What does it feel like to be in your body right now?
It's a question I'm asking myself a lot lately as a way to slow down, check in, reconnect, and listen. Our bodies are continually whispering to us in their own language, sending us signals, delivering messages from within.
One of the beautiful things about plants is that they can guide us into our bodies even when it doesn't feel comfortable to do so.
A fundamental intention behind Wild Grace has always been to support this inner connection and invitation to listen. It's why we formulate and craft slow, whole plant skincare. It's why we weave embodiment into skin-tending and movement rituals. It's central to our seasonal collections of lovingly-made skincare, herbal teas, and beeswax candles. I truly believe connection to ourselves, while it comes in many forms, is the path to remembering our innate whole-ness and the ebbs and flows that come with that.
Rose has been one of the most potent yet gentle plants I've found to come back into communion with my body. It's also one of the plants I could write about forever, for pages and pages. Considered the flower of love, in the Language of Flowers Rose can actually represent different things depending on the color. Pink indicates grace and joy. White is for innocence and secrecy. Peach for modesty. Yellow for friendship.
In other traditions, Rose indicates femininity, fertility, the goddess Venus, the element of Water. It is the ultimate Yin. Yin refers to the exhibition of Qi energies that are cold, damp, passive, material, and form. Rose's symbolism is vast, ancient, and varied. It is celebrated for its magic and medicine all over the world and even has whole festivals dedicated in its honor.
ENERGETICS + EMOTIONS
But let's explore Rose's energetics a bit. Rose's flavors, sour and sweet, indicate its main actions: astringent, moistening and cooling. It has an affinity for the heart, reproductive organs, stomach, liver, and blood. We see this in the way it tonifies reproductive energy, regulates menstruation, can be used to treat infertility, and is a relaxant aphrodisiac.
I find Rose to be particularly helpful in emotional trauma that leaves someone feeling frozen, shut down, with a sense of being out of reach emotionally. Being closed off is a result of the bodypsyche trying to protect us from further pain. It doesn't mean anything is wrong, in fact it means things are functioning well! But it also means that what the bodypsyche needs is to feel nurtured and safe, which Rose does in a soft and gentle way, especially if you work with it in a variety of ways (i.e. tea, elixir, flower essence, spending time in meditation with it, etc).
Emotionally, Rose lifts the mind and relieves depression, though with a centering energy about it rather than sending energy up like Mandarin, Lemon Balm, or other citruses. It's perfect for when the world feels like it's falling apart or burning down. Sometimes that "burning down" process is necessary and rather than avoid it, we need some help in cultivating our resilience around it. Rose helps us tap into that inner resilience.
Rose drops us into our hearts. It softens our energy and makes it easier for us to let our guard down and freely express and accept love.
BLOOD COOLER + MOVER
One of my favorite things to use Rose for internally is to support digestion because of its effect on the Liver, stimulating bile flow, as well as its ability to clear heat in an inflamed digestive tract. Because of its yin qualities, it balances out elemental Fire, especially as the weather warms, which often shows up as overstimulation, anxiety, restlessness, feeling agitated, a feeling of being overheated, Liver headaches, and insomnia.
This ability to clear heat comes from the way Rose stimulates the movement of blood to cool and calm elemental Fire.
ROSE + SKINCARE
Last, but definitely not least, are the incredible benefits for skin that Rose provides. In addition to the way it clears heat that shows up on your skin as dryness, redness, irritation, acne, and sunburn, it actually promotes tissue and barrier repair as it cools and calms. It hydrates, plumps, firms, and protects the skin through its antioxidant and vitamin activity, making it great for dry, dehydrated skin and equally calming to inflamed, acneic skin.
Inside and out, Rose cools and moistens tissue that is hot, dry, and irritated. Think of it as a lovely salve that repairs, soothes, and balances tissues, emotions, and mental unrest.
ROSE IN OUR SPRING COLLECTION:
Rose Hydrosol
Rosa Purifying Mask
Solis Antioxidant Serum
Sirenis Cleansing Balm
Iris Elderflower & Rose Tea
Eros Rose & Reishi Cocoa