The Power of Flower Essences
Three vials on a silver plate covered in pink flowers. Two contain flower essences, one contains salt.
If you’re at all involved with the metaphysical, you’ve likely come across many flower essences. I wanted to talk a little bit about how I use these tools in my work – and the journey I took to understanding their power!
My Journey
In 2005 I walked into the Blue Eagle Metaphysical Emporium in Albuquerque, NM to see Carolyn Calisto for an Energy Balancing & Clearing session. I had recently moved to Albuquerque to study at the Ayurvedic Institute, which was next door to the Blue Eagle. On a previous visit, I was magnetically drawn to the bottles of Green Hope Farm flower essence spritzers on the counter and Carolyn offered sessions based on them..
At the end of the session, Carolyn sent me home with an energetic mist to spray on my body a few times a day. Their gentle, angelic frequency offered a subtle no-nonsense support for my being when grappling with the change, uncertainty, and deep transformation triggered by my move to Albuquerque.
This was not the first time I had worked with flower essences. Deborra, the healer who had been helping me recover from the car accident, often made custom mixes for me using the ones she created from her garden as well as commercially available ones like Bach and Perelandra. But the discovery of Green Hope Farm flower essences would change the course of my life and, eventually, the lives of my clients.
Shortly after my session with Carolyn, I began ordering Green Hope Farm essences and bottles of Red Shiso on a regular basis – almost monthly. Each time the colorfully decorated package arrived, I created a custom mix to help me navigate whatever life situations were front and center.
These custom mixes nourished and healed me through many emotional crises – the loss of beloved pets, changes in familial and love relationships, and navigating difficult work situations, to name a few. They have supported the physical realignment of my body when I have been in accidents, thrown out my lower back and SI joint, or simply overdid it during a yoga class.
Flower essences have helped me release beliefs and behaviors that no longer serve me in a gentle, loving way – meaning, without resistance, temper tantrums, or a sense of deprivation. They were so gentle, I hardly noticed I wasn’t doing “the thing” anymore!
I loved that these mixes provided a way to gently move into alignment with our highest good. First hand, I saw how the flower essences quickened physical and emotional healing and helped them more easefully navigate a household with 3 cats, a dog, and lots of people coming and going.
I began making custom mixes for clients to support their transformational process. I saw how they, too, quietly and easefully moved from confusion, fear, and resistance to clarity, curiosity, and flow.
Over the years, I collected over 200 Green Hope Farm flower essences and discovered I was quite the alchemist; able to identify with just the right essences out of Green Hope Farm thousands of essences, that the client needed. My inner wizard was delighted with the creations and results!
In the early days, I bottled the custom mixes myself and mailed them off to clients as Deborra had for me. Now, I identify the ideal essences for clients and they order directly from the Green Hope Farm website. I provide dosing and frequency instructions as well as follow-up care. GHF essences are alcohol free.
FAQ
What are Flower Essences?
Like homeopathy, flower essences are a form of energy or vibrational medicine that work with the body’s electrical system. Each flower essence holds the essential nature of the flower; all of its strengths and the lessons it has learned. Our body uses this information vibrationally to activate deep healing. Flower essences will not interfere with any allopathic, herbal or prescription medicine you are taking because they work with the body’s electrical and nervous system to help us come into a natural balance, addressing any imbalances with care.
Flower essence therapy, a form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) based on these ideas, uses flower essences, which are liquids infused with a flower’s energy to initiate mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual wellness. Modern flower essences were created by Edward Bach, a British physician, in the 1930s. Today, people use flower essences for the same purpose. They are made by local healers (like Molly at Green Hope Farm) and nationally (like Bach or FES) and can be purchased directly from the maker, in natural food stores, and online.
In my experience, custom mixes that address each individual’s specific concerns offer a low cost, big impact healing experience. They allow us to gently release beliefs and behaviors that no longer serve us, allowing us to get unstuck and live a more healthy, joyful life.
Ways to use Flower Essences
Flower essence therapy is as much of an art form as a science. They work very subtly, so changes tend to happen gently over time. However, sometimes a behavior will change suddenly in a good way – like it will just disappear and we forget we thought that way or did that thing!
Generally, frequent small doses are better than fewer large doses. I recommend taking 2-5 drops, 2 times a day directly on the tongue or in a glass of water. Alternatively, put 2-5 drops in a water bottle and sip it all day.
Follow your intuition; if you are drawn to take them more or less frequently, please do!
Flower essences vs. essential oils
Flower essences and essential oils are often confused with each other. Both solutions are made with plants, but they’re prepared in very different ways.
Here’s how flower essences are made:
Flowers are submerged in natural spring water.
The water is boiled or placed in the sun. Allegedly, sun exposure helps extract the energy of flowers.
The water is filtered and preserved with brandy. The finished essence contains no part of the flower.
Essences can be made with nonflowering plants and crystals using the same method. They can also be made without alcohol.
Essential oils are concentrated liquids of plant compounds. Here’s how they’re made:
The flowers, leaves, fruit, or bark of a plant are gathered. One bottle of essential oil often requires several pounds of plant material.
The plant material is steamed, distilled or pressed, which extracts the fragrant compounds.
The extracted “oil” is not actually oily and may be mixed with a carrier oil for use.
Thanks for reading!
