Nature's Role in the Preparation of Flower Essences

For much of the history of humanity, alchemists and herbalists have been seeking for healing elixirs. In preparing flower essences, you take on a similar role, being involved in floral alchemy, treading from the book of Nature and drawing out its essence from its material body. Flower essences are prepared using either of two classical methods: sun potentizing or boiling. They are created using the most beautiful aspect of nature, its flowers. These produce the seeds, which contain the essential energy of the plant, including its complete blueprint for growth.

For the process of sun patentization, the flowers are picked from the plants in a clean, unspoiled environment and fused into a healing potency. Starting early in the morning, a thin glass bowl is filled with pure water, freshly drawn from a nearby, unpolluted spring and the flowers are floated on the surface. The bowl is left, near where the flowers were growing, in clear sunshine for up to four hours or until the petals have faded. During that time, a metamorphosis will have taken place and the life force of the flowers will have been given up to the water, which may have changed color, acquired flavor and feel zingy, if held. This tincture, when preserved in brandy now forms the mother essence which will later be diluted to produce the essence.

Some flowering trees that bloom in early spring before the sun is hot are prepared by boiling the flowers. The resultant liquid is filtered and then also preserved in brandy. The tinctures are diluted to create the flower essence stocks, which can then be further diluted for individual usage.

The Memory of Water

How does sun potentization work? Does it have any scientific basis? Recent research by the French scientist Jacques Beneviste, although not universally accepted, has suggested that water can retain the memory of a substance dissolved in it, even when virtually none of the original substance is present. It also remains biologically active: that is, it can produce an effect on the body.