A friend of mine, a fiery and stalwart black crone-grandmother named Connie, allows me space in her backyard for a garden. Now, gardening is great, but it requires commitment, which for me includes making time out of my schedule of work and art and writing and the rest to commute over there. So, every year my garden gets weedy. Among the most persistent "weeds", which as we know are usually powerful healing plants, is a cousin of Borage with painfully prickly leaves and a profusion of blue flowers --- Bugloss.
Bugloss is actually a family of plants, of which this plant is a member. I just made this year's odyssey of hacking down the jungle of weeds back there, and unfortunately that included much of the Bugloss, which the bees like. But I know the Bugloss will be more or less unfazed. My efforts are just a temporary setback. Soon, new leaves will sprout from a phalanx of two-foot-long taproots, and I'll be at it again.
Despite its prolific, even annoying abundance, this year I couldn't bear to let waste all the beautiful little blue flowers, from which the bees were still drinking as they lay on the pile. I had to use them for something, to "honor" them in some way. Bugloss has mucilaginous properties, like Borage, but what other powers did it have? What could I do with Bugloss? What could I learn from Bugloss?
I could brew the whole prickly lot, or even just the flowers, into a tea. But I decided to have a go at a more subtle type of preparation, which I've known about for years, but haven't found the time or space to make, nor the money to buy: Flower Essences.
Flower Essences are, in fact, probably one of the most subtle types of "potions" or medicines you can make at home. I'm a pretty grounded person (double Taurus?!), so for me getting into more elevated or "woo woo" states of mind or energy can seem like a challenge. And yet I've noticed the past few years how responsive I am to energy, in that I especially dislike negative emotions and energy fields from other humans. I was also proven yet again, just a few days ago, that I'm psychic: Out of the blue one morning, I lay in bed meditating on a couple of large ballrooms in Portland as well as the masquerade I just attended, only to find shortly after that the event and its cousin have been moved to both those locations. In short, I'm no less a candidate for exploring the subtle, emotional power of this form of "Potistry" than anyone else!
On the origin and principles of Flower Essences, one source writes:
"Dr. Edward Bach was a homeopath who believed that the cause of disease was emotional; a conflict between soul and mind that needed spiritual and mental effort to eradicate. He speaks in his work, ”Heal Thyself,” about his belief in the existence of the soul, and how the root of disease and unhappiness is often linked with conflict from either the material world or other people, leading one away from the soul’s real path. The second major theme that Dr. Bach relates to health is that of unity and interrelatedness. He outlined some of the human defects he believed to be adverse to unity such as pride, cruelty, hate, self-love, ignorance and greed; stating that illness sets in if one continues in these defects after knowing they are wrong."
The importance of emotional states to our health, and the need to address them in medicine, is the key area of Flower Essence practice. DIY Natural (found at https://www.diynatural.com/how-to-make-flower-essences/) explains:
"Spring is for flowers, so spring is the prime time to make flower essences. After a long, dark winter it is easy to see how the vibrational energy of flowers can adjust our emotional well being. Flower essences have been used for centuries to help us make a shift in our soul or emotional self. I often explain that flower essences don’t necessarily help to knit your broken bone from a fall, they go to the emotional aspect of your personality that causes you to walk off balance or hunched over because of an injury to your self esteem.
It’s not so simple though, to say that they are only emotional or soul healing. As we grow to understand the body in which we live, it becomes all too clear that there is a strong correlation between our soul, mind and emotions and the illnesses or accidents with which we struggle.
The best thing about this type of botanical medicine is that it is incredibly gentle. Flower essences can be used by absolutely anyone regardless of age, overall constitution, current disease burden or medications."
NAHA, found at (https://naha.org/naha-blog/making-and-using-flower-essences), goes on to elucidate how the emotional causes of disease precede the physical symptoms, but a person usually only seeks help once physical problems show up:
"Once a client comes to an herbalist for a physical disorder, I believe that it is beneficial to try and work on several levels of healing: the removal of physical symptoms in order to relieve the client of pain and discomfort, the lifestyle changes necessary to avoid the problem repeating itself, and the emotional and mental issues that may be underlying the illness. Generally, I have found that the more a plant preparation is concentrated, the more likely it is to work on a deeply physical level; and the more a preparation is diluted, the more likely it is to shift things on a more subtle level. This does not mean that concentrated plant medicines do not have an effect on emotions, or vice versa. For example; if I want to zap an infectious bacteria, I am more likely to use an essential oil with high phenol content over a flower essence. If I am looking for direction in line with one’s higher self, flower essences would be my choice."
State of mind and approach in the "potist", maker or or healer, says NAHA, is also important, as in the case of a student who wanted to work with extremely toxic plants:
"Although the flower essences would not do any harm physically, energetically he was definitely not ready to work with this type of plant, which could have dangerous emotional implications if used without care, experience, and respect. Although flower essences do not demand any particular skill in order to make them, one definitely needs to be ready for this type of medicine making. An understanding and awareness of an intuitive nature is necessary."
At home, I spent at least an hour picking the blue flowers off their prickly stems with scissors, then carefully placing them on the surface of a pan of water, until the water was covered. By then it was after 8 p.m, and I set the pan in the window on a stool to catch the light of the full moon all night. When morning came, I placed the pan in the sunlight for a little while, then lifted out the flowers with filter paper and spoon. By now the flowers had been setting atop the water for over 12 hours, far longer than a standard flower essence, and the water had the most exquisite, very faintly golden colour. I strained the water through a coffee filter to remove the Bugloss prickles and, some time later, poured it into a brown bottle and added its volume in the traditional alcohol: brandy. This, then, is my "mother essence".
I had not read any instructions prior to making my Bugloss essence; I had only my memory of research, so this first attempt was all instinct, logic and recall. It can be instructive to try something yourself first, then find "official" instructions to see where you deviate --- if it's safe, of course. If you're doing alchemy with heavy metals or mixing dynamite, do follow a trusted method!
As it was, I realized I produced a type of hybrid Full Moon water and Flower Essence, because I used the moon's light to potentize the water, plus only an hour or so of sunlight rather than the full three sunlit hours. (I guess this would be called "lunarization", instead of "solarization".) I also put the pan in the sun after noon --- one source emphasizes making a flower essence between 9 a.m. and noon, because the sun's light shifts from energizing to draining in the afternoon hours. Supposedly.
Bugloss flowers in water about to undergo "lunarization"
My method deviated from proper methods in several other ways, besides utilizing moonlight rather than sunlight.
• I used tap water. Horrors! Tap water is known to have all kinds of crud in it. But it was the best I had in a pinch, and I also know our kitchen's cold tap has an extra filter under it, so I placed my faith in this filter.
• My pan and tools were not sterilized, nor reserved exclusively for Flower Essence use.
• Though as little as possible, I did touch the flowers with my fingers, and also touched the water. Thus, the essence has my signature energy on it. I wouldn't want to give it to anyone else in a medicinal capacity.
• My gathering frame of mind was not ideal. Instead of meditating or asking permission, these plants were cut down and merely "not wasted". Far from a pure neutral essence, this medicine is a relationship between the Bugloss and myself.
Here, DIY Naturals gives a set of "proper" instructions:
"Making your own essence is very simple using the following process. Start on a bright sunny day and select a location in full sun. Choose a flower that you are drawn to or have read about and know its qualities. Sit quietly with the flower, meditate, draw or write. Fill a glass or crystal bowl with fresh, living water. Do not use distilled water or water that is chlorinated or otherwise contaminated. Cover the surface of the water with flowers, removing them at the stem and being careful not to touch the flower itself with your fingers. Leave the bowl to sit in the sun for at least three hours. Do not cover the bowl. If you are concerned about outdoor animals, set it up where it is not easily accessible or simply stay with it. At the end of its time in the sun your water will be imprinted with the energetics and dynamics of your flower. You have created a“mother essence.” You may now sip the mother essence alone or with friends, which I highly recommend, or you may preserve the mother essence for future use.
To preserve your Flower Essence, you'll need these ingredients and supplies:
• 2-3 1oz. amber glass dropper bottles
• brandy
• fresh spring water
• mother essence you have created from above instructions.
Directions:
To preserve this essence you will need a 1 ounce amber glass dropper bottle filled half with brandy and half with fresh, spring water. To this combination you will add 2 drops of the mother essence you have created in the bowl. From this preserved bottle you will make your usable forms of flower essence. This is essentially the “mother” of all the other bottles.
Next you will want to create a “stock bottle” which is the form most often purchased in the store. To create a stock bottle you will need a 1 ounce amber glass dropper bottle filled with brandy. To this you will add 2 drops of the “mother” from Step 1. You may now use your flower essence as you wish, or you may choose to create a “dosage bottle.”
To create a dosage bottle you will need a 1 ounce amber glass dropper bottle filled nearly full with spring water and just about a teaspoon of brandy. To this you may add one or a combination of several preserved flower essences, up to five or six different flowers. Each selection should add 2-4 drops to your completed dosage bottle.
To Use:
Whether you choose to take your flower essence directly from the stock bottle or make a dosage bottle, the amount you use will be the same. Per tradition, you place four drops under the tongue or in a small glass of water, four times per day.
'Why is the Essence Diluted So Much?'
Flower Essences are a healing modality where “less is more.” The more dilute the physical components of these preparations become, the more the soul is revealed."
Bugloss flowers next morning
NAHA gives a similar set of instructions:
"You will need:
• A small glass bowl, which should be used uniquely for essence making.
• Fresh spring, or mountain stream, water collected in a glass container if possible. It is great if you can get fresh, wild water that comes from near to where the flowers you are using grow. This is not always possible. So either collect spring water from somewhere else, or if all else fails, buy spring water in a bottle. I do not advise using tap water, as it will be full of fluoride etc.
• A funnel (a glass one if possibleA dark glass bottle (125ml is a good size).
• Organic grain alcohol (at least 40%, such as vodka).
Before picking the flowers, use your intuition to feel whether or not you have their permission.
Flower essences are made on sunny days, as the sun’s rays shining through the flowers, help transmit the message to the water. This is known as solarization.
Directions:
1. Fill the bowl with spring water and put it in the sun, preferably among the flowers the essence is being made from.
It is the vibrational imprint of the flowers that is going to be memorized by the water, not the vibrational imprint of the essence maker. In order to put the least possible of one’s own energy into the essence, consciously distance yourself from the action. By this, I mean, when collecting the flowers imagine you are just an instrument, try and remain neutral.
2. Gently drop the flowers onto the surface of the water. This is not an infusion so they do not need to be immersed. Cover the surface of the water with flowers.
3. Leave in the sun for at least two hours where there is no risk of shadows falling on the bowl.
4. Come back to the bowl, and with the help of a couple of twigs or leaves, (so not to touch the water) remove the flowers from the bowl.
5. Using the glass funnel, pour the water into the glass bottle until it is half full. Fill the bottle to the top with the alcohol.
This is the “mother essence” or “mother tincture,’’ and it is from this bottle that the drops will be taken to make the “stock bottle.”
Once back inside, take seven drops from the mother tincture and put them into a bottle (20 ml. bottle). Fill the bottle with alcohol. This is the stock bottle. It is from this bottle that the medicine is made. Put two to seven drops into a small dropper bottle and fill with alcohol. Label the bottle. The essence is now ready for the client.
Dosages.
I tend to advise clients to take a couple of drops in water, or directly under the tongue, when they think about it, preferably as far away from meals as possible.
Many people carry the small dropper bottle with them at first and take the essences regularly. When they start to forget, it is usually because the essence has done its job, and there is less need for it. However, as their action is subtle, I do try and encourage clients to take essences for at least twenty-one days, and depending on the issues being dealt with, for up to three months.
It is possible to blend essences, and each practitioner has his/her own techniques. I tend to go for one essence at a time, and would advise not to blend any more than three at a time. Once things have started to shift, a change of essence can be helpful as the next emotional layer is revealed."
The subtlety of this type of plant medicine, and the variations between unique people, mean that interpretations and results are likely going to vary. A person's attitude, state of mind or approach could influence the medicinal procedure as much as, if not more than, "hard" chemistry or plant conpounds, especially because almost none of the original plant is in the fluid --- only the signature resonance.
So, besides utility, why would I be drawn to Bugloss? After all, the garden has abundant Buttercups, but I chose Bugloss first. As a life-form, to me Bugloss represents tenacity, opportunism, persistence, and the ability both to ward off attack and to regenerate. It suggests deep roots once established. But it also, in its many flowers, suggests abundance and generosity: Once the roots are down, it isn't going anywhere, and can draw from that stability to offer plenty to others. To me, a woman of low finances who keeps being uprooted, Bugloss seems like good medicine. Even if I have to move again, deep internal roots and tenacity mean I'd always be close to my source of power --- well-grounded and plugged in to abundance. With this in mind, even my first attempt at this type of remedy might be of use to me personally, even if I don't offer it to others. As of now, I make most of my potions for myself, anyway!
I've found a couple of differing accounts of Bugloss' healing powers via an essence. Again, this may be due to differences in unique practitioners, and also the type of Bugloss (i.e. Purple Viper's, Siberian, etc.) consulted. So many factors!
Here is one:
"Echium lycopsis. Bugloss is the remedy for those amongst us who are too easily discouraged by the inevitable setbacks encountered in life and are unwilling or unable to try again. They may well have developed a mental attitude that they will fail again so there is little point in trying. They still possess the desire to take action but their past experiences inform them that further efforts would be futile; they have indeed come to expect failure. Rather than view their setbacks as worthwhile attempts from which they can learn and improve, they perceive them as signs that they can not succeed.
These folk develop this attitude because at their core they are not fully grounded and therefore have difficulty in grounding their aims and objectives. They possess in their hearts a sense of being unsettled, displaced or uprooted; a feeling that rarely leaves them. It is a subtle feeling, not easy to define or pin down, yet it permeates through into their lives, like water soaking through stone, to inhibit their true expressions.
The Bugloss folk are extremely reluctant to commit to anything major and many possess a fair degree of the proverbial "rolling stone" about them. Their ungroundedness can also manifest as a nervous disposition or anxiety. For some of these folk there is a desire to search for something yet they have no idea what it is they are looking for.
Suggested uses for Bugloss:
• for those who have been displaced or uprooted from familiar surroundings
• to help us pick up the threads of something we put down some time ago
• to give full respect to what we have learnt and achieved in the past
• when we have not succeeded but want to try again
• when we are travelling
• when we are unsettled by the feeling that our roots have been lifted out of the ground
• to help us realise on the emotional level that there are no mistakes, only experiences from which we can learn
• the alleviation of guilt
• when we feel deflated by our setbacks.
The bugloss used in this remedy is the Purple Viper's. Its signature arises from the fact that it is a very variable plant which has to be dug up for the purposes of identification as the roots have a distinguishing purple tint to them. It is the only plant I have lifted out of the ground when making into a flower remedy."
Well! This all certainly sounds promising. I have, despite being in the same town, been a proverbial "wanderer", noncommittal to any one job, home, husband or, for that matter, name of God. Yet part of this aimless wandering actually stems from feeling uprooted, multiple times, and not by choice. It's been hard to focus on heart-goals and projects, knowing I have to move again, and again. In addition to healing, the remedy may be a good one to help during travel.
Will Bugloss help with the shadow sides of this seeker's tendency, even if I don't settle down right away? I don't know, but I feel an open mind can't hurt. One good thing about making your own Flower Essences, it seems, is that you end up with plenty: a few drops go a long way.
The fine nuances of this healing modality fascinate me, as does the implication that a conflict between our expansion-driven souls and survival-focused minds is at the root of most if not all dis-ease. Exploring this has reminded me of just how much I don't know, and likewise how much there is to discover on this healing path called life. I look forward to it with excitement.
I can't help but notice that of all characters, Severus Snape must suffer one of the greatest and most agonizing rifts between the callings of his soul, and the brutal restraints imposed by his own mind out of necessity of survival. I can see him employing flowers in his work, but only in a very cold, clinical (and cynical!) way, as dictated by the logical mind rather than the heart or soul --- and yet, who knows what twinges he may feel while he works, and handles an asphodel bulb or lily bloom? All the Flower Essences combined might still fail to heal his rift completely; and yet he, like the Bugloss, remains deeply rooted --- as deeply as one can be --- in love, to which even the tortuous power of that locked-down brain is beholden. His wound, like his unique powers, is what saves all others.
Since state of mind is important, before I partake of this medicine further (post-preservation!), I will say:
Bugloss, guardian of blue-gated bounty, forgive my brief trespasses upon your space, and the damage my existence brings upon you and this earth; I acknowledge your greater vitality and deep wisdom, and open myself to healing and refinement by the doorway of your many lessons. Guide me in the path of respect for all beings, and the ultimate harmony of mind and soul. So mote it be.
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