Herb Spotlight: Rose

It’s Valentine’s Day and I hope you made some time to share the love with your loved ones and with yourself. When thinking about what I wanted to write about, I totally ended up going down a rabbit hole. 😊

I researched the history of the day wanting to see how we can tie our herbs into the celebrations. I realized it has come a long way from its early celebrations to what it is now. The evolution from Roman fertility festivals to 5th century Catholic saints day to the 17th-18th century English practice of exchanging small tokens of affection and cards to the present day celebrations. It was really fascinating to read about the changes and how older mythologies, practices, and observations have shaped the day as we know it.

From the roses to chocolates given, herbs play a role in our celebrations. The day has become a celebration of love and February is American Heart Month and I thought in tonight’s email it would be fitting to bring you an herb synonymous to the day that is also great for the heart. Steep a gentle cup of tea and enjoy.

Image by pasja1000 from Pixabay 

Rose

A “tender hug from a friend.” * I love how that describes rose so well. Perhaps that is why the rose is such a popular flower to gift. Roses embody love, longing, innocence as well as sexual allure. They can be chaste or wanton. Delicate yet protective. Brave. It often symbolizes romance, love, and femininity in story, song, and gifting.

Often called the “Queen of Flowers,” they are delicate in their blooms and their vulnerabilities to pests and disease. Yet try to trim one and you realize it’s not time to daydream! Their protective thorns remind you to be in the present, to take care.

As herbal medicine, the rose is medicine for the heart. It is a gentle nervine, meaning it supports your nervous system. Often used in situations like fatigue, anxiety, menstrual flow concerns, heartache, and grief.

In terms of fatigue, heartache and grief, it is used to release stuck energy. It allows us to soften and feel into things. This means that emotions will come up, yet the flow rose creates allows us to see things with clarity. This flow and softening is how it helps the heart.

I feel like as it softens us, it asks us to take care of ourselves at the deep level where no one else sees. Rose calls us to protect that core of self while also being open to the world. We can be like the rose, vulnerable and delicate yet resilient and adaptable.

You can use rose buds, flower petals, leaves, twigs, and the hips. Each part of the rose has many vitamins and nutrients. Most notably, vitamin C and that’s what is so appealing about the rose hips. Whether it is in tea, honey, jams, or other preparations, a more fragrant variety will be more enjoyable.

When reading about the benefits of rose, know that wild roses are being referenced, but non-sprayed cultivated roses have the same benefits too!

Image by Manfred Richter from Pixabay 

The rose family is so large that you may be enjoying one of its cousins without even realizing it! Are you a part of my Sunday Evening Ritual email list? This is just a sample of what I write twice a month. Be sure to sign up and be a part of this twice monthly ritual (there will be an occasional promotional email in between but I try to focus mainly on these twice monthly emails).

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* “tender hug from a friend” quoted from The Herbal Academy’s article- https://theherbalacademy.com/heart-happy-herbs-for-valentines-day/