also exponentially increased my sense of intimacy with the Earth. Since beginning my work with them over a decade ago, I now notice subtleties in the flowers and the trees that I surely would have missed before. The ground beneath my feet feels holy, like a living being whose language I understand innately. As I walk through the woods, I can sense the vast networks of mycelium beneath the forest floor, whispering prayers that make the world within me come alive.
This connection is something that we all ache for. While we may taste it here and there, but the ability to sustain this level of intimacy with Earth is simply difficult to do in the modern world. But that's where flower essences come in. Working with these subtle energetic remedies re-attunes us on a cellular level to the wisdom of the Earth. As they help us remember how to listen, we begin to heal. And as we heal, so does she.
Common Questions
Do they have a scent?
Flower essences do not retain any physical properties of the plant from which they are made—which includes scent. They are not intended to be used as perfumes. However, they *can* be applied to pulse points as a kind of energetic perfume.
How do I know which to choose?
Trust yourself and follow your intuition. If you feel drawn to a particular plant, that is often an indication that it holds medicine for you. Our unconscious is incredibly powerful and will almost always guide us to the medicine it needs to find balance. Long story short--don't overthink it. Flower essences don't have negative side effects, so if you choose one that's not a fit, the worst thing that will happen is nothing.
How do I take them?
I recommend four drops four times a day, directly in your mouth or in water. You can also add ten drops to a bath. For those who have a more somatic experience of their emotions, using essences to anoint the areas of the body where specific feelings arise, can also be helpful.
What is the ecological impact of wildcrafted flower essences?
You only need one flower to make an essence. That mother essence can then go on to create thousands of individual remedies. Because flower essences are homeopathic, the level of dilution they require makes them an incredibly ecologically sound choice. Tinctures require significantly more plant material to produce, and often the essence of a plant is just as effective.
I don't recommend making essences from endangered or threatened plants. However, in my own apothecary, I offer a Ghost Pipe Flower Essence. I would never condone the harvesting of this plant except by indigenous peoples for whom it is a traditional remedy. However, I made the essence with a single flower and have since distributed upwards of five hundred individual remedies from that mother essence. The potential harm reduction of offering essences made from rare plants when people might otherwise reach for tinctures is significant and worth noting. Relationship and consent are always paramount. Never harvest anything, no matter how common or rare, if you do not sense a full and undeniable yes from the plant itself.
