Flower essences are liquid remedies typically made using water, sunlight, and fresh flower blossoms.  The photo shows the purple water lily in the process of being made into a flower essence. Dr. Bach, the originator of this method, also used a boiling process to make some of his essences, but this is a less commonly used method.

Flower essences are imprinted with the patterns of life force and healing qualities of the flower from which they are made.  The flowers contain the reproductive parts of the plant, which comprise 90% of the plant's energy.  One may say that the flowers are the crowning achievement of life force in the plant.  During the process of making the essence, the sun charges the water and transfers some of the life force energy of the flower into the water.  When I was first beginning to read about flower essences, I came across a story which I have since been unable to trace but which made an impression on me and "stuck."  It involved the use of Rescue Remedy, a Bach combination and probably the most well-known flower remedy combination in the world. A woman was putting drops of Rescue Remedy into water for an outdoor cat, perhaps a feral cat with phobic tendencies toward people.  Each day she emptied the left-over flower essence water onto a particular spot in her yard.  When spring came, the bulbs that were growing in that particular spot had multiplied profusely and were bursting forth with vibrant blossoms in comparison with the rest of flowers growing nearby.  This made an impression on me because it is such a powerful image for the most important truth about flower essences:  they contain the life force of the plant. 

Flower essences have no scent and contain no chemical constituents of the flower or plant.  They are therefore distinct from essential oils which are used in aromatherapy and from herbal tinctures.  Flower essences are completely harmless and holistic (addressing the whole person) in therapeutic orientation, and they help to correct the source of imbalance which is the cause of disease rather than just the symptoms.  They work by stimulating the life force within the individual, they are non-reactive with other therapies, and they may be used as an adjunct to other therapies or alone.  Traditionally, flower essences have been used to help correct mental and emotional states in people and animals, and this then has an impact on the physical body.  They are catalysts for emotional change and work by providing support while stimulating awareness.  Today, people across the globe are also finding direct physical correlations for some flower essences.

Flower essences are safe for everyone, including children and pets.  They help support us in all of our endeavors toward growth, health and awareness, and they are a valuable addition to any other therapies which we may be using to promote healing.