Rose - For the Heart

Looking out the window this morning on my garden, I delight in the wonderful display of roses on my rosebushes. This beautiful flower has the power to stir my soul and take me down wonderful paths of fancy.

I have profiled Rose in the past, there is a mini profile of Rose on my website and it has also been featured in one of the blogs Rose - Rosa damascena but today I feel drawn to revisiting the psychological power of this wonderful flower and essential oil.

A great deal has been written about Roses in folklore and traditional use and one of the most common themes that seems to run through many of these is that the intrinsic qualities of love, trust and self-acceptance are core qualities of both the flower and the essential oil.

In his bookAromatherapy for Healing the Spirit - Gabriel Mojay says:

On a more subtle level, the power of rose may be symbolized by its traditional classification as a Herb of Love. Sacred to Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, the enticing floral sensuality of rose oil has made it a renowned aphrodisiac. At the same time, the damask rose is the Holy Rose, a symbol of God's love for the world. It is often shown surrounding the Virgin, as when she appeared to St Bernadette at Lourdes.
The compassion of the flower is revealed through its ability to heal emotional wounds. When rejection or loss has injured our capacity for self-love and self-nurturing, rose oil brings a sweet, gentle comfort, binding the heart-strings of the Mind. Bringing warmth to a soul grown cold through abuse or hurt, rose oil can touch the deepest despair, restoring the trust that makes it possible to love again.

In her book The Blossoming Heart - Robbi Zeck says about rose:

Loved - Isolated. Since ancient times, the mystical Rose has been used as a symbol of the soul, evoking the essence of spiritual renaissance. The glorious Rose enfolds the soul within its own fragrant song, aligning it with the higher angelic realms.
It is the nature of human love to provide the pattern through which whole-heartedness and divine love can flow. Awakening the heart energy, the exquisite fragrance of the velvety rose calls forth a sense of deeper identity and belonging.

In Aromatherapy & Subtle Energy Techniques - Joni Keim Loughran and Ruah Bull tell us:

In general rose brings in positive energy. For the Second Chakra it connects sexuality with the Heart centre. Promotes creativity and love of beauty. For the Fourth Chakra it promotes love, compassion, hope and patience. Heals emotional wounds, especially grief. and for the Seventh Chakra it promotes a sense of spiritual connection and completeness.

In Vibrational Healing - Deborah Eidson says:

The Key to Rose's transformation: Comprehending the Individuality of Oneness Allows the Experience of True Unconditional Love.

In The Fragrant Heavens - Valerie Ann Worwood says of Rose:

The breath of Rose Otto is like the beating of angels' wings. It operates with a light far brighter even than the sun, with a frequency that cannot be measured but is still everywhere, and that we can feel if only we stop to smell the rose.
Rose otto vibrates with the energy of universal love, operating in the light of unconditional love and giving. The rose offers itself in sacrifice for the love of the human race, and the planet. While all plants used in herbal medicine suffer in their sacrifice to help us, rose Otto is the quintessential fragrance of love, the love that touches our very soul, and it is for the awakening of love in us that it offeres itself.
Rose Otto eases the sorrow of the soul, bringing harmony and comfort. It is gentle, yet euphoric.

No wonder the sight of the roses in bloom lifts the heart so much and no wonder rose essential oil has a core role to play in many of the emotional challenges that we face.

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