Whitehurst - The magic of flowers: a guide to their metaphysical uses & properties

Llewellyn Publications

Woodbury, Minnesota

Copyright Information

The Magic of Flowers: A Guide to Their Metaphysical Uses & Properties 2013 by Tess Whitehurst.

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First e-book edition 2013

E-book ISBN: 9780738732336

Book design and edit by Rebecca Zins

Cover design by Adrienne Zimiga
Cover illustration: Cheryl Chalmers/The July Group

Interior decorative illustrations from 1167 Decorative Cuts CD-ROM and Book (Dover, 2007), Classic Floral Designs (Dover, 2010), Old-Fashioned Floral Designs CD-ROM and Book (Dover, 1999), and Traditional Floral Designs (Dover, 2003)

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Note: The information in this book is not meant to diagnose, treat, prescribe, or substitute consultation with a licensed healthcare professional.

Llewellyn Publications

Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

2143 Wooddale Drive

Woodbury, MN 55125

www.llewellyn.com

Manufactured in the United States of America

Contents

An Orientation to Flower Magic
(Read This First)

How to Make a Flower Essence

Magical Uses Overview

Elemental Correspondences

Planetary Correspondences

Introduction

I have always wanted a book like this on my shelf: a useful, practical reference guide to the magic of flowers. As a matter of fact, Ive pined for it for years! After years of working with floral aromas and flower essences, after countless lovely moments in quiet contemplation with living blossoms, and after I wrote and published two magic-related books and innumerable magic-related articles, it finally occurred to me: Hey, I could write that book!

And I have so enjoyed it! First of all, I had a good excuse to make regular trips to a local botanical garden. As if that werent enough, once I got there, I spent exquisite quality time with the flowers, tuning in to their unique vibrations and taking notes on wisdom they wanted to share. Then, as I wrote each entry, I ferreted out and studied existing literature about the blossoms magical and traditional uses. Sometimes I found a lot of information about a flower, and sometimes I found little or none. But whenever I found informationfor example, the flowers meaning in the Victorian language of flowers, the mythical origin of the flowers name, or a traditional folk charm employing the blossom I found that it resonated very deeply with the wisdom I had received from the blossoms themselves.

At first this felt uncanny and even miraculous, but in time I came to feel that it was the most natural thing in the world. What I mean is, once you enter into the realm of flower magic, you begin to recognize the energetic signatures of blossoms in the same way you can recognize whether a person is happy or sad, or in the same way you can hear what someone is trying to say if you just quiet down and listen. Flowers, after all, give one the feeling that they are closer to the etheric realm of pure energy than the tangible, physical realm. And dwelling as they do on the border between seen and unseen, they allow us to see beyond the veil of duality and into the heart of truth. So, naturally, sensitive flower enthusiasts from all time periods and all cultures, when tuning in to the wisdom and magical signature of a blossom, would pick up on similar aspects.

To frame this concept a different way, consider that songs are geometrical patterns that convey emotion and vibration in a universally recognized way. In fact, a 2008 study at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences has effectively demonstrated that people are frequently able to identify the emotions in songs from cultures that they are all but completely unfamiliar with. Similarly, each flower possesses what might be seen as its own unique, recognizable energetic signature, though everyones experience of the flower will naturally be somewhat different based on his or her emotional makeup and current life situation.

With this in mind, it is my intention for this book to be a window into this subtle and whimsicalyet very realrealm of flower magic. Then you may have your own direct, transcendent experiences with these mystical beings, who can serve as therapists, healers, and emissaries of the Divine.

An Orientation to Flower Magic
(Read This First)

A flower is a manifestation of divine beauty and wisdom. And while each flowers vibration is unique, what it expresses is universal: it is available to all of us and is already a part of us. Flower magic, then, might be defined as employing a flower as a focal point for our intention or as a window into our own divine aspect in order to affect a desired positive change. While simply spending time with a flower can provide an infusion of nourishment and spiritual sustenance, flower magic can take many additional forms. So, while youll find that each flower entry contains targeted suggestions for a variety of healing and manifestation purposes, this section will introduce the primary magical methods discussed in this book and establish a basic framework for your own flower magic practice.

Proximity

The simplest form of flower magic is proximity: bringing a flower or bouquet into your home, giving a flower as a gift, or even spending time in a place where the flower is growing. While this type of magic can work whether you are conscious of it or not, it becomes greatly enhanced when youre aware of a flowers magical properties and when you consciously employ the flower for a particular magical purpose.

Here are some loose guidelines to help you maximize the power of proximity:

• If you gather a flower, gather her with consciousness, compassion, and respect. In other words, first tune in to her energy and let her know what you would like help with. Then, gently ask her if its okay to gather her. When and if you intuitively feel that it isif you feel a positive, open, relaxed feeling in your body and mind rather than a closed or tense onefollow your inner guidance about how to best gather the blossom. You might also like to leave something near the base of the plant(s) as payment for the blossom(s), such as a small amount of blessed water, a bit of wine or ale, a crystal, or a coin.