Rose: Bringer of Beauty and Protection

Celebrate this potent symbol of the cycles of life

My conception of roses has changed a great deal over the past several years. In my mind, roses had been sullied by a commercialized kind of love. That began to shift for me when I read The Way of the Rose, which opened my mind to both roses and rosaries as a means to honor our mother Earth. That shift has been slow and gradual over the past several years, but has been accelerated recently by participating in

Tad Hargrave

and Kakismo Iskwew’s class on Briar Rose. That class has shifted the story of Briar Rose from a watered down patriarchal mush, to a vital tale of human initiation and the natural cycles of life on earth. There is something unique to rose that seems to allow for a more nuanced understanding of love, a renewed self-love and self-acceptance, and a renewal of our relationship to life on earth, as love is often a remembering of our interconnectedness. Fossil evidence suggests that roses are 40 million years old and there are more than 150 species of roses, so rose has been helping us connect to each other for a long time.

Identification

It can be hard to tell one rose species from another, and they like to mingle (by which I mean hybridize) with each other. Though domesticated roses often have many layers of petals, wild roses always have five. Their stems are thorny, but can take different forms: upright, climbing, trailing, or forming thickets. (from Wild Remedies online bonus chapters) The leaves are pinnate, meaning they have a stalk with 3 to 9 smaller leaflets coming off of the stalk. The fruits of rose plants are known as rosehips.

By Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4289479

How to Harvest

The best time to harvest petals is in mid-summer when they are looking healthy. The best time to harvest rose hips is in autumn. If you are going to use rosehips, they have seeds and hairs that can be irritating. I tend to use them whole, which avoids this, though may not be as potent medicinally. Alternatively, I do find that it is worth the money to order deseeded rosehips rather than removing them myself. If you have a good trick for this, I’d love to hear it.

Recipes

Queen of Hearts Simple Syrup (From Mountain Rose Herbs)

Ingredients

• 4 cups water

• 2/3 cup organic hawthorn berries

• 1/4 cup organic ginger root

• 1/2 cup organic rose petals

• 1 cup organic unrefined sugar

Directions

1. Add water, hawthorn berries, and ginger root to a medium-sized saucepan.

2. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer.

3. Place lid on pot and allow to simmer for 40 minutes.

4. Remove from heat and add rose petals.

5. Infuse for another 10 minutes

6. Strain infusion into jar and squeeze herbs to get as much liquid as possible. (It will yield about 2 1/2 cups)

7. Add sugar and stir until dissolved.

8. Allow to cool, label jar and date made, and store in refrigerator for 3-5 days.

Rose Petal Honey (From Wild Remedies online bonus chapters)

1. Fill a jar with rose petals, without stuffing tightly

2. Fill the jar with honey

3. Let sit for 3 days before using on toast, ice cream, tea (the sky’s the limit)

You many also want to add in some lemon balm to the mix as well.

Rose Petal Beads

This isn’t a recipe per se, more of a craft, but a really lovely connection to a practice many of our ancestors would have engaged in. There are a lot of videos about how to do it, but here are the main steps.

1. Mash rose petals up into a pulp with the texture of a smoothie. I like to use a mortar and pestle because it’s traditional, but blenders do the work much quicker.

2. Heat the rose petals on low in a pan (cast-iron if you have it, one of my classmates tells me the iron acts as a mordant.) When the mush starts to stick to the pan you have removed enough water

3. Shape the rose petal mush around a toothpick or large needle. Using a fine pin to make a pilot hole of sorts can be helpful for this. The videos I saw suggested it takes a week for these beads to dry. It’s a very dry time of year so it has only been taking about 2 days here.

Medicinal Uses

General

• Antioxidant

• Lowers fevers

• Probiotic

• Relaxes smooth muscle (like intestines, ureters, uterus)

• Rosehips are very rich in vitamin C

• In Macedonia, Greece, they make a syrup with boiled fruits and petals of the dog rose (Rosa canina), which was used to stimulate the immune system and prevent heart disease

• In modern China, tea granules of Rosa laevigata are used to cool people in the summer heat

Cardiovascular

• Supports the heart physically and emotionally (from Wild Remedies online bonus chapters)

• Lowers cholesterol

Gastrointestinal

• Prevents ulcers

• Rosehips are a gentle laxative

Infectious Disease

• Antimicrobial

• Antifungal

• The root was once believed to cure rabies, which may be the reason for the name “dog rose” (Baïracli-Levy 134)

• In modern China, tea granules of Rosa laevigata are used to treat colds, sore throats, and fever.

Skin

• Useful for wound healing due to insect bites and stings, cuts, and scrapes (from Wild Remedies online bonus chapters)

• Rose petals can be used as a poultice or hydrosol to relieve sunburns (from Wild Remedies online bonus chapters)

• Rose petal and green tea extract relieves seborrheic dermatitis (cradle cap). It can also help with eczema and psoriasis

Urinary

• In modern China, Rosa laevigata tablets are used to treat kidney and urinary tract infections as well as other kidney energetic problems that don’t have a clear analog in western medicine

Gynecology

• In modern China, another formulation of Rosa laevigata tablets are used to treat uterine and other pelvic infections, including pelvic inflammatory disease.

• PMS

Mental Health

• Antidepressant

• Psychological relaxation

Sexual Health

• Improvement of sexual dysfunction

Medical Literature

General:

• A chemical in roses, called limonene, is anti-inflammatory

• A chemical in roses, called citronellol, prevents muscle spasms

• Another compound in roses acts as an anesthetic in rodents

• Inhalation of rose oil decreases activation of the sympathetic (fight, flight, fawn, or freeze) nervous system, including reduction in breathing rate, heart rate and blood pressure

• Extract from the fruit of Rosa canina decrease the perception of pain and has anti-inflammatory effects

Ear, Nose, and Throat:

• A mouthwash made from rose extract was found in a randomized controlled trial to be effective at relieving pain, decreasing the size, and decreasing inflammation of canker sores (from Wild Remedies online bonus chapters)

Cardiology:

• Lowers blood pressure and heart rate

• Rosa rugosa flower extract alleviates injury to the heart that can occur after blood flow is restored during a heart attack (reperfusion injury).

Gastroenterology:

• Rose oil increased movement of the intestines in animal studies

• Rosa rugosa extract decreased liver damage due to alcohol consumption

Infectious Diseases:

• Multiple compounds in roses have antibacterial and antifungal properties, including against fungal toenail infections

• R. rugosa root extract acted against HIV-1 protease (like the group of HIV medicines called protease inhibitors)

• Two members of the Rose family have antiviral activity against coronaviruses that affect the intestines

• Chemicals that are present in roses have been found to block the yellow fever virus from copying itself

• Compounds present in roses are also very effective against influenza viruses, killing them in less than 10 minutes. Those compounds also have antiviral properties against herpes and parainfluenza viruses.

• Methanol extracts (a type of alcohol you cannot safely drink) from Damask rose had antibacterial effects against at least 11 types of bacteria including E. coli and S. aureus. The essential oil was also effective against S. aureus, E. coli, yeast, and several other types of bacteria

Metabolic:

• Limonene prevents diabetes

• Limonese prevents high cholesterol

• Extract of Rosa damascena lowers blood sugar in animal studies.

Neurology:

• Linalool, a compound in roses, prevents seizures

• Animal studies suggest that Rosa hybrida extract protects the brain during seizures.

• Damask rose extract decreases seizure frequency and decreased the frequency and size of brain waves associated with seizures. It also protected the brain from cell death during seizures.

• Extract of Rosa laevigata flowers prevent injury to the brain when blood flow is restored after a stroke (reperfusion injury)

• Topical Damask rose oil relieves migraines

• Animal studies in rats suggest that Damask rose extract reversed behavioral changes in rats with Alzheimer’s disease.

Dermatology:

• A compound in roses has preservative-like effects for cosmetics

• Water and alcohol extracts have anti-aging and antioxidant effects and extracts of Rosa gallica can decrease wrinkles.

Gynecology:

• For women with severely painful menstrual cramps, Damask rose essential oil plus an NSAID medication (like ibuprofen or naproxen) is more effective than the NSAID alone.

• Massage with rose essential oil in a carrier oil also reduced menstrual cramps move effectively that almond oil massage or no massage.

Urology:

• Damask rose essential oil prevents damage to the testicles from diabetes

Oncology:

• Water extract of Damask rose (R. damascena) was effective against human tumor (HeLa cells) and cancerous lymph cells

• The highest concentration of the water extract reduced the survival rate of the HeLa cells by nearly 95% and the cancerous lymph cells by 47%

• Water and alcohol extracts of Damask rose were effective at preventing the spread of cancerous gastrointestinal cells

• In spite of these strong cancer-fighting properties, rose extracts do not damage human DNA. However, rose essential oil can damage human genes at higher doses.

• Damask rose essential oil also killed several types of cancer cells, including lung cancer, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, cervical cancer, leukemia, liver cancer, and cancerous lymph cells. A vaporized form of the essential oil was also effective at killing colon and stomach cancer cells.

• Damask rose essential oil significantly improved cancer patients' sleep quality as well.

Psychiatry:

• Inhalation of Damask rose essential oil reduces anxiety and improves sleep quality. This was also found to be an effective remedy for operating room personnel during the COVID pandemic.

• Damask rose oil can also provide relief for men with sexual dysfunction because of SSRIs.

• Inhalation of rose oil decreases activity in the prefrontal cortex (planning center of the brain), which increases comfort

• Animal studies suggest that Rosa moschata extract can significantly relieve stress.

• In fact, simply viewing fresh red roses significantly improved mood and feelings of being natural, relaxed, and comfortable

Other:

• Geraniol, a compound in roses, kills insects, mites and ticks, and acts as an insect repellent

Adverse Effects

Rosewater does not have any known side effects. Rose hips used in usual doses can cause allergic reactions, but is otherwise considered safe. High doses of rose hips may increase the risk of blood clots. Rose hips can also cause common medication side effects like heartburn, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and constipation, as well as headaches or sleep problems. In general, the adverse effects or rose have not been well studied, but it has been used medicinally around the world for a long time.

Ecosystem Services

Wild roses provide nesting sites for birds. They also shelter small mammals like rabbits and mice. Deer, elk, moose, bears, beavers, and rabbits eat their leaves and stems. Prairie rose is very important to rabbits, it was unclear whether this was as a food source or as protected shelter. They also provide cover for birds, skinks, and black-tailed prairie dogs. Kollibri terre Sonnenblume shared that sharp-tailed grouse and grizzly bears like to eat the rose hips of Woods’ rose.

History and Folklore

Garden cultivation of roses most likely began in China 5000 years ago. Roses have been made into an oil or balm for fragrance, since at least the 8th century BCE. Rose petals were a favorite component of potpourri in Tudor England, where the pleasant aroma was thought to ward off the plague. Roses have been the national flower of England since the English Civil War (the War of the Roses) in the 15th century. In that war, the red rose represented the House of Lancaster, while the white rose represented the House of York.

Aphrodite is associated with the creation story of both white and red roses, as well as their thorns, in ancient Greece. When she was born from the sea, where the sea foam around her touched the earth, white roses sprung forth. Later, Ares was jealous of her lover Adonis. He sent a wild boar to kill Adonis. When Aphrodite scrambled to save him, she scratched herself on a rose bush, bleeding on it, and leaving the red flowers behind.

Eros once leaned into kiss a rose and was stung by a bee hiding in its petals. Annoyed, he went to his mother (Aphrodite), who gave him magic arrows to “fight back”. Where the arrows missed, they became the rose’s thorns.

In The Iliad, rose oil was used to anoint the body of Hector before burial. Similarly, Egyptians used rose balm to anoint the dead.

In Roman mythology, Cupid married Psyche. His mother Venus became jealous and conspired against her. This led to Psyche having to go to the underworld to retrieve a golden rose. As a reward for accomplishing the task, she was given immortality. Romans also believed that roses held secrets so in confidential meetings, roses were hung around the room. Members of the meeting were said to be sub rosa, meaning they had sworn an oath not to share what was in that room.

White roses are said to represent innocence and honesty, while red roses represent passion, sometimes to the point of fury. In fact, some Christians believed the blood of Jesus turned white roses to red.

Also within Christianity, the rose is associated with the Virgin Mary. The rosary is one of the most prominent symbols of Catholicism, but according to The Way of the Rose by Clark Strand and

Perdita Finn

, holding a rosary up by its loop forms the much more ancient symbol of woman. The word rosary, itself, speaks of the rose garlands that were woven in honor of the Virgin Mary in the spring. However, before the Virgin Mary, those garlands were offered to many other goddesses including Venus and Isis. The first rosary-like prayer practice with beads likely occurred about 5000 years ago. (Strand and Finn 3) In a very real way roses and the rosary were a “way of grafting devotion to the Virgin onto the rootstock of far older, more Earth-centered forms of goddess worship handed down from prehistoric times.” (Strand and Finn 4)

In India, roses are a symbol of love, beauty, and purity. Lord Krishna was entranced by Radha’s beauty, so decided to shower her with rose petals from his heavenly garden. The Hindu goddess Lakshmi was said to have been created from 108 large rose petals and 1008 small rose petals.

In Iran, the poet Hafez wrote about roses as symbols of love and spirituality. According to Persian legend, when the Prophet Muhammed’s daughter fell ill, his tears fell and became a blooming rose when they touched the earth.

In medieval Europe, knights wore roses as a reminder that gentleness should accompany ferocity.

Rosa laevigata has been used medicinally in China since at least the 10th century AD. At that time, it was written that it was, “often used in Chinese traditional medicine.”

Many Northwest Coastal Native Americans used roses for spiritual cleansing and protection. The stem was placed over babies’ cradleboards. According to the US Forest Service, “The Navajo and Lakota Native American tribes had many uses for prairie rose. Boiled roots were used for colds, fevers, diarrhea, influenza, and stomach and liver disorders. Tea made from petals was purportedly used as a heart tonic, to stop mouth bleeds, and to treat sore throats and tonsillitis. Rose hip tea was prescribed as a remedy for tuberculosis. Prairie rose hips and/or roots were steeped in water and used to treat eye inflammation. Crushed roots were made into hot compresses to treat swelling. Plains Native Americans used prairie rose as a source of food.”

Magical Uses

Rose petals can be sprinkled around the house to calm stress. Rose tea also encourages prophetic dreams. Ritual baths or handwashing with rose petals can be used for love magic. They are guardians against negative magic like evil eyes. Aurora Moone states that rose petals attract specific energies, while rose thorns banish them.

Plant Spirit Medicine and Flower Essences

The spirit of Rose is associated with love, beauty, and sensuality. Spiritually, she is capable of opening our hearts and protecting it simultaneously. Rose flower essence represents joy. She calls your attention to the sweetness of life and supports your personal growth regardless of your current growing conditions. She is nurturing and healing, fostering a feeling of self-love and self-respect. Rose flower essence connects us to divine parental love, which helps us to understand that we are nurtured and cared for by higher spiritual powers. Rose shares its medicine for blossoming, regeneration, and recovery. It helps us reclaim our strength after traumatic events.

Blessing

Oh sweet and beautiful rose
Thank you for sharing your soft touch and transcendent smell with us
Thank you for helping us to show love to others
Thank you for connecting us to the divine
And our beloved dead
Thank you for reminding us that our own beauty must be protected
Please help us to celebrate our coming of age
And to operate within the cycles of nature
Help us to hear the eternal call of our interconnectedness

Works Cited

Baïracli-Levy, Juliette de. Common Herbs for Natural Health. Ash Tree Publishing, 1997.

Strand, Clark, and Perdita Finn. The Way of the Rose: The Radical Path of the Divine Feminine Hidden in the Rosary. Random House Publishing Group, 2019.