Flower Healing Magic
Why flowers are special compared to other plants or parts of plants?
- This is the life force of the plant… the roots is a whole other world providing nutrients from the earth and I often advise to use the entire plant to create a synergy of benefits… but the flower is where the seeds come from, pollen, reproduction. It contains every nutrient needed to produce new life.
- Bright colours of many flowers reflect the presence of powerful antioxidants that protect in numerous functions in the body.
These bright colours and delicious fragrances are seducers… of birds and bees and bugs…
- Pollen holds immense benefits, contains all essential amino acids. Filled with antioxidants. Anti-inflammatory properties. Supports liver, immune, hormonal health. Bees can only live on real pollen, they died when given identical but synthetic, lab-created pollen.
- Most medicinal herbs have flowers: rosemary, thyme, basil, yarrow
Flower Reproduction
Flower reproduction is quite often hemaproditic. Flowers have sex with themselves…
Pollen from the male part of the plant must travel down to the female reproductive organs to make seeds…
Not all plants have male and female parts in one… cannabis…
When you pick a flower you’re breaking apart reproductive organs. Wind blows, pollen goes down to the ovaries and seeds are grown.
Internal Flower Benefits
Hormone balance+fertility
Sleep issues
Stomach issues
Stress/autonomic/nervous system
Immunity
Lymphatic system
Brain
Kidneys
Signature flower benefits
Mind boosters: Some flowers can boost memory, like rosemary, and can stimulate the brain, boosting productivity, concentration and performance.
Calm givers: Flowers are generally soothing. Inducing relaxation and calm and can often help struggling with insomnia and nervous system disorders. Lavender for sleep, passionflower for autonomic dysfunction and anxiety, chamomile for calm.
Protectors: Because of the high concentrations of antixoididants, minerals, vitamins and amino acids present in flowers (all needed to produce seeds and fruits and thereby new life), support various protective functions in the body, protecting from cellular damage, premature ageing, disease, inflammation, and so much more.
External Benefits
- Skin health: Because of high antioxidants, great for skin care by protecting skin from free-radical damage (sun, pollution, even stress)
Flowers are often charged with anti-inflammatory benefits and are very hydrating
- Have antibacterial/antiseptic properties for wounds.
- Antiviral properties to help fight viruses
Other benefits
Crucial part of earth’s cycles… feeding bees, insects, spreading seeds, increasing plant bio-diversity
Air purifiers
They make us happy, the stimulate the senses, bring joy…
How to extract flower medicine
Because of their delicate petals and leaves, flowers should be extracted in an infusion as a hard-boiling decoction can destroy them. You need to hard boil bark and roots to extract, but flowers infuse very quickly and just need to be soaked in pre-boiled hot water.
A tincture extraction…
Smoking…
Into water as toner…
Into oil for skincare…
Honey extractions…
Edible Flowers
Honeysuckle
Lilacs
Roses
Cherry blossoms
Dandelion
Daisies
Elderflowers
Clover
Hibiscus
Lavender
Chamomile
Pansies
Violets
Sunflowers
Mums
Orchids
Elderflowers (also poisonous if eaten uncooked. Leaves and roots and sticks can cause a buildup of cyanide)
Peonies
Poisonous Flowers
Wisteria
Azaleas
Daffodils
Buttercups
Delphinium
Oleander
Lily of the valley
Hydrangea
Foxgloves
Clematis
Rises
Rhodendendra
Hyacinths
Flower vegetables
Artichoke
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Banana
Squash, zucchini and pumpkins blossom from flowers, seeds from trees,
Lotus (root)
And fruits like apples, pears, peaches, strawberries, raspberries, etc start as flowers…
Flower Mythology
Blue lotus: The Egyptians portrayed the goddess, Isis, as born from a lotus flower from the Nile. The represent female sexuality, fertility, birth and death
Cleopatra bathed in milk and blue lotus… for body and mind…
Carnations: Mexican day of the dead…In Hindi religion, they represent luck, love, innocence… elsewhere as a symbolism for mothers.
A lot of flowers are named after dead crushes in Greek mythology…
Roses: Roses are a flower very connected to aphrodite (Goddess of love)… some say they grew from her tears, or from the blood from her foot after stepping on a thorn from cupid.
Other origins say that Aphrodite turned the Nymph Chroris (the Greeks called her Flora) into a rose after she died, crowning her the goddess of flowers… The Greeks had a festival called Floralia. It was a symbol of birth and death.
Hyacinths: Named after the beautiful Spartan called Hyacinthus. Apollo was rough playing with him and accidentally killed him. When Apollo wept over his body, a flower sprang from the ground where he had died.
Anemone+Violets: Named after Adonis, a crush of goddesses, and when he was killed by a boar, an anemone sprung from the ground and turned from white to red from his blood. Other myths relate violets to this story.
Orchids: The name comes from the Greek word for male genetalia and is associated with male virility. Fathers of unborn children were said to have consumed large orchids if they wanted a boy and small orchids if they wanted a girl.
Daffodils: Another name for Narcissus. He fell in love with his own reflection as punishment from the god’s for betraying the love of the nymph, Echo. Narcissus wasted away in front of his reflection, and when he died, a narcissus flower sprouted in his place. Daffodils both represent vanity and unrequited love. In another betrayal of women… narcissus was the flower that distracted persephone when she was abducted by Hades and taken to the underworld.
Lily: Symbol of upper egypt, associated with Ishtar, the goddess of creation and fertility who was also a virgin.
Poppies: These pain killing, sleep-inducing flowers were associated with Hypnos, the god of sleep.