Monday, June 7, 2010

Astrology and Flower Essences

© 2010 by Joyce Mason

#3 of 3 in the Astrology-Plus Series


Astrology is mental. Understanding the relationships between planets and their meanings sometimes requires Olympic-class gymnastics of the mind.

The personal growth challenges in your astrology chart, on the other hand, are usually emotional. That part’s not a head trip whatsoever, especially when it comes to thorny natal issues or challenging transits. Social work was my first occupation, so I’m used to matching problems with resources. I discovered one of the most useful tools ever in pairing astrology with flower essences.

Flower essences offer something you can do to help yourself through the emotional turmoil of tough transits or natal challenges because they transform emotions.

Flower remedies are infusions of flower petals in spring water exposed to the sun, then preserved in alcohol or apple cider vinegar. The petals are removed and the vibrations of the flower remain in the liquid. After further dilution in a dosage bottle, a few drops are taken several times a day under the tongue. Essences are chosen by matching your current emotional issues with the corresponding flower, proven in repeated case studies to catalyze that emotional pattern to completion. Up to five flowers are typically taken in a blend, usually for three to four weeks. (For more details, there’s a primer on flower essences on my website.)

You got a taste in an earlier post of how flower essences can help some of the tougher transits: Flower Essences for Pluto and Resilience: “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” To give you even more a flavor of their potential, let’s look at how flower remedies match issues reflected by planetary energies. I’ll mention one to several essences per planet, but there are often many others. Some of the same essences work for more than one planet, so a mention under one doesn’t mean it’s exclusive. That’s a good thing because we’re influenced by all our planets at once. We’d need the whole flower pharmacy if there weren’t some overlap! For an easier read, information on manufacturers and where to purchase essences will be covered in a separate section.


Flower Essences and Planetary Influences

Sun ~ This one’s literal! The consummate essence for Sun issues (father, ego, self-esteem) is Sunflower. If you have stressful natal aspects or transits to the Sun, this essence helps balance extremes of poor self-worth to an inflated ego. Whether you’re a man or a woman, when life calls for your male energy to be out there in a warm, soulful, positive and charismatic way, think Sunflower.

Moon ~ Got mom trouble? Natal mother issues? Get Mariposa Lily. Often called mother love in a bottle, Mariposa Lily soothes lunar issues connected to your relationship with mother or your primary nurturer and your need to feel loved. It’s a balm whenever your transits leave you wanting a hug or wishing you could crawl back into the womb.

Mercury ~ There are many communications and thinking essences. Madia is for focus, when you really need to concentrate on a project or study for an exam. Dill helps people who are overwhelmed by so much going or so much on their plates; they can’t digest it all mentally and are left stunned, scattered, and overwhelmed. Trumpet Vine is for someone having a hard time speaking up. This essence helps you “trumpet” your voice out to the world. Cerato helps you speak your truth.

Venus ~ As you’d expect, with the multiplicity of challenges in relationships, there are many flower essences that help—and wouldn’t Venus herself have an affinity to flowers? Holly helps you let go of jealousy and envy in a relationship. (Good for Venus/Pluto transits or natal Venus in Scorpio.) Evening Primrose helps those who have difficulty forming committed relationships due to feelings of abandonment or rejection in childhood. Calendula helps overcome argumentative tendencies. Bleeding Heart is another one that’s literally named. It helps you get over a broken heart, and if you’re still in relationship, it helps dissolve clinging and co-dependence.

Mars ~ My favorite essence for Mars-ruled Aries is Impatiens. It helps people with many aspects to Mars or planets in Aries learn the P-word—patience! Mountain Pride balances the Mars of anyone facing adversity, bringing positive strength, assertiveness, and the traits of a Jedi warrior. Snapdragon helps rein in verbal abuse and angry outbursts. (Good for Mars/Mercury aspects.)

Jupiter ~ For those whose passionate idealism is overenthusiastic, overbearing, or fanatic, the antidote is Vervain. Since people with an emphasized Jupiter or numerous planets in Sagittarius are playful—here’s the essence they should give others to help them join the party: Zinnia. Zinnia brings out the playful inner child and is a great way to unleash your natal Jupiter from a party-pooper transit. Agrimony helps the Jupiterian type who drinks or uses substances to excess, to create a cheerful persona and hide his or her true feelings.

Saturn ~ Elm is for feeling overburdened or overwhelmed with responsibility. It’s also good for perfectionists who need to lighten up on themselves. (It is often the “type remedy” for Capricorn Moon.) Larkspur helps the overly executive and hard-working type balance his or her leadership qualities with cheerful service instead of being overly dutiful or overly impressed with him- or herself. Oak helps someone with strong abilities accept responsibility without pushing beyond his or her limits.

Chiron ~ Literal Alert! One of the key essences for this centaur is Centaury. A large aspect of Chiron is giving your gifts and service. Centaury can ease a feeling of over-responsibility to the point of not taking care of yourself or when giving disintegrates to servitude. Since Chiron is also about discovering, honing, and giving back your greatest talents to society, Wild Oat is the essence of choice when you’re looking for your true vocation or meaningful work. Self-Heal is a balm for contacting your inner healer and internal forces that help you recover from life’s slings and arrows.

Uranus ~ With the current Jupiter/Uranus conjunction, Star of Bethlehem could be the star of everyone’s medicine cabinet. “Beth” is for shocks or unexpected shake-ups. For the Uranian quality of “not fitting in,” take Shooting Star. (Is it just me, or are you seeing stars, too?) Shooting Star is for those who feel like they come from another planet. It promotes warm caring for all that is earthly and human. Lastly, for Uranian upsets, Rescue Remedy or Five-Flower Remedy is a must for everyone’s pocket, purse, or first-aid kit. It’s a blend to overcome the shock, fear, and worry of emergencies. Star of Bethlehem is one of its key components.


Neptune ~ The various types of Yarrow were made for Neptunians! The Yarrows promote strong boundaries and turn vulnerability into a combination of sensitivity and strengthened personal aura. The three different colors (white, pink and gold) are differentiated in Yarrowing It All Down and cover environmental sensitivities, relationship boundaries, and buffering the intense vibrations when you’re on stage or in the limelight.

Need grounding? Several essences come to mind to help keep your feet on the ground even when Neptune threatens to keep the rest of you in a fog. Corn aligns you with the earth and leaves you grounded and present in your body. Clematis helps those prone to daydreaming, out-of-body spirituality (too “woo-woo”), or head-in-the-clouds impractical ideas. It prompts awake, focused presence where you can bring your highly intuitive information down to earth. You can also try the flower that illustrates this article, Marigold. (Details at end under Photo Credit.)

Pluto ~ Since an entire article on essences for everyday Pluto issues is linked earlier in this post, I’ll focus on essences not covered there, namely on those that deal literally with birth and death. Alpine Lily helps moms experience motherhood as a physically nurturing and rewarding experience, great for the first time, new parent jitters. Yellow Star Tulip evokes compassionate attunement to one’s child and the ability to sense the baby’s true needs. Forget-Me-Not helps a woman struggling with her decision to have a child and helps her become aware of any karmic connection to an incoming soul.

On the home side of the journey, Angel’s Trumpet helps those in the last stages of life prepare for crossing over. Angelica helps the person in transition find protection and benevolence in the spiritual realm. Borage helps those left behind overcome grief and a heavy heart from the impending or ultimate death of a loved one. Chrysanthemum helps us when we’re struggling with our own mortality and enables us to accept the transitory nature of life on Earth. It shifts our awareness from our lower to higher Self.


Plants and Planet Formulas by Desert Alchemy

Not only do essences from many makers match up to astrological issues; one company created a set of flower essences just for that purpose. Desert Alchemy’s Plants and Planet Formulas are blends in these categories: Personal Planets, Outer Planets (including Chiron), Asteroids, and the Houses as complements (1st/7th, 2nd/8th, etc.). I love them and other creative blends from this company that can be used to support astrological cycles, too, like their Transitions Formula. (Could we put that in the drinking water during these Big Change Transits?)


Who Makes Them and Where to Purchase Them

Essences can be purchased online or at a health food store or often at specialty grocery stores like Whole Foods. Call ahead to see which brand(s) they carry. You can find Rescue Remedy on Amazon, and it’s always good to take a ride on your search engine, because plenty of health-oriented sites carry essences, too. I only discovered in the process of writing this article that my personal favorite online vitamin source, VitaCost, sells the full line of Bach and FES remedies.

Some of the essences mentioned have several makers, but I will focus on the two most well known brands, Bach and FES (Flower Essence Services). FES also has a line, Healing Herbs, which contains the same flowers as the Bach remedies, simply their brand.

In alphabetical order, here are the flowers essences in this article, who manufactures them, and the company websites: B = Bach, F= FES and D= Desert Alchemy

A – M: Agrimony (B), Alpine Lily (F), Angelica (F), Angel’s Trumpet (F), Bleeding Heart (F), Borage (F), Calendula (F), Centaury (B), Cerato (B), Chrysanthemum (F), Clematis (B), Corn (F), Dill (F), Elm (B), Evening Primrose (F), Five Flower Remedy (F), Forget-Me-Not (F), Holly (B), Impatiens (B), Larkspur (F), Madia (F), Mariposa Lily (F), Mountain Pride (F),

N- Z: Oak (B), Plants and Planetary Formulas (D), Rescue Remedy (B), Self-Heal (F), Shooting Star (F), Snapdragon (F), Star of Bethlehem (B), Sunflower (F), Trumpet Vine (F), Vervain (B), Wild Oat (B), Yarrow (F- all forms), Yellow Star Tulip (F), Zinnia (F).


Good Vibrations

If you want to learn more about flower essences, subscribe to Vibration. This former e-zine, now blog, is co-edited by astrologer Donna Cunningham and Dr. Debra Bier of Whole Energy Essences. It’s a virtual bouquet of help and healing. Many of you were introduced to this site through the 1st International Astrology Day Blogathon (see sidebar). Vibration is one of the sites that hosted the large collection of articles across the Internet offering tools for the Cardinal T-Square of Pluto, Uranus, and Saturn. The articles on Vibration focus on flower essences to ease the tension of this outerplanetary line-up.


A Tool for Your Bloomin’ Spirit

I 've been certified as a flower essence practitioner since 1989 through the Flower Essence Society (FES) in Nevada City, CA. If I never gave essences to a single client, it would have been worth the investment in this training for how flower essences have helped my friends, family, and me. I can’t imagine getting through the current outerplanetary siege without Rescue Remedy and many of my other favorite flower friends.

While professional training is a huge asset, you will be surprised how much you can learn to help yourself. You might start with some personal consultations with a flower essence practitioner (see Flower Essence Primer or e-mail me if you’re interested in working together). That’s how I got started, and I quickly made the transition to self-help and helping others.

Sometimes you get a bonus in the bouquet. My first flower essence and astrology workshop was with Donna Cunningham circa 1981. She became one of my primary mentors in both tools—add writing—and we have worked together on a number of projects.

Wherever the flowers lead you, you will be lighter in spirit. Their synergy with astrological insights is like the florist’s truck arriving at your door during a full moon--beautiful and unexpected! It has always puzzled me that flower essences haven’t caught on more in the US. (They’re better known and much more popular in Europe.) Guess it’s hard to believe that something so simple and easy could actually make such a big difference.

Find out for yourself.

~~~

Photo Credit: Marigold Flower Essence © Marilyn Barbone Dreamstime.com

As a flower essence, Marigold celebrates being in the physical body with all its pleasures. Need grounding? Try Marigold. Marigold is made by Whole Energy Essences.

Disclaimer: This article does not mean to imply any recommendation or certification of any individuals or companies mentioned. It is provided purely for informational purposes. Please make your own determination about the quality of the services and products offered. This article and the others referenced are not meant to constitute advice, nor are they meant to replace medical or psychological treatment.

3 comments:

Susannah said...

Nice list Joyce thanks for that. :-)

I hope all is well in your world. x

Joyce Mason said...

Thanks, Susannah! It was fun to do, and I hope it can be a flower essence shopping list for transits and natal issues ... but all means not all inclusive!

Getting ready for a BIG announcement on the Radical Virgo I'll post late in the evening on Monday, June 14. Watch for it! :)

Always lovely to hear from you. I'm doing well, thanks.

Ariadna said...

I have myself just discovered flowere remedies, i think they do help you to deal with whatever it is that you are dealing with at the moment.. although not easy to spot the exact effect!
Here's good interview with the flowere remedies guru Clare Harvey http://thebaoliblog.com/