Mankind has given to the Rose the name ‘Queen of the Flowers’ – and this is certainly not a misnomer… Rose, this wonderful floral being has always – and particularly since the beginning of historical writing – held a particular fascination in the awareness of mankind. It inspired men of so many cultures to create countless stories, myths, legends, fairy tales, ballads etc. Musicians didn’t get tired to praise its beauty in immortal melodies, painters presented their enchantment in works of art and poets captured their enthusiasm in heart-rending poetry.
Throughout times Rose symbolized love – but since the Rose in its effulgence does not limit herself to only one expression, the different colours of the flower stand for different values and emotions: Red Rose means love, passion, respect, courage; White Rose describes innocence, purity, secrecy; Yellow Rose is connected with joy and friendship, Coral Rose expresses desire and light; Pink Rose characterizes grace, gladness and joy…. Yes, Rose is truly a special messenger plant from the celestial “designers” and has its beautiful connection with the astral world. What does this old saying of the Persians – great friends of the Rose – express?
“Rose is the only thing you can take with you when you die, because it is not of this world.”
And yes, the Persians apparently were the first ones to distill the Rose and transform her alchemy into essential oils. And it was certainly not Ibn Senna (Avicenna) who started this in the 11th century… even though he had a most creative idea of how to improve the process of distillation by using the technique of a condenser.
Throughout centuries up to today the Rose has been an important medicinal plant as proven also in the use of Rosewater. In the Middle Ages Charlemagne ordered that in every garden of the empire they should at least plant one Rose. Since the 11th century the Christian adoration of Virgin Mary is very much concentrated on the Rose, and to this day a rosary is still custom with the followers of the Catholic Church. During the 16th century the Rosa damascena from Syria became known in the Balkan countries through Turkish merchants. It was also imported to Bulgaria where today it is cultivated in the “Valley of the Roses”.
The fragrance of the Rose can be described as rich, sweet, spicy, deep, tenacious and radiant. Extraction of essential oil of Rose is done through steam distillation or hydro-distillation – mostly from of Rosa damascena. This Rose is said to be the most fragrant one reaching back to the original red Rose providing a unique aroma and highest oil content. Normally 3-4.000 kilos of Rosa Damascena are needed to obtain 1 kilo of pure essential oil. The yield depends on conditions such as climate, time of harvest, quality of the flowers, and the method and time of distillation. A mild climate leads to better results. Rose, like all flowers, has a bio-rhythm that determines its cycles of production of fragrant molecules. The harvesting of Roses for distillation begins in the early dawn at the time which the Vedas call “Brahma muhurta”, the “Creator’s time”, as the peak production of Rose essential oil in the petals is in these pre-dawn hours.
A healer of many wounds
The precious Rose oil is the ‘heart note’ par excellence of the perfumers since old – and a spiritual healer of great magnitude being no less admirable than its fragrance and beauty. Rose oil can contain over 500 different bio-chemical compounds. The major ones are: Citronellol, Citral, Carvone, Citronellyl acetate, Eugenol, Ethanol, Farsenol, Stearpoten, Methyl eugenol, Nerol, Nonanol, Nonanal, Phenyl acetaldehyde, Phenylmenthyl acetate and Phenyl geraniol. It’s not surprising that the precious Rose oil is a healer of many problems, physical, mental, emotional, spiritual.
Rose oil on the physiological level
- Alleviates problems of blood congestion and inflammation
- Is considered an excellent uterine tonifier
- Is useful against poor circulation, asthma, mouth ulcers and coughing
- Is a miraculous skin tonifier
- Helps against problems linked to stagnant, blocked energies that result in liver congestion, constipation, headache etc.
- Anti-phlogistic: It may calm down a patient of high fever by sedating the inflammation caused by fever. It can also be beneficial in other cases of inflammations caused by microbial infection, ingestion of poisonous stuff, indigestion, dehydration etc.
- Anti-septic: This is the most fragrant and majestic way – just imagine treating wounds with oils or hydrolates from Rose instead of those ordinary anti-septic, often purely chemical lotions…
- Anti-spasmodic: It efficiently relieves spasm in the respiratory system, intestines, muscles and limbs. It also helps to cure convulsions, muscle pulls, cramps and spasmodic cholera which are caused by spasms.
- Astringent: The astringent property of Rose Oil has many benefits. It strengthens gums, hair roots, tones and lifts skin and muscles, strengthens intestines and blood vessels, thereby giving protection from untimely fall of tooth and hair, wrinkles, loss of firmness of intestines and muscles of the abdominal area and limbs associated with age, and above all, helps to stop blood flow from wounds and cuts by contracting the blood vessels. This astringent property can also cure certain types of diarrhea.
- Bactericidal: It can be used in treatment of typhoid, diarrhea, cholera, food poisoning and other diseases which are caused by bacteria. Further, it can cure internal bacterial infections like in colon, stomach, intestines and urinary tract as well as external infections on skin, ears, eyes and in wounds.
- Cholagogue: It promotes flow of bile from the gall bladder and helps regulate the acid level in the stomach as well as in the blood, thus keeping you safe from problems like acidity and acidosis. This bile also helps in digestion of food, together with the acids secreted into the stomach.
- Woundhealing: This property of Rose Essential Oil can be of great interest for those who care a lot about their looks. It makes the scars and after marks of boils, acne and pox etc. on the skin to fade away. This includes fading of stretch marks and surgery marks, fat cracks etc. associated with pregnancy and delivery.
- Depurative: Rose purifies the blood by helping removal and neutralization of toxins from blood. Once the blood is purified and free of toxins, we are protected from nuisances like boils, rashes, ulcers, skin diseases etc.
- Emenagogue: This is yet another beneficial property of Rose Oil. It stimulates the hormone secretions which trigger off menstruations. It is particularly effective on those who are suffering from obstructed and irregular menses. It also eases cramps, treats nausea, fatigue and reduces pains associated with the menstruations and post-menopausal syndromes. (PMS)
- Haemostatic: This property of the essential Oil of Rose can be very useful for people who are suffering from haemorrhage (bleeding, external or internal) after an injury or surgery. The oil speeds up coagulation of blood and stops bleeding and can save the life of such patients.
- Hepatic: It simply means it is good for liver’s health. It keeps it strong, functioning properly and protected from infections. It also treats problems like excess flow of bile and acids, ulcers etc.
- Laxative: There cannot be a laxative with a better scent than this. It can serve as a harmless and effective laxative with a beautiful smell and without any adverse side effect. It actually influences the intestinal and anal muscles to help clear the bowels.
- Nervine: Rose oil acts as a tonic for the nerves. It gives strength to bear shocks and protects from disorders resulting from age, injuries etc. It won’t let our hands tremble or let us get nervous when saying those three magic words to our dream girl for the first time with a Rose in your hand 🙂
- Uterine: Rose can take care of many feminine problems such as uterine discharges, tumors, bleeding, irregular menses etc. It purifies the uterus too and keeps it functioning properly even in later age and can delay the onset of menopause.
- Anti-viral: Getting a protection from viruses or getting yourself vaccinated against all of them is a tough task, since some of them change their disguise every time they return and make a fool of our immune system, like our old friend who gives you cold and influenza. So what to do? Better use an anti- viral which behaves as a shield against any virus that comes.
- Aphrodisiac and hormonal: It regulates hormone production and helps balance them. Rose is one of the best oils which can give you a shining, fresh and youthful skin. Its aroma keeps you charged and feeling happy. It promotes circulation, takes care of our heart, reduces blood pressure and protects from dehydration.
On the mental/emotional and spiritual level, Rose Oil
Rose Oil is:
- a Pitta (Ayurveda) pacifier and indicated to reduce irritability and anger
- opens the energies of the heart and frees from fear, uniting the “outer” man with the “inner” spiritual center of his being. It helps linking the intellect with the “physical”, thereby tuning the strings of the soul for love and compassion, self-forgiveness, and devotion to the Divine on Earth – and thus uplifting man to his own blossoming of life in the unity of existence.
- a master-performer as an aphrodisiac in our love-enthralled time! Right from Cupid himself to modern-day’s high-tech lovers, everybody knows how Roses are indispensable in romance. And so is the essential oil of Rose. The very scent of it can arouse you. It boosts up libido and invokes romantic feelings which are essentials for a successful love experience.
- cooling like water
The spiritual (energy) side
Rose represents a highly “spiritual” plant energy and is – certainly also due to this – considered as the ‘Queen of the Flowers’. This is also symbolized in the Lotus principle of the bud and its bloom, expressing unfoldment of soul and blossoming of life in the unity of existence. And this can be seen as one of the reasons why Rose oil is also used as an anti-depressant. Rose Oil boosts self esteem, confidence, hope and mental strength, and efficiently fights feelings of inner weakness and anxieties of all kinds. Patients of acute depression or burn-out, or who are undergoing rehabilitation can be given a regular doses of this essential oil to bring hope to their lives. Rose oil is widely used in aromatherapy and invokes positive thoughts, spirituality and feelings of joy and happiness.
And what a miracle: We need between 1,200,00 to 1,500,000 blossoms, all hand-picked one by one, to obtain 1 liter of Rose oil. 1 small glass of Rose oil with ca. 30 ml represents the “presence” of about 40,000 blossoms. 50 – 70 Rose blossoms give us one single drop of essential oil. So, you know what you do when you put just 1 drop of pure Rose oil on your heart, right ? And the bio-chemistry of Rose oil is just amazing. As already mentioned: The oil contains more than 500 different compounds – each of them a superlative in itself of specific healing impulses for our body, mind and soul. And still, we have to say: Most of Nature‘s „bio-molecules“ have not been analyzed yet and are far from being understood in terms of their multiple healing virtues and their mostly hidden psycho-spiritual “side-effects”. Nor have they even been vaguely grasped in the context of their most complex synergistic effects.
And here a beautiful text of David Crow on the Rose oil:
“Roses produce their maximum levels of damascenone, the primary molecule of Rose fragrance, on the mornings of the full moon. Ayurveda observes that the full moon radiates a special kind of energy, called “Soma”, which is said to have a cooling, nourishing, and relaxing effect on the mind and body. It is fascinating to consider the biological connections between the cooling influence of the moon’s rays, the biorhythmic production of damascenone molecules in Roses according to the moon, and the effects of rose essential oil, which, like Soma, are cooling and relaxing to the mind and body. This, then, is one way to think of the oil of Roses: It is the moonlight absorbed by the flowers, the dew on their petals at dawn, and the flavors of the soils in which they grow. It is a well-known fact among farmers and perfumers that organically cultivated Roses produce a superior essential oil, while those raised with synthetic pesticides and fertilizers lose the essence of Soma. A pure Rose essential oil from healthy soma-rich Roses is an elixir for Ojas, the nutritional essence that supports the immune system. Rose oil is tri-doshic, meaning that any body type can use it without concern for causing physiological imbalances.”
https://blog.floracopeia.com/a-gift-of-five-thousand-roses/
According to energy research of Bruce Tainio from the US, Rose oil has the highest frequency on the level of the electro-magnetic field. With its 320 Mhz it surpasses on average up to 5 times the EM frequency of the human body. That means quite something in terms of energy and spiritual upliftment on all levels of our being.
A few experiences with Rose oil
To demonstrate how much psychology plays a part in this, I’ll tell you that I used Rose after my mother passed away. So I had developed a cognitive association with using rose when I needed to work through grief, which helped the oil stimulate that response in me again.”
“My second experience with aromatherapy was during a therapeutic touch/ Reiki session. The therapist used rose oil on my chest and I felt a welling up of emotion relating to a painful exchange with a friend. An internal shift in perception allowed me to forgive her and move forward with a more peaceful heart.”
“Rose: An oil that helps relax the uterus and regulate your menstrual cycle, Rose also has a libido enhancing effect and improves cervical mucus. However, it is important to note that this oil should not be used after ovulation in your cycle, as it is not safe during pregnancy.
http://natural-fertility-info.com/fertility-essential-oils.html
“I used to have bloating in my abdomen before my cycle along with cramping and other female “symptoms”. I now use 1-2 drops of pure “wonderful” Rose oil on my abdomen starting 10 days before and up to my menstrual cycle, no more bloating! Even during the month for other symptoms (depression, melancholy, etc.) I also apply it in circular motion on my heart, breath it in and apply to my ankles. Some may think it costly but believe me it is well worth more than gold. Give it a try!”
“We do not talk about Rose oil enough, partly because of its cost (which I am HAPPY to pay). But seriously, Rose oil is one of the most powerful oils with an amazingly high frequency. It is one of the very first oils I bought, too, and it lasted for two years! There is a deep inner wisdom in our hearts. Our hearts know the answers to all the questions we have and will ever have. And Rose oil helps us to access this wisdom when our hearts have been challenged by the people and events around us.”
“Aromatic hydrosols against hot flashes: it’s great! It’s my turn to offer you an exceptional treatment against hot flashes. After trying without success a number of food supplements I turned to aromatic hydrosols, formulas much less concentrated and therefore much easier to use than essential oils. Sage, Rose and Peppermint in mixture, at a rate of tablespoon of the mixture in a liter of water to drink throughout the day. Result: I no longer have hot flashes during the day and no more night sweats.”
https://www.lessentieldejulien.com/2013/11/bye-bouffees-chaleur/
“When it was time for our son to be born, I created a “Mommy & Baby” first aid kit. This kit would contain a synergy blend, massage oils, hydrosols and extra bottles of essential oils for emergencies. I would also bring my diffuser to disperse the aroma in the room; to relax my mind and to allow me the peace of mind that I would have no seizures. The kit contained oils of Clary Sage, Jasmine, Lavender, and Rose to assist with my contractions, to help my mind to focus and relax, and to prevent anxiety of seizure activity.
Cf. Zsuszana G. Davidson, Living with Epilepsy and Aromatic Oil
A week ago I suddenly developed a nasty rash on my face that was hot, dry and very itchy but very sensitive as well. My right ear was leaking serum from where it joins my head and both ears were inflamed, red and scaly. I was a mess. None of the creams or oils worked for very long….. I was lucky enough to get Rose oil recently and today I finally searched the site to see what uses it has. I saw one testimonial where it had been used for a skin disorder so I thought “Why not”, ONE DROP of Rose oil was enough to spread over my face, ears and neck. Within SECONDS the itch had stopped, the skin no longer looked leathery and the peeling skin disappeared!”
http://www.oil-testimonials.com/essential-oils/3312/rose-oil-eliminated-nasty-rash-on-face
“I bought both the Jojoba facial oil with Neroli and Rose and I use a few drops on my face every night. The oil is so fine and absorbs into my skin easily. It leaves my skin soft and moist without the greasy feeling. I just love the luxurious aroma of the rose and neroli!”
Testimonial from Karen, a friend from Singapore
Aromatherapy recipes against gout crisis (as massage oil)
- 4 drops Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
- 5 drops Juniper (Juniperus communis)
- 4 drops Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens)
- 4 drops Rose (Rosa centifolia or damascena)
- 50ml carrier oil like Olive oil
Ageing skin (D. Baudoux)
- Rosa damascena 1ml
- Rosewood 3ml
- Helichrysum 1ml
- Cistus 1ml
- Niaouli 5ml
- Carrier oil Rosa mosqueta from Chili 100ml
- 2-3 drops – apply on the local areas of the skin ever day morning and evening
