Have you been hearing the voice of the rose, too? I increasingly find myself inspired by the rose and I know that I am not alone.
The rose has been loved and cherished for its graceful beauty all around the world for ages. It spread to the rest of the world from China but it’s been an important part of human history mostly in the Middle East (Iran) and Europe (mainly Greece, Roman Empire, Ottoman Empire/ Turkey, Germany, England).
Fresco fossils of the rose date back around 35 million years. I dare say it is a long time! Roses had been here long before we were here. They survived changes in the planet climate, wars and extinction of civilizations. They survived not with effort. Not with fight. Yet, they survived. With ease and grace. They sure can teach us a thing or two!
The rose is a strong archetype. Meaning, its symbolism has been powerful enough to influence our subconscious minds. It is a part of the collective subconscious. It is part of us. I say, it is time we get to connect to it. It is time we open our hearts and minds to its guidance. For it is wise. And, yes, it is also powerful.
We cannot be fooled by the vulnerable look of the plant. Yes, you can pick it. But you cannot destroy it. The rose is revered, loved and admired all at the same time. It will survive tough weather conditions with minimum care. Its plant wisdom knows to accept what it is. The rose resists not. Not the rain nor the snow, nor the burning sun. It accepts. It just is. And every year its blooms come back with such glorious presence. You cannot not admire a beautiful rose. You cannot not inhale its exquisite intense smell. It is there. And it is in you. In me.
You cannot resist a rose. Human history is a proof. European pagans of the pre-Christian era had an informed understanding of the power of the rose. They used every part of the flower for healing purposes. They used the rose for initiation. They used it to access psychic powers. Early Christian Church, for obvious reasons, rejected it. “It is witchcraft.” “It is black magic.” “It is magic.” “Pagan ignorance.” It was banned. The people who used it were prosecuted. But you cannot resist the rose. The redemption of the rose in the Christian world was nothing ordinary. The rose now symbolized Mother Mary. It was innocence. It was purity. Contrary to all the accusations it did face previously, the rose was now a cherished symbol in Christianity.
The rose also implied secrecy. Secret societies – as they needed to remain secret for fear of execution by The Inquisition- embraced the rose for its wisdom. They followed the guidance of the rose. These societies were not anti-Christian. Yet, they were anti-Church, for all that the Church cared. They believed in Oneness with God. For them the Church was inessential in one’s salvation. No intermediary could possibly fit in the holy place between the person and their creator, for a person has God within. With meditation and some disciplined focus on spiritual growth, everyone had the power to connect, to be.
The rose had not been my favorite flower previously. I liked jasmine above all others and tulip too. I also loved the lotus flower. I admired its ability to bloom beauty in mud, for teaching us that beauty and its opposite are all the same- just like hard times and good times. One cannot exist without the other.
The rose is an essential psychic tool of intuitive healing. When I started my training in intuitive healing, I remember myself wanting to use another flower initially. I was resistant to the rose. Little did I know that what I resisted was my psychic power. As I embraced the rose eventually, my psychic abilities thrived. The more I opened myself to the rose’s guidance, the more psychic I became. The rose was in my life, and I had no intention for letting it go. It was here to stay. Well, also, how could I resist what already was in me, a part of me? I like to say, as resistance goes, joy comes in. It has been joy like no other to accept who I am fully, and love who I am fully. With the bloom. With the thorns.
My passion for the rose has been blooming immensely for the last year. For all I know, I am a mystic. I connect to trees, to nature spirits, etc. I have a peculiar awareness of Oneness with everything in nature. Not only with charming flowers and trees. Even the cockroach I used to hate. Even the horse poop. Well… As a mystic, and a psychic (by the way we all are psychic, we can all learn how to tap into our psychic abilities) the guidance of my inner-voice is vital for me. Before my intuitive training, there were rare moments of hearing that voice. Now, it is me. To cut to the chase, there was a time I was guided by my intuition over and over to set intentions for beauty. I started first with an intention to see beauty in everything. Really everything. The next intention was to see beauty in everything I did. That was unexpected but rewarding. Another intention was to bring beauty to my words. Another intention was to tap into the knowingness that everything had beauty in its very nature; and that beauty united everything together, making every one of us One. All these intentions inspired a new perspective of beauty in me, one that is not stripped down to vanity or glamour. The new awareness of beauty was nothing short of awareness of Oneness. And that took me on a path that led to the rose. I realized the presence of a special connection to the rose. Not special to me. This special connection is there for everyone, who opens their heart to beauty and divine guidance.
So, here I am, writing my longest blog article about the rose. I can go on for several more pages. But I will stop here. Why? The rose says so: “beauty is not in the effort; it is in ease and grace.”
Stay with beauty,
As within, so without,
~ Luna