After Bach developed the original 12 remedies he went on to creating a second set collectively known as ‘The Seven Helpers’. The Seven Helpers differ from the 12 Healers in that they are used for issues related to life responses and resonance with life. They treat states of mind that have become more persistent almost to the point where the negative states become seemingly inseparable from personal expression.

Some correlations can be made between some of the 12 Healers and 7 Helpers, such as gorse/gentian. Both deal with areas of despair and hopelessness. Vine/vervain both deal with strong energy in the personality such as dominance and dogmatism. While these two pairs of essences share similar signatures, the other 5 remedies function separately and offer unique energies for balancing the personality.

Wild Oat-(bromus ramosus)

This essence deals with purposeful directed action, in regards to vocation and life direction. It helps us to find our true calling by showing us how we can serve the world. It works to align the will with spiritual purpose, it is about finding the thing that comes natural to us, what we do effortlessly. Wild oat is useful when we feel unfulfilled and dissatisfied by our job. It helps us shift frustration in a way that frees up the energy tied within it making this energy available for change.

Rock Water (solarized spring water)

Rock water is the essence of all essences it is solarized spring water from the spring that all the Bach essences are made with. ‘Rock Water’ is a Celtic term for the water flowing from the earth, they recognized that fresh living spring water has potent healing qualities. Dr. Bach also recognized the healing properties of living spring water and felt it was the ideal base for flower essences. To prepare Rock Water a bowl of freshly drawn spring water is set to charge in the sun. This solarization of naked water, water that has been swimming in the womb of the earth and is birthed to the light carries the qualities of flexibility and greater ease.

Vine (vitis vinifera)

Vine is one of the two essences that was made outside of England, vine was prepared in Italy by a friend of Dr. Bach’s. Dr. Bach gave full instructions for the preparation and it was sent to him for research and testing. Upon testing Bach noted that Vine helps the strong/dominant leader access their Higher Self. This access with higher self serves to temper the ego and selfish tendencies. This fosters more self less service helping the leader to go beyond ego identification.

Olive (Olea Europaea)

Olive is the other remedy that was prepared outside of England, it was also prepared in Italy by a friend of Dr. Bach. Those needing olive essence have gone through a period of physical struggle and now are experiencing a period deep exhaustion. This period of exhaustion allows the person to access their soul and realize there are forces beyond the body that serve to support the energy and health of the person. Olive essence helps to build the vital forces of the body and aid in rest and recuperation.

Heather (Calluna Vulgaris)

This remedy supports tranquility of the mind and emotions. The delicate pink flowers help one to access inner quite and use this space as food for the emotions. The person needing this remedy may not even know it, as one main characteristic is self absorbtion. Being so self absorbed they feel a need to always talk about their problems and when in conversation they turn the conversation back to themselves. This essence helps such people access the space within themselves where they can find the inner quite which fosters more balanced emotional self sufficiency.

Gorse (Ulex Europaeus)

Gorse has some similarities with Gentian, as they both work to treat discouragement doubt. Gorse deals with a more persistent doubt one that sets in when a person has been dealing with an illness for a long period of time and resigns themselves giving up hope. This essence fosters greater optimism and trust in a positive outcome and is of great benefit to those suffering from debilitating conditions or diseases.

Dr. Edward Bach revolutionized the world of health and healing with the creation of flower remedies. One of the major contributions he made with his keen observation was the correlation of the personality to states of dis-ease and disharmony. While working with patients Dr. Bach noticed that the same personality types suffered the same afflictions. And, he explored using the personality as a guide to health. He was able with the help of flower essences to assist his patients restore health and a positive outlook. By helping patients heal their fears, tensions, worries and anxities Dr. Bach noticed their physical health also improved.

Our personality is malleable and constantly develops throughout all of life’s stages. The beginning stages of personality development happen while we are young and is influenced by our parents, teachers, peers and society. While young we receive impressions and instructions on what is appropriate behavior and ways of being, they are fed to us and accepted as true. The rules of engagement we learn about life may not always be true for us. Yet as a child we lack the experience and perspective to appropriately determine the judgment of of others.

The system Dr. Bach developed is aimed at aligning the personality with the truth of who we are. In short it is aimed at whole body health, clearing traumas and getting in touch with the truth of who we are.

The Bach Remedy System is neatly broken down into 3 parts which follow chronologically the order in which the remedies were discovered. The first twelve are known as The Twelve Healers which are soul type/archetypal remedies that deal with broad themes such as courage, enthusiasm, compassion, wisdom and balance to name a few.

The ‘Key Words’ used are general headings which the remedies treat and the themes are areas of the personality these remedies will help to develop. “Use for’ referrers to areas of personality imbalance that the remedies correct. Keep in mind these are general descriptions and serve as a simple guide to beginning to understand the remedies.

The Twelve Healers

Mimulus- (mimulus guttatus) Key Word: Fearlessness

Themes: confidence, bravery, security Use for: fear of known things, shyness, timidity

Impatiens- (impatiens glandulifera) Key Word: Compassion

Themes: patience, tolerance, harmonious relationship with time Use for: impatience, developing tolerance, irritablity

Agrimony-(agrimonia eupatoria) Key Word: Truth

Themes: honesty, authentic humor, openness Use for: masked emotions/inner pain, escapism via drugs/alchol

Clematis-(clamatis vitalba) Key Word: Integration

Themes: vision, awareness, present in the body Use for: dreaminess, withdraw, ungrounded awareness

Centaury -(centaurium erythaea) Key Word: Dignity

Themes: boundaries, self esteem, self reliance Use for: weak personality, being used, servant, taken advantage of

Cerato-(ceratostigma willmottiana) Key Word: Instinct/Knowledge

Themes: trust of self, discernment, decisive Use for: discretion, trust of self wisdom, easily influenced

Gentian -(gentiana amarella) Key Word: Hope

Themes: faith, trust in positive outcome, positive outlook Use for: doubt, pessimism, depression, despair, hopelessness

Chicory-(chicorium intybus) Key Word: Love

Themes: fulfillment, radiant love, unconditional love Use for: possessive, heart ache, manipulative behavior

Vervain- (verbena officianalis) Key Word: Passion

Themes: enthusiasm, optimism, dynamic Use for: overly stressed, type A, high strung, righteously indignant

Scleranthus -(scleranthus annuus) Key Word: Decisive

Themes: decisiveness, balance, stable Use for: indecisiveness, mood swings, trust in decision making

Rock Rose - (helianthemum nummularium) Key Word: Assurance

Themes: calm strength, emotional steadiness Use for: panic, stuck emotions of terror

Water Violet -(hottonia palustris) Key Word: Unity

Themes: gracefulness, quite, integration with group Use for: feelings of loneliness, isolation, pride, superiority

St. john’s wort a special summer herb holds an esteemed place in the world of flower essences. This light filled essences is made from the bright yellow flowers that begin blooming around the summer solstice. The days near the solstice are characterized by early sunrises and sunsets that stretch long into the evening. This abundance of light is a key signature of the action of this essence.

I has my first plant spirit journey with this herb. Plant spirit journeys are one way to gather information on the healing properties of the plant. Two years ago while attending a flower essences course with David Dalton and Kate Gilday I made an essence from this plant. There were many plants flowering at this time and we were instructed to make an essence of a plant we felt drawn to. I felt myself being guided to a bright yellow flowers of St.John’s Wort.

After making the essences we reconvened and prepared to journey to the plant spirit to seek information on the healing action of the essence. The journey was led by a drummer and verbal instructions from David. As with most spirit journeys we were told to find a portal near the plant and travel through the portal to meet the spirit.

The journey took me down a portal which led to a garden, it was like and English garden, very neat with rows and a pathway lined with some benches and lanterns. I walked around in this garden looking at the various plants and then sat down on a bench. Soon after sitting down I was greeted by luminous being about 3 feet fall. He told me he was the spirit of St. John’s Wort, I asked if he had a name, he said “John”, of course. I then asked him “What does St. John’s Wort flower essence do?”

The spirit jumped up put his hand on my belly, upon putting his hand on my stomach a light grew and then spread to encompass my whole body in tight field of light. I could feel a brightness and sense of protection and upliftment from this action. He then sat down next to me, we just sat together on the bench and soon afterwards the drumming changed rhythm and we were lead back to body consciousness.

I related my story to the group and David shared that in his research he discovered that St John’s Wort strengthens the energy field where it connects to the stomach. What I discovered from this plant is that it has a powerful ability to strengthen the human energy field, it tightens the energy field pulling it closer to the body. David recalled that in his research he found that it ‘tightens the filaments of light in our protective field.

The human energy or aura, can be damaged or compromised by stress, ill health, drugs and negative thoughts and feelings. When our field is compromised we may feel tired, unable to focus, experience unexplained fears, disturbed sleep and nightmares. Research by the Flower Essence Society recommends it for people who are overly expanded, thus making them more susceptible to outside influence. This essence has also been used to treat depression related to Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Saint Johns Wort’s unique actions make it a useful essence to have on hand when we need extra support in maintaining the integrity of or energetic field.

Winter has afforded us the time to go inside but now spring is here and it is time to shake off the winter doldrums. The days are getting longer and the sun is rising higher in the sky, change is in the air. It is observable with green shoots emerging, trees budding and birds singing. Lets go! and Let go!

Here are some flower essences which we can use to enliven our energy system and spirits.Cayenne, Horseradish, Habanero Pepper, Goldenseal, Blackberry and Lovage, these are common plants with exception of goldenseal (endangered) which have a home in kitchens around the world. The first essence we will look at is cayenne pepper produced by Flower Essence Services.

Cayenne is useful to ignite the fiery forces within us, this useful when we feel emotionally or spiritually stagnant. This is helpful when we feel unable to make changes in certain areas of our life such as career, relationships, decisiveness or when we are stuck procrastinating.

Habanero pepper is known as one of the hottest peppers in the world and this signature of heat is useful for catalysing repressed energies which are tied up in trauma. This essence helps the soul to penetrate deeper into the lower chakras, this movement can shake up the energy system as old traumas are brought into our awareness and released. This essence can be of benefit when we feel depressed, absentminded, can’t think clearly or stuck daydreaming.

Goldenseal, a native plant of the North America is commonly used as a natural antibiotic and detoxifier. It is common to woodlands across the northeast and mid west, the potent energy of this remedy greatly assists in clearing out debris in our subconscious. Sometimes this ‘debris’ or old energy holds us in a pattern of obsessive thinking that challenges us to break free and develop new habits. This is a very supportive remedy for clearing out the old.

Horseradish, feeling stuck, feeling tired, feeling controlled by others . . . turn to horseradish. This essence helps one to bring into focused awareness our power, our real inner power to change a situation. Fears tie up tremendous amounts of energy, which can lead to us feeling tired and unable to make the breakthrough we so desire. This essence bringing this into focus, enlivens the energy system to shake off frustration build confidence and move forward. This flower essence helps us take more control of lives and is excellent to use when setting goals, this essence will spur more action and help focus our energy on goal achievement.

Blackberry we may be caught in minds yet know that we need to act, the inertia of this can be enough to inhibit action. This plant is a member of the rose family and its tenacious growth pattern is a signature of its action. This essence helps to close the gap between thoughts and action and fosters movement in a decisive way.

Lovage, feeling frustrated, have plans yet there is something that keeps you tied up in the mental sphere and taking action gets usurped . . . sound familiar. This essence greatly assists the movement process bringing joy and confidence helping us to move from the thinking planning stage to the action stage. This essence will help us to get a grip on thought energy in a way that we can filter down into concrete action.

The above remedies are a sampling of the major flower essences which are useful for when we have thoughts, goals and dreams that need extra energy in order to translate into physical manifestation. The thinking process uses a lot of energy and when we are caught up in a cycle of thoughts we may find we lack the energy to take the action. All these essences greatly assist the 3rd chakra and our willpower towards action.

A common theme of the essences listed above is that they treat sluggishness in the lower areas of our body, whether is it be cold feet, tired legs or slow metabolism. Now, is a great time to take advantage of the growth forces of nature and bring these forces in greater quantities into the body in order to translate thought to action.

The Language of Plants, Flowers and Doctrine of Signature.

The whole world is speaking to us constantly, in a language beyond words, the world is speaking to us through gestures. By observing the gestures of plants their growing habitat, flower color and the plants climatic temperament and growing range, we can glean a fair amount of pertinent information. This information can be very useful when researching a flower remedy.

On a vibrational level Walnut flower essence is used when we are making major changes in our lives. Moving, changing jobs, partners etc, walnut flower essences assists us in making a clean break from the past. This means once the change has been made you feel unencumbered by the past and can move forward without regret or attachment to things gone by. This differs from honeysuckle which useful when we are seeking to live in the in the good ol’ days. Walnut flower essence is indicated for times when we want to or have taken take great steps forward and may feel some tugging from the past.

 The walnut ‘mother’ tree secretes a chemical which prevents the growth of other walnuts from sprouting up around it.  This prevents other walnut trees from rooting and growing near the mother.  The walnut is encased in a pericap. This coating protects the nut inside and when it matures and drops the sponge like pericap allows the nut to bounce and roll from the mother. In a sense the baby walnut is free to follow their own journey and grow independently and stand alone.

This signature of walnut tells us much about how the essences helps us to free our minds from the past and move forward with confidence. The walnut has two halves and the nut has distinct folds and crevices similar to the human brain.   This essence helps make big changes in our conscious mind which can lead us forward as we grow and change. This psychological independence is necessary for our growth and development as into our true selves.

Dr. Bachs life is a prime example of the positive walnut state. He left behind London, a lucrative medical practice and a world that was familiar to him to pursue something new.  His freedom of mind and spirit led to a new paradigm of healing. This new paradigm of treating the personality is revolutionary in its approach and effectiveness. In the spirit of walnut, may we all be free to pursue our destiny and fulfill our purpose.

Use walnut flower essence when paving new ground and leaving behind old conventions, limitations, restrictions, places and relationships.