The Anatomy of A Bouquet at SSBP

This picture is of the bouquet that we had at the Seattle Find Your Joy workshop last weekend.   All of these flowers were picked from the Sacred Plant Sanctuary at Seattle School of Body-Psychotherapy and they were picked with specific properties in mind meant to enhance the material we covered in the workshop.  Herbs have the power to impact our physical health, and they also can influence our mood, our mind, and, tradition tells us, our energy.  There is much lore around which aspects of our life different plants can influence.  And from that perspective I began this bouquet with two spears of Centaury, standing like pillars on each side of the vase in deference to it's power to protect and heal (this is the plant Chiron the healer, of Greek God fame, used to heal his wound from a poisonous arrow), and to remove negative energy and facilitate meditation and insight.  What a great invokation for our weekend together! 

I added Digitalis, once one of our main medicines for emergency heart problems, Agrimony which, on the subtle levels, is very useful for those who have difficulty getting along with a boss or someone of power in their life.  Valerian is the key ingredient in Valium and was added to help us deeply relax.  Fireweed is a "first responder" plant that goes into devastated ecosystems to rebuild soil and allow for new life to take root.  I tried a Rose in this bouquet and it didn't look great so I added the Rose Campion, because don't we know that Rose is for emotional healing, for love and creativity.

Yarrow was included to minimize fever and infections, metaphorically, in participants, and Arnica to help them modulate trauma and help with the impact and integration of the material.  Rue is ruled by the planet Saturn and therefore can clear away old unwanted material.  It is used in purification rituals.  Yep, that is a goal, to remove the old unnecessary thought fields in order to thrive.  Calendula is an important flower for our skin, and skin is directly related to our gut and to our nervous system, so I invited her to help soothe us in the rawest part of our being.  And that Daisy, riffing on the Daisy ritual, "she loves me, she loves me not."  i invited her into the room to help people and our client's address the common therapeutic theme, am I lovable, am I welcome. 

And I think, indeed, with the wonderful and magical help of these beautiful plants, that we all felt loved and welcomed by the end of the weekend!  I hope you have a wonderful summer and enjoy the beauty and healing capacity of all that surrounds you.