Flower Essences and Essential Oils
People often confuse Flower Essences and Essential Oils. Unlike essential oils which, as the name suggests, are oil-based, flower essences are made with water, which is then preserved with alcohol.
Flower Essences and Essential Oils: Yes, They Are Different!
by Anu Dayal-Gulati
Essential oils have been gaining in popularity over the last several years. You’ve probably heard of certain brands like Young Living, doTerra or Aura Cacia, and seen lists of health benefits and other uses.
Flower Essences, too, are now making their way back into the spotlight. The Flower Essences were first discovered by the British surgeon Dr. Bach (of Bach Flower Remedies) in the 1930s.
Flower Essences have been around for nearly a hundred years, and today there are many more essences than the thirty-eight that he discovered. While both oils and essences are widely available online and at many natural remedy stores, they are not used interchangeably.
So, what exactly is the difference, then?
There are several, starting with the fact that they are created differently.
How Are Flower Essences and Essential Oils Made
The plant kingdom has always been an eternal source of healing. If we think back to our childhood, we were often asked to eat our fruits and vegetables because they are good for us. Still, this healing can also be implemented through herbs, tinctures, essences, and essential oils. Essential oils can be cold-pressed or extracted through steam distillation processes. Flower essences, on the other hand, use the life force of the plant expressed through its flowers.
Usually, a large number of flowers are needed to create essential oils. For example, it takes nearly 10,000 roses to create 5 ml (about a teaspoon) of rose essential oil. Relative to essential oils, very few flowers are used to create a flower essence—just enough to completely cover the surface of a bowl of water. Their environmental impact is minimal.
Unlike essential oils which, as the name suggests, are oil-based, flower essences are made with water, which is then preserved with alcohol. Fresh blooms are picked at the height of their fullness and floated in a crystal bowl filled with fresh water, placed on the earth in warm sunlight. With the alchemy of earth, water, air, and sunlight (i.e., the fire element), flowers release their energetic imprint into the water. This wildflower infusion, strained and preserved with brandy, is called a flower essence.
What Flower Essences and Essential Oils Used For
Essential oils are used to reduce stress and make us feel more relaxed when we inhale or diffuse them. Essential oils can be toxic if they are ingested and should also be diluted in a carrier oil to be applied topically. On the other hand, flower essences are meant to be taken internally. They are very gentle and completely safe, even for children and pets, and have no side effects.
Flower Essences work gently with our subtle energy field so that it almost feels like nothing is happening. They lift and transform the emotions we are struggling with, so we become calmer, have more clarity, and our reactions to events around us will shift. For instance, if we are afraid of spiders, we might notice that after taking the Mimulus flower essence, we’re not afraid of them anymore. It just may take us some time to realize that our reaction has changed. Shifts are visible in two to three weeks.
Energy and Emotion
For thousands of years, we have used flowers to celebrate the moments of our life and express our love, our devotion, our grief, and sorrow. When shopping for bouquets or potted flowers, even, we are drawn to specific blooms in shapes and colors that lift us up at that moment. During difficult times as we struggle with fear, anxiety, and grief, flower essences can be our stress management allies.
Flowers themselves are the essence of the plant. They have an energetic vibration based on their color, the plant’s structure, how and where they grow, and even their seeds. Each energetic vibration responds to an emotion in a human. Just as flowers have been around for millions of years, we too have been governed by the same emotions through time—hate, love, grief, hope, despair, resilience. In fact, each emotion can be matched to a corresponding flower essence. For instance, the flower essence of Aspen is used for fear, Larch for confidence, Holly for anger and jealousy, Mustard for the blues, and so on.
The late Japanese scientist Masaru Emoto’s research showed that water carries the energetic imprints of thoughts, words, and even music. Water exposed to kind thoughts and classical, healing music created beautiful water crystals. When exposed to unkind words or thoughts, the water failed to crystallize and instead developed murky, unpleasant structures. Based on his research, we can see similarly how flower essences carry the energetic healing imprints of flowers.
Oil and Water Can Mix
While you cannot literally blend oil and water, flower essences and essential oils work together and enhance each other. They can be combined in a spray or in a carrier oil. For instance, I created a spray for a young director whose actor was suffering from stage fright, consistently freezing up and forgetting her lines. The director sprayed the stage, as well as herself and the actor. After this was done, they experienced successful rehearsals as well as performances.
These Products are our allies from the plant kingdom.
They can be combined to create a blend to support us, that we can spray in the room or put in a carrier oil to provide for us on our journey to health, inner calm, and wholeness.
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About the Author
Anu Gulati is a certified energy practitioner, specializing in family energy dynamics and emotional healing. Anu uses her spiritual traditions and flower essences to help clients heal the past and create a more desirable present and future. http://www.floweressencehealing.com
