Not only is this is a very complex topic, but we are still very much in the learning stage regarding our understanding of how essences work.  Our equipment for detecting subtle energy is not nearly as precise as our equipment for analyzing physical aspects of the body (chemicals, blood, bones, etc.).  The most comprehensive model I have come across which attempts to explain how essences work is found in Vibrational Medicine by Richard Gerber, M.D. (Bear and Company, 1996) and in his audio tapes by the same name.  The interested reader is referred to his works.  I can only give a very basic overview on this web site. 

On a very simple level, a good analogy for understanding how a vibrational essence (which is the category that flower essences fall under) works may be found in the tuning fork.  Let's say that someone who is healthy and vibrant is vibrating at a clear B pitch.  A person who is depressed or otherwise suffering from disease may then be described as vibrating at a flat B pitch.  If one finds the correct essence or essence blend, i.e. an essence vibrating at the clear B pitch that the person needs in order to regain health, and if one introduces that essence or blend into the energy field of the diseased or suffering person (through internal ingestion, spraying the aura, applying topically, or adding to the bath), through the principle of sympathetic resonance, the flat B pitch will rise to match the clear B pitch for a period of time, just as two tuning forks will attune to each other.  As one introduces this healing vibration into the diseased or suffering person's energy field with regularity over time, eventually the person will be able to hold the clear B pitch on his or her own.

Flower essences work with the body's energy system which is comprised of meridians, chakras, and the energy field or aura.  The meridians comprise the complex system of electrical circuitry through which every cell in our body is connected (as found in the Chinese model of medicine).  The chakras are the energetic power stations in the body, classically numbered at seven (as found in Eastern philosophy).  Both the meridian system and the chakra system operate in the realm of subtle energy and are thus invisible to common eyesight.   They also have direct correlations with specific glands and organs in the body.  These systems are comprehensive and holistic:  each chakra or meridian is associated with particular mental and emotional states as well as physical organs/glands and spiritual energy.  Since vibrational essences work with the energy system of the body, it is impossible to make clear distinctions regarding actual healing between the levels of mind/emotions/body/spirit.  They are all interconnected.

The energy field, or aura, of the human being is comprised of the emanations from the meridian system and the chakra system.  Kirlian photography is actually able to photograph these emanations.  Mechthild Scheffer, in her excellent book The Encyclopedia of Bach Flower Therapy (Healing Arts Press, 2001), shows Kirlian photographs of each of the 38 Bach flower remedies.  Each is different in color and form and looks something like a unique mandala.  These Kirlian photographs show the subtle energy radiation of one drop of each flower essence, and thus they show the pattern which has been infused into the water through the process of making the essence (most typically, charging the water containing the blossoms with sunlight).  Perhaps an aspect of the medicine of the future will be to identify the correlations between these patterns and human illness.

A fascinating bit of research pertaining to this idea has been described by Dana Ulman on his audio tape series, Homeopathic Healing.  An experiment was conducted in which a homeopathic remedy for the thyroid was placed into water in which tadpoles were living.  It slowed their growth, as expected.  Then, only the unopened bottle of the thyroid remedy was placed into the water with the tadpoles, and the remedy had the same effect.  The emanation or energy field of the remedy was as powerful as the physical substance.  Homeopathic remedies and flower essences are both forms of vibrational medicine (click here for a comparison of the two systems), so this experiment gives us information about how flower essences work as well. 

Another theory proposed by homeopaths Benvenieste and Bellavite suggests that information is encoded in the water molecule of the remedy in a "meta-molecular" form and that "disease is an information disorder."  By providing the correct information to an imbalanced system, health may be restored (see Homeopathy:  A Frontier in Medical Science).  As our research progresses, this theory may correlate well with the various patterns of the emanations of the essences, visible through Kirlian photography, which Scheffer has documented (as mentioned above). 

Returning to the concept of the energy field, it is theorized that in the human being it consists of several levels, some more validated through research and others more based on speculation.  Some research with salamanders and plants (but none with human beings yet) indicates that the energy field closest to the body, called the etheric body, is like an energy template of the entire body, with all organs of the actual physical body present in subtle energy form.  It is composed of faster-than-light subtle energy.  The etheric body seems to provide guidance for the development of the fetus as it grows.  It is a blueprint for the physical body, and it is thought that disease appears at the etheric level before it is manifested at the physical level. 

The remaining levels of the human energy field are less substantiated by research.  They radiate out into space farther from the physical body than the etheric body.  The astral, or emotional, body is related to the emotions; the mental body is related to concepts or ideas; and the causal body is related to deeply held psychic experiences.   All of these subtle energy bodies co-exist with the physical body but vibrate at different speeds, different frequencies.  Some vibrational essence producers categorize their essences by which subtle body the essence helps to heal.  Others categorize their essences by which chakra or meridian the essence corresponds to, and still others simply give a description of what the essence helps and don't relate it to the energy system of the body at all.  Based on muscle testing, which is one method I employ is selecting essences, the truth is that there are no absolute rules about which essences strengthen which chakras or which meridians.  Any essence can balance or strengthen any chakra or meridian--it all depends on the individual. 

It seems that healing through vibrational essences begins in one or more of the subtle bodies which comprise the energy field of the person.  The new energy is then transferred from the etheric body (the subtle body closest to the physical body) to the physical body via the meridian pathways and the chakra system.  Electrical circuits are repaired, chakras are balanced, and blueprints for the physical body stored in the etheric body are restored.  Vibrational essences don't directly cure disease.  They correct imbalances and help bring the body into alignment and balance so that healing may occur on all levels. 

First photo:  Blackberry helps one to focus one's will and manifest what one desires in the world (courtesy of FES)

Second photo:  Blue Camas balances the brain hemispheres and helps with learning disabilities (© Pacific Essences®)

Third photo:  Sticky Geranium helps procrastinators (courtesy of Steve Johnson, Alaskan Flower Essence Project)

Fourth photo:  Echinacea helps establish core integrity when one feels shattered or has been through severe trauma or abuse (photo courtesy of Scott Emanuel)

Fifth photo:  Five Corners promotes love and acceptance of the self for those lacking in self-esteem (courtesy of Ian White, Australian Bush Flower Essences)

Sixth photo:  Morning Glory is helpful for many forms of addiction (courtesy of FES)

Seventh photo:  The Camellia promotes openness and self-expression (© Pacific Essences®)