Rose

Rose

Rosa spp.

Common Name: Rose

Botanical Name: Rosa spp.

Family: Rosaceae

Habitat: Grows in temperate regions in both hemispheres, but probably originated in what was once Persia.

Parts Used: The fruits, called “hips.” The flowers and petals are also frequently used. In fact, almost all parts of this plant have been used at times.

Pharmacology: The hips contain tannins, flavonoids, sugars, pectin, fruit acids (malic, citric, and ascorbic or vitamin C) and carotene (Wood).

Actions: Aperient, astringent, stomachic, cardiac and nerve tonic, blood purifier.

Preparations: There are possibly hundreds of preparations given for Rose. Some of the more common follow:
· The hips are the most commonly used today. They contain vitamin C and can be taken in tea, capsule, or pill form. They are used to treat colds and flu.
· Rose water is used in cosmetics. When diluted it is also used as a refreshing drink in Arabic countries, probably due to the cooling effects of the Rosaceae family.
· The oil is used in aromatherapy, but is prohibitively expensive. It is estimated that it takes almost 60,000 pounds of petals to produce a little over two pounds of the oil (Chishti). (Maude Grieve gives a slightly more conservative estimate).
· “Attar” is the Arabic word for “essence.” So Attar of Rose means “essence of Rose,” usually in an oil form.

Energetics: Flavors:
· Hips: sour, sweet, cool, astringent.
· Petals: sweet, slightly bitter, aromatic (Wood)
· To the Sufis who value it highly, considering it the “mother” of scents, the oil is said to be cold and dry in the second degree.

Historical Uses: The Rose has been prized since the dawn of human history as the queen of flowers, so named by the poetess Sappho. It has been cultivated for over 3,000 years. The Egyptians used the petals to freshen air and in perfumery.
In the Middle Ages rose conserve was a specific for tuberculosis, from a remedy popularized by Avicenna (Wood).
Since the earliest days the Rose has been used as a token of silence, hence the term “ sub rosa,” referring to matters that require strict confidence.
Hildegard of Bingen used rose hip tea for nearly every illness. Nostradamus, who was actually a practicing physician when he wasn’t writing his quatrains, used rose in his medicine for treating bubonic plague.
Attar of rose was discovered, (so the story goes), in India at the wedding of Shah Jehan, who built the Taj Mahal and Shalimar Gardens for his wife, Noor Jehan, as a symbol of his undying love. On the day of their wedding, he had the moat filled with rose water and rose petals. The heat of the sun, shining on the rose petals and water, caused a natural distillation of rose oil. The Indians have excelled at making rose oil ever since.
Not surprisingly, Culpeper assigns this plant to Venus.

Rose Around the World: Ayurvedic doctors consider the petals to be cooling and astringent, and use them to treat skin inflammations. They also use rose water as a laxative.
Chinese doctors use different preparations from different species, but they see rose as a warming plant. It is used to relieve congestion of qi and blood (Wood).

Aromatherapy: To me this is where Rose’s qualities really shine. True rose oil is the least toxic of all oil, but also one of the most versatile, working on many levels at once. Rose oil’s scent will change when applied to a person’s body if they are carrying many toxins. The scent of the oil will become slightly sour in this case. On a healthy body the fragrance will remain unchanged. This makes rose oil a useful preliminary diagnostic indicator of a person’s general state of health.
Rose oil can help nervousness, menstruation, fever, migraine, depression, and skin problems, among other things. Its signature is a veritable encyclopedia of symbolism.
Unfortunately, fake rose oil is common due to the high price of true rose oil. It must be made from real rose plants—Rosa damascene, R. centifolia, R. gallica are the most often used. The best oil comes from Bulgaria.
Rose essential oil is rarely taken internally, but is added to massage oils and diffusers, where it enters the body through the skin and respiration.
Its character is yin.

My Experience with Rose: It is part of my name and also my personal symbol. I use the hips in tea, the petals soaked in olive oil and used for my skin, the rosewater as a refreshing mister, and the oil as a meditation aid. ( I have a small amount of the precious attar). I find all parts to be spiritually cleansing, at a deep soul level—the “matrix level”—where the blueprint for our physical, etheric and astral bodies is formed. This matrix is where I believe all true healing must take place. Any flaws in this “blueprint” will manifest as illness in the physical body. Some deep-seated “karmic” illnesses can only be healed here. I also find that Rose can heal “heart-wounds.”It rules the heart center in many traditions.









Rose’s Story

According to Sufi legend, in all the universe, the first thing that Allah created was the Soul of Prophecy, which He made from the absolute essence of His own Light, called “Nur.” The Soul of Prophecy burned so brightly with the Light of Allah that it began to perspire. From these drops of Prophecy’s sweat, Allah made the Soul of the Rose. This is how the art of aromatherapy originated.
In Sufi healing, the Rose is the Mother essence, the Queen of scents, whose complement is the Father essence, which is Amber (Chisti). Rose works simultaneously on the physical, emotional, and spiritual bodies of the human being. It cleanses, heals, and uplifts a person on all three levels.
To the Sufis, the signature of Rose expresses the spiritual quest of the Soul in its way of return to God. The tall stem, covered with sharp thorns, shows the long hard way of the world that the Soul must traverse and endure in order to arrive at the absolute sweetness of perfection in Paradise, symbolized by the blossom of the flower. Its diadem of dewdrops, bestowed on Rose by the goddess Chloris, hints at the mystical process of Condensation, a secret to Creation understood by few except the Alchemists, the Kabballists, and the Sufis.
Rose has long been a symbol of Love, both human and Divine. It is often used to represent Christ, and also His Mother, the Virgin Mary. Since the time of the ancient Egyptians, the Rose has also symbolized silence. In light of our understanding of Rose’s spiritual efficacy, we can accept silence as necessary--- each Soul’s experience in its return to God is ineffable, and may not be spoken of, even if we had the words to describe it.
If some plants, like Angelica archangelica, are great shamans, then surely some are prophets. I believe Rose to be such a prophet from the plant world, sharing her wisdom with all who can hear her silent voice.
It is written that the Rose, may peace be upon her, has no thorns in Paradise.