Herbs of the Faerie Realm - Rose
"I know a bank where the wild thyme blows, Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows, Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine, With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine."
- William Shakespeare (A Midsummer Night's Dream)
Rosa species are members of the Rosaceae (Rose Family) and relatives of apples, peaches, pears, strawberries, raspberries, cherries and almonds.
Roses are truly ageless. Archaeologists have discovered fossilized remains of wild roses over 40 million years old. Ancient Hindu writings tell the story of the God Vishnu, protector of the world, and Brahma, creator of the world, arguing about which flower was the most beautiful. Vishnu bet on the rose's superiority while Brahma, who had never seen a rose aligned with the lotus. When Brahma saw the rose he immediately agreed that the rose reigned supreme. Vishnu's loyalty was rewarded: from rose petals the Goddess Lakshmi was created to be his wife.
Rose faeries are associated with passionate love, fertility, sexuality, and leisure. Rose helps attract faeries to the garden with their sweet scent. Its energies are love, psychic ability, healing, fertility, love divination, luck and protection.
Another ancient story tells how roses were thornless in the Garden of Eden and after Adam and Eve were expelled, thorns appeared showing the world was no longer perfect.
According to Greek Mythology, it was Aphrodite (in Rome, Venus) who gave the rose its name. The word rose is derived from the Greek rodon, meaning "red." The common word rose is used in many languages.
There is also the story of how Flora, Goddess of Spring and Flowers, begged the other gods to help transform a dead nymph, into the Queen of the Flowers. Aphrodite gave her beauty; Dionysus added nectar for a sweet scent, and the three Graces gave her charm, brightness and joy. Then Zephyr, the West Wind, blew away the clouds so that Apollo, the sun god, could shine and bring the flower to bloom.
The blood of Aphrodite, the blood of Adonis, blood of Cupid, and Mohammed have all been credited with originating this beautiful flower. White roses were said to have sprung from the sea foam, which surrounded Aphrodite (and her many other names) as she rose up out of the sea. When Jupiter saw her nakedness, she blushed and nearby white roses turned red. Another story tells of her lover Adonis, being wounded by a wild boar. From her tears mixed with his blood grew a superb fragrant, blood red rose. Ancient Persians explained the appearance of red roses with a legend of a nightingale that loved the white rose. When Allah named the rose the "Queen Flowers", the impulsive bird flew down to embrace her and was pierced by her thorns. From the drops of the nightingale's blood, red roses grew.
Roses have also long been associated with Hathor, Hulda, Demeter, Isis, Ishtar, Aurora, and Frigga, (One goddess, many names), the planets Venus and Mars. White roses are associated with the moon and the element of water.
Clay tablets excavated in the temples of Ur in Iraq speak of the delivery of rose water intended for the sultan of Bagdad. The sultan used no fewer than 30,000 jars of rose water a year, to make his rooms smell nice for his extensive harem. In eleventh century Sufi poetry, the rose became the symbol of life — its beauty a metaphorical representation of perfection, and the thorns a representation of the difficulties one must overcome to reach that perfection. Cleopatra used roses to seduce Mark Anthony. Ancient alchemists often illustrated their work with two roses, a red and white one to symbolize the red king and white queen.
For centuries, Christians scorned the rose because of its connection with Roman enemies. But its beauty eventually won them over. A Christian legend tells that when the blood of the crucified Jesus dripped onto the moss at the foot of the cross, moss roses were created. White roses symbolize the Virgin Mother, also known as The Mystic Rose, the thorns the suffering on the cross. Red roses became reminders of martyrs that died for their faith. The fourth century martyr, Saint Dorothy (patron saint of gardeners), is said to have been delivered roses from the garden of Paradise by an angel, while in prison. St. Therese of Lisieux, scatters red roses in her visitations. Rosaries were once made of actual rolled up dried rose petals. In ancient times the rose was painted or hung on the ceiling of the chamber, where secret meetings were held to signify that nothing said in the room would be reveled, hence the term sub rosa, meaning “under rose.”
In the Arthurian legends, Merlin becomes entrapped in a tower created from a white rose while he is walking in the Breceliande forest. Knights referred to women as roses, tender soft and had roses embroidered upon their mantles. Roses have long been made into garlands and crowns for nobility and royalty.
In the War of the Roses, red was the emblem for the House of Lancaster, and the white rose for the House of York. The two together “The Rose is the Flower of Flowers-this House the House of Houses” became an emblem of England and in heraldry is used as the mark of cadency for a seventh son. Shakespeare refers to roses more than 50 times throughout his writings.
“What’s in a name! Sighed Juliet. “That which we call a rose, by any other name, would smell as sweet.”
- From Romeo and Juliet
Napoleon gave his officers bags of rose petals to boil in white wine, to cure lead poisoning from bullet wounds. Josephine collected roses, encouraged their breeding and hired Pierre Joseph Redouté to paint her prize blooms whose art today graces many homes.
The use of roses as a part of burial rituals can be found throughout the former Empire of Rome, where white roses are placed on the grave of young children and virgins as a symbol of innocence. A young man’s grave planted with red roses. The surviving loved one tends the roses to remember their loved one.
Rose water is still used to refresh the hands before a feast or festive greeting, from the Middle East to northern India. Soak a cloth in rose water to lay on the temples to relieve headache pain.
A tea of rosebuds increases physic ability. Roses, have long been included in amulets and talismans, and worn as protection against negative influences.
A single rose can be placed on an altar or worn when calling in love (remove thorns). Use rose when wanting to attract love. Wear a string of rose buds to attract love. Burn a few dried rose petals (mixed with cinnamon and patchouli on a Friday evening at 7 to invoke love, according to faerie lore. To find love scatter rose petals and again at midsummer’s eve, while reciting:
Rose petal, rose petal, rose petal I strew He that will love me come to me soon
If two lovers snap a rosebud stem, the louder the snap, the stronger the bond. Scatter roses upon the bridal couple to promote love and passion. Plant a rose bush with a beloved to affirm your loving bond. Scatter rose petals in the bath or home for a calming influence.
The Italian version of the Cinderella story is called Rosalina, or “little rose” When Sleeping Beauty fell into her sleep, along with the other personages of her castle after pricking her finger on a spinning wheel on her sixteenth birthday, it was the Eglantine rose that grew around her castle forming a barrier, symbolizing overcoming the hurdles in life. Beauty and the Beast, which is a variation of the tale of Psyche and Cupid, features a rose as what Beauty’s father picks from the beast’s castle that necessitates Beauty having to go stay at the castle in place of her father, until she realizes her true love for The Beast.
Rose petals can be eaten raw in salads and as a garnish, once the bitter whitish heel is removed. Use rose petals in candy and for celebration cakes. Mix chopped roses into softened butter (coconut or dairy). Rose jam, rose ice cream, rose vinegar are true delights. Sprinkle a few rose petals into a fruit or vegetable salad. Use rose petals mixed with cream cheese for dainty sandwiches. Rose wine is popular in the Mideast. Rose flavored candy such as "Turkish delight" rose water is wonderful added to yogurt dishes, lemonade and Indian desserts.
Rose petals have a delicate, astringent, sweet, bitter, flowery flavor, sometimes described as that of scented rainwater, when made into tea. The tea is excellent for daily use. Red roses are more astringent than white ones. Rosewater is a delectable addition to desserts (such as galub jamum), smoothies, lassis and assorted love potions. Rose hips can be eaten plain or made into candy. They are used to make jams, pies, breads, muffins, sauces and soup. Rose hips are rich in flavonoids that help strengthen the capillaries of the body. They also improve the body’s assimilation of vitamin C.
During World War II, English people used rose hips as an important vitamin C syrup. Rose hip tea, long a staple in Scandinavia, has a tart, fruity, sour, sweet flavor. Adding a bit of hibiscus makes it even more rose colored and lemon flavored. Prepare the tea as an infusion; boiling the rose hips will dissipate their vitamin C content. Rose hips can yield an orange dye.
The young leaves and shoots are edible raw or cooked if collected in the springtime when they are still tender.
Rose flowers and the oil from the seeds are used in cosmetics for dry wrinkled skin to soften and smooth the skin. Rose flowers make a supreme bath herb, and conducive to love. Rose petals in facial steams are great for dry skin. Rosewater is excellent for dry skin, bruises, sprains, pulled muscles and as a compress for sore eyes and conjunctivitis. Used in potpourri and sachets for the aroma and color. The essential oil is used as a beautiful and costly perfume.
Rose flower essence dispels shame about sexuality. It helps one fulfill their true desire and opens the emotional heart. Rose is the state flower of New York, Iowa and the District of Columbia, Cherokee Rose, the state flower of Georgia, the Prairie Rose for North Dakota. Portland, Oregon is known as the City of Roses.
As with all herbs, avoid using rose flowers or hips that have been sprayed with toxic chemicals. Remove the irritating hairs from the rose hips seeds before eating them; when making a tea from them, use a strainer to filter out the fine hairs.
A language was invented private means of communication between lovers not allowed to express their love for one another openly in the harems of the Middle East. In the mid 18th century Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, the wife of the British ambassador in Constantinople, described in her letters, which were published after her death inspiring many books on the language of flowers, each describing the hidden in each flower. The White Rose full of buds indicates secrecy, innocence, spirituality and a reminder to look beyond the present and contemplate the future. An open white rose, asks, "Will you love me?” Yellow roses symbolize friendship, jealousy and ambition. An open yellow rose asks "Don't you love me any more? A red rose bud stands for budding desire and passion, Pink is for affection, gentleness, balance and connection and is the home to faeries of unconditional love.
There are at least ten thousand varieties of roses, and they are cultivated worldwide. These thorny woody shrubs or vines have flowers in varying colors and sizes. The hips are actually accessory fruits; they are ovoid, swollen looking, and red or orange in color. Roses bloom best in full sun to partial shade. They prefer well-drained, claylike soil. They need frequent watering but do not like to be standing in water. Invite the rose faeries into your domain!