====== Rose ======
---- dataentry herbs----
latin_names: Rosa damascena, Rosa centifolia, Rosa spp.
folk_names:
gender_tags: Feminine
planet_tags: Venus
element_tags: Water
deity_tags: Hathor, Hulda, Eros, Cupid, Demeter, Isis, Adonis, Harpocrates, Aurora
effect_tags: Love, Psychic Powers, Healing, Love Divination, Luck, Protection, Sex, Beauty, Peace
part_tags: fresh flowers, essential oil, absolute
----
===== Magical Uses =====
Roses have long been used in love mixtures, owing to the flower's associations with the emotions. A chaplet of roses worn when performing love spells (remove the thorns), or a single rose in a vase on the altar, are powerful love-magic aids. Rose water distilled from the petals is added to love baths. Rose hips (the fruit of the rose) are strung and worn as love-attracting beads.
A tea of rosebuds drunk before sleep induces prophetic dreams. To discover their romantic future, women used to take three green rose leaves and name each for one of their lovers. The one that stayed green the longest answered the question of "which one?"
Rose petals and hips are also used in healing spells and mixtures, and a rosewater saturated cloth laid to the temples will relieve headache pain.
Roses are also added to fast-luck mixtures and, when carried, act as personal protectants.
Rose petals sprinkled around the house calm personal stress and household upheavals.
Roses planted in the garden attract fairies, and are said to grow best when stolen.
===== Aromatherapy =====
==== Lore ====
After Europe’s “conversion” to the Christian religion, the rose was forbidden to be used as a symbol of the Virgin Mary because of its earlier associations with Venus, Bacchus and other classical deities. A flower with such a past (divine drunkenness, sex and love) was deemed unsuited for the Virgin. Thus, the purer lily was adopted as Her floral symbol.
An incredibly expensive aromatic, rose has a long history of use in cosmetic and magical perfumery. Legend states that it was the first essential oil ever distilled (in Persia during the tenth century). Huge quantities of fresh rose petals are necessary to produce the smallest amount of true essential oil or absolute. This accounts for its price.
Traditionally, rose petals are steam distilled to produce the essential oil known as otto of rose or rose attar. The fragrance is also extracted through the use of solvents to create rose absolute. Of the two, the absolute is considered to be inferior to the otto. It is also less expensive.
Some holistic aromatherapists disdain the use of rose absolute for therapeutic purposes, preferring the true otto of rose. This is partly for health reasons (it’s difficult to remove all of the solvent from the oil after processing.) To each their own. Solvent-extracted rose has been used in cosmetic perfumery for some time. I’ve also used it with no problems.
If you cannot afford these wondrous substances, grow or find the most odorous blooms available. Generally speaking. the darkest roses have the richest scents. Modem hybridizing has all but killed the fragrance of many forms. Most of the roses available from florist shops are virtually scentless.
The following information can be utilized with true rose absolute, otto of rose or with fresh rose flowers. Synthetics should not, of course, be used.
==== Magical Uses ====
The first association many of us have with roses is love, and here again modern aromatherapy research supports this timeless link. The scent of roses does indeed tum our thoughts to love. Inhale the deep scent and visualize its energies leading you into a mutually satisfying emotional relationship.
To spread this loving energy throughout your home, place fresh roses in every room. The scent calms domestic strife. Doing this before gatherings ensures a warm, happy time for all who attend. The aroma of roses instills feelings of peace and happiness which are related to love.
Roses are also aphrodisiac, acting directly upon the brain and sexual centers of the body. The fragrance is of immense help in alleviating the sexual problems of women. Inhale the scent and visualize.
It is also helpful in overcoming cases of psychological impotence in men and, as Robert Tisserand writes in //The Art of Aromatherapy//, may increase sperm count.
Women can utilize the scent of roses to enhance their own inner beauty and, hence, their outward appearance. Stand before a mirror with a rose or one sacrificial drop of rose absolute or otto on a cotton ball. Stare into your eyes’ reflection. Visualize yourself as a confident, beautiful person. Inhale the mesmerizingly lovely, intensely floral scent.
//Allow// the rose energy to banish all doubts about your appearance, about your attractiveness. Don’t just believe that it can—actually feel it happening. Let the fragrance and the energies work with you in creating your needed change.
Repeat this simple ritual once a day for a week.