The magic of flowers has followed me since I was a child. For me they are the jewels of nature, not only for their beauty but for their hidden gifts. In particular, the rose, which has been a powerful symbol throughout my life, making its presence known at poignant moments in my life, including being the central focus of my business logo.
According to Whitney Hopler (2019) [1] Since ancient times, roses have symbolized God at work in whatever situation they appear. The intricate and elegant rose offers a glimpse of a masterful creator’s active presence in creation. As this fragrant flower blooms, its buds gradually open to reveal blossoms with lovely layers—an illustration of how spiritual wisdom unfolds in people’s lives. The strong, sweet scent of a rose brings to mind the powerful sweetness of love, which is the essence of God. So it’s not surprising that many miracles and encounters with angels throughout history have involved roses.
Roses, which have long served as symbols of the Virgin Mary, have shown up in some of the miraculous Marian apparitions that people worldwide have reported. Mary is known as the “mystic rose” or the “rose without thorns” among some Christians, because of her role as the mother of Jesus Christ, whom Christians believe is the world’s savior. Before sin entered the world and corrupted it, tradition says that the Garden of Eden featured roses with no thorns, and the thorns appeared after humanity sinned. Because Mary played a vital role in God’s plan to redeem the fallen world, Mary became associated with the original purity of the uncorrupted beauty of the roses God originally designed for the Garden of Eden.
All roses symbolize God’s love at work in the world, but different colours of roses also symbolize different spiritual concepts. White roses mean purity and holiness. Red roses mean passion and sacrifice. Yellow roses mean wisdom and joy. Pink roses mean gratitude and peace. Purple roses or lavender roses mean wonder, awe, and change for the better.
The essences of flowers have been the life’s work of Ian White, who specialises in creating healing essences from Australian Bush Flowers. Over the next few weeks, I will be exploring the Australian Bush Flower Essences and their healing qualities.
[1] Sacred Roses: The Spiritual Symbolism of Roses (learnreligions.com)