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Based on fossil records, plants migrated from the oceans onto Earth’s land masses some 700 million years ago – for fungi this is an even longer 1.3 billion years ago. There are even suggestions that it was this colonisation and not geological events which produced the necessary environmental conditions that accelerated the pace of animal evolution (the Cambrian Explosion) around 500 million years ago.
In comparison, placental animals have only been around for some 65 million years and the first ‘modern’ humans only some 50,000 years – a mere blink of an eye in plant history terms.
Plants, then, have been around for a very long time indeed, and have always been integral to human society from our earliest origins, whether as foodstuffs, clothing, fuel, medicines or as spirit guides to other planes of existence.
In Africa alone, it is estimated that 80% of plants have medicinal uses, and that about 70 – 80% of the entire population directly relies on this. The percentage of plants in South America with medicinal uses is said to be even higher. Even in the West, some 70% of all medicines are plant-based, and many synthetics are plant derived. Indeed, the oldest and most continuous record of the cultivation of herbs for medicinal usage is contained in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic texts, the latter dating back some 7,000 years. Herbalism in its various forms continues to thrive to this day in most cultures, even our own, and aromatherapy – the use of distilled oils from plant products for health and wellbeing – is increasingly popular. Medicinal examples still include peppermint for indigestion, witch hazel to ease sore skin, marigold as an antiseptic, echinacea as an antibacterial, camomile and St John’s Wort to calm the nerves, and evening primrose and star flower for PMT. A considerable number of anticancer drugs are entirely plant-based: Tamoxifen (breast cancer) comes from yew trees, vinca alkaloids (leukaemia, Hodgkin’s disease) come from a variety of periwinkle, and although mainly used for malaria, artemisinin from a variety of wormwood has potential as a treatment for bone cancer. On a more prosaic level, there is also aloe vera in beauty products, myriad floral exotics in perfumes, ‘lemon’ washing up liquid and ‘pine’ toilet cleaner - the list goes on.
The ritual and sacred uses of so-called ‘power plants’ have also been recorded throughout human history and are still used today in many cultures: think of smudge and incense sticks, the druidic and extant mythology of mistletoe, and of course the various mind altering and currently socially abused plants such as tobacco, cannabis, peyote, poppy, coca, and a whole raft of ‘magic’ mushrooms. Ayahuasca, belladonna, datura, brugmansia, ipomoea and many other power plants known to dramatically alter levels of consciousness are a bit more of a challenge despite some of them being common garden plants, as they are all highly toxic!
The use of essences is possibly even older than all the above, and harks back to a time when humans were considerably more in tune with their environment than they are now. The first written records in Western culture are of Paracelsus (1493 – 1541) collecting dew from plants and using this to bring about changes in his patients. Edward Bach reactivated interest in the 1930s: he started the same way as Paracelsus but went on to develop other methods of production. Essences differ from herbals, aromatherapeutics and medicinals in that no physical element of the plant forms part of final product: they are created by capturing the fundamental nature and unique qualities of flowers, crystals or other substances in water, often using the energy of the sun or moon to help fix those qualities.
The table below outlines the more common methods of making essences
| Method | Comments |
| 1 – sunlight method (flowers only) | This method is the most traditional way of making essences and has clearly stood the test of time. Floating flowers on a bowl of water and leaving in the sun for the duration generally gives a very fine essence of great clarity which is, nevertheless, affected by the intent of its maker, the environment its made in and so on, such that the essence of one plant (foxglove, for example) will vary from maker to maker. |
| 2 – sunlight method (other parts) | Using other parts of the plant releases entirely different energies and probably follows the doctrine of signatures information herbalists use when using plant parts. |
| 3 – boiling method (flowers only) | This always seems a bit harsh!! However, the essence produced seems to pack much more of a punch than that made by the sunlight method: the essence is drawn into the aura much more quickly and immediately; it can be quite uncompromising so may not suit everyone. |
| 4 – boiling method (other parts) | Much the same as above taking the different energies into account. Equally uncompromising. |
| 5 – environmental method | For those parts of the world where significant events have taken place (war zones, Berlin wall, Lourdes, etc) the effect is quite often palpable and for those places essences made at or in the vicinity can have profound effects. This would also apply to such areas as particular religious structures, energy ‘hotspots’ such as Stonehenge and Glastonbury Tor, wilderness areas, mountains, springs, streams and so on. |
| 6 – other non-plant essences | Non-plant essences can be made from the energies of all sorts of things: single sounds, music, crystals, metals, colours, spider webs, elements (earth/air/fire/water), colours, solar, lunar and sideral events, animal spirits, and so on. Each has its own unique meaning and use and each will have its place and be needed by someone at sometime. |
| 7 – channelled essences | These are essences made from energies channelled from higher spiritual beings, such as angels, devas, Christ/Buddha consciousness, and so on. |
It is difficult to compare these methods: each essence maker will be drawn to make essences in their own particular way. For
some this will be by the sunlight method; for others this will be by the boiling method, and for yet others this will be some
other way. Each is valid in its own right: there simply cannot be a right/wrong way of making essences, so long as, in the UK
particularly, standards of food hygiene and safety are adhered to (essences currently being classified as foods). Most makers
use either a single method or an amalgamation of methods just like Bach did, when he varied from the sunlight to boiling method
and included the environmental method for Rock Water.
There are many ways of using essences.
By far the most common is to take two or three drops of an essence or combination of essences orally in a glass of water three times a day – this is the recommended method given by Bach and most frequently used by essence practitioners. The length of time the essence is taken will vary from a few days to several months, depending on the reasons for taking it and the process of resolution. For example, a simple and temporary emotional problem may only need a few days of essence to help resolve it, while a chronic or karmic condition effecting the soul state may take many months.
This method is, however, one of several, any one of which may be more suited to the individual’s needs:
There is still no ‘hard’ scientific proof of the way in which essences work (that is, one which is accepted by the scientific community), although there has been some ongoing work being done at the University of Plymouth (2005) which has baffled scientists and seems to show that essences do work - but they are not sure how! Essences depend in part on the theory of water memory, over which scientific controversy has been raging for decades despite mounting proof of its existence. There is, however, a significant and increasing body of subjective evidence of the positive effects of essences on the well-being of the individual and it appears that one instinctively knows if using the essences is the right thing to do – it just depends on how much one trusts one’s instincts.
Essences can help the individual confront and deal with those blocks to self-development which can hinder personal growth. They begin by helping to bring into focus aspects of a particular problem which needs to be confronted, and then create the conditions in which resolution may be achieved. It is of course up to the individual how they decide to manifest this process, but by acting as catalysts for change, flower essences set the scene for that growth and change to occur.
Today there are literally thousands of essences available. The qualities inherent in the materials used, the conditions in which they are put together, the process of making them and the intent of the essence maker herself: all these factors are part and parcel of the final product and explains why particular essences work best for particular people at particular times – and that there is probably an essence for everyone at the time they need it.
There are no side effects from using essences: if an inappropriate essence is used, nothing at all will happen. If the right essence is used, they can be unbelievably subtle and profound in their effect, or they can be like a giant cosmic sledgehammer – it all depends on what the problem is, how one is able to deal with it, and whether the Universal Consciousness thinks its time you stopped prevaricating and got on with it…
As with all therapeutic treatments, clients are advised to drink plenty of water afterwards, and to take it easy in the immediate post-treatment period. Grounding and centering exercises may be suggested as energywork therapies can occasionally lead to a temporary sense of ungroundedness, especially for those for whom this is already an issue. Your therapist will advise accordingly.
In a Crystal Garden uses a selection of proprietary essences as well as the In a Crystal Garden range, which are entirely natural bespoke essences created especially for personal healing, transformation and enlightenment. In a Crystal Garden is a member of the British Association of Flower Essence Producers (BAFEP) and the British Flower and Vibrational Essence Association (BFVEA), and is also pleased to be a member of the Wholesome Food Association (WFA) which ensures the natural and organic nature of its products.