When summer approaches wild roses; the queen of scent, begin to spread their love and joy. The abundance of dusty pink wild roses in full bloom on lakesides, hedgerows and the edges of woodlands, with their heavenly fresh scent and beauty have a way of uplifting the mood and spreading subtle love and joy to their surroundings.
A Godly flower
Nearly every culture globally associates rose with love, passion, and beauty. With their origin in the East, roses do, however, appear in most ancient myths and religions from all over as a godly flower. Goddesses and ancient worshipped women like Aphrodite, Freya, Lakshima and the Virgin Mary, who are all associated with divinity, beauty, purity, innocence and love are believed to share strong links with the rose flower.
Worldwide roses have historically been used as decoration in various rituals and ceremonies where they held great importance in providing love, devotion, hope, prosperity and genuine well-being to the people. Breathtaking rose gardens were planted and rose petals were infused in oil and used as perfume due to their divine aroma.
Understand their medicine
For me, the medicine in rose flowers lies foremost in their scent. Compared to our other senses, the sense of smell is our most primal and instinctual. It has a remarkable ability to evoke emotional responses that greatly influence our well-being. This is due to the direct connection between our scent receptors and the Limbic System in the brain, which is in charge of recording our emotions, memories, and survival instincts. While roses are revered for their beauty and medicinal properties they are also among the plants whose scents carry a long history of use to trigger specific responses.
Love to the heart
When we breathe in the aroma of a rose, it has a calming effect on our mind and body. We become fully immersed in the scent, it becomes the sole focus of our attention and creates a moment of beautiful tranquillity. Wild rose petals have a nervine action and help to calm and refresh the nervous system in a very gentle and nurturing manner. Being surrounded by rose shrubs, smelling them, observing their beauty, and preparing herbal remedies from the roses can help balance a confused or sad heart, and release and relax emotional blockages. Roses are perfect for the easily overwhelmed and sensitive being or anyone experiencing grief and distress.
Invitation to sensuality
Roses are highly associated with intimacy and romance which they, rightly so, are full of. Again, it’s the enchanting aroma of roses that evokes deep emotions and acts as an aphrodisiac. By promoting relaxation, excitement and general “feel good” vibes roses can help release tension and encourage a more sensual and intimate connection. Infuse rose into massage oil, chocolate, or liqueur to enjoy with your partner, or make and burn rose incense and an atmosphere of sexual desire and deep connectedness will spark.
Care to the Womb
Rose is a beautiful medicine for a woman’s womb. Drunk as tea or massaged onto the area with an infused oil, rose will work as a “blood mover” breaking up stagnation and bringing warmth and movement to the whole space of the womb. This action of stimulating circulation and flow of blood to the reproductive system may help address menstrual difficulties, cystic growths, and uneasy emotions of PMS. Countless times have rose helped bring on my period and support my menstrual cycle when I’ve been feeling stressed, out of balance, and stagnated.
Nourishment of the skin
Packed with antioxidants, vitamins, and soothing properties, roses offer great advantages to our skin. They can attract and retain moisture which hydrates the skin and leaves it soft, and radiant. This is particularly beneficial for dry skin types. With anti-inflammatory properties, they can help reduce redness, irritation, and inflammation. Great for sensitive skin or various skin conditions. Commonly used in anti-ageing products, rose petals and their antioxidants have astringent properties that can tighten pores and enhance skin elasticity when used regularly. The vitamin C in roses aids in reducing the appearance of dark spots and hyperpigmentation and the natural acids present help in gently exfoliating the skin giving a brighter and more even-toned complexion. Make rose water, rose-infused oil or scrubs for your skin and let them work their magical beauty.
Preparations
With understanding and an open heart to the wild rose, we can harvest its petals and create beautiful, fun and wholesome medicine. Make rose tea, oil, hot chocolate, body scrubs, and incense and add petals to your summer salads and simply allow your creativity to flow. Wild rose is very safe to use with few contraindications except for some people showing signs of allergy to its pollen.
Rose and Cardamom hot chocolate
Rose and cardamom pair beautifully and are in the east commonly used together in various baked treats and drinks. Rose -and cardamom-infused hot chocolate makes an incredible heartwarming drink with these three plants complementing each other in both flavour and medicine. Begin by infusing crushed cardamom and rose petals in boiling hot milk for about 15 minutes, strain and then make hot chocolate from the milk that has now absorbed properties and flavour from the herbs.
Rose exfoliator and bath salt
With its benefits to the skin, Rose is incredibly rewarding to make skin care products with. Add chopped-up petals and/or rose-infused oil to your already store-bought bath salt and exfoliator or make your own from scratch. They are very easy to make with ingredients like sugar and salt that most people already have on hand and there are countless herbal bath salt and exfoliator recipes to be found with a simple Google search.
Code of conduct
As always when wildcrafting and using nature’s resources, harvest with awareness, gratitude, and respect. Never pick all the roses that you come across but leave enough for insects and reproduction. Only harvest from shrubs far enough away from roads and areas prone to fumes and toxins.
Love, Sarah Águsta
