Plant Magick: The Rose, Genus Rosa

from Episode 3

“Loveliest of lovely things are they on earth that soonest pass away. The rose that lives its little hour is prized beyond the sculpted flower.” – William Cullen Bryant

“It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.” – Antoine de Saint, The Little Prince

“He that dares not grasp the thorn should never crave the rose.” – Anne Brontë, The Narrow Way

Roses have been mentioned in poetical works for just about as long as anyone can remember. They grew in the mythical gardens of Semiramis, the Queen of Assyria and King Midas of Phyrgia and appear in Gulestan, or The Flower Garden, a 13th century landmark of Persian literature. Even Greek Mythology has attributed the rose with beauty, youth and love.

The Story of Chloris, the Goddess of Flowers

On a walk through the woods, one morning, Chloris happens upon a beautiful young nymph who lay dead in her path. Upset by the sight of such a beautiful creature, gone too soon, Chloris decides to transform her form into that of a flower who’s beauty surpasses that of all other flowers.

She then calls on Aphrodite, who bestows some of her power of beauty onto the new bloom, followed by the Three Graces who offer up brilliance, joy and charm. She then implores Zephyrus her husband and the embodiment of the West Wind to blow away the clouds so that, Apollo, the god of the sun can send is blessings through his rays. Finally, Dionysius, the god of wine and festivity among other things, give to the flower, nectar and fragrance.

When this new flower is finished, Chloris and the other gods rejoiced over its unsurpassable charm, beauty and scent. She crafts a crown of dewdrops and proclaims this new flowers to be a ROSE and THE QUEEN OF ALL FLOWERS.

Aphrodite goes on to present a rose to her son, Eros, the god of Love. He in turn, gives the rose to Harpocrates, the god of silence and secrecy to induce him to keep concealed the weakness of the gods.

Thus the rose becomes a symbol of love and desire – when red – charm and innocence – when white and even silence and secrecy.

Fame & Notoriety

• Ancient council chambers were frequently adorned with a rose emblem on the ceiling, indicating that all in attendance were sworn to secrecy, sub rosa, or under the rose.

• The War of the Roses, a bloody battle for the throne of England fought between the royal cousin houses of York - whose emblem was the white rose - and that of Lancaster - whose emblem was the red rose.

• In the Victorian Language of Flowers, one could communicate many different intentions based on the color of the rose that was passed along in silence. Entire conversations could be had simply by the exchange of different blooms and bouquets, but where the singular rose is concerned the meanings were thus:

  • A White Rose could convey innocent love.

  • A blush pink rose communicated that there was a blossoming romance.

  • A deep red rose implied PASSION, in fact the deeper the color, the deeper the passion.

  • The darkest crimson roses which stood for mourning and grief.

  • Many modern folks know the yellow rose to symbolize friendship and joy – BUT in the Victorian language they actually signified jealousy and could even be used to accuse an individual of infidelity.

  • Orange roses would symbolize desire and enthusiasm.

  • Lavender conveyed sentiments of love at first sight.

  • Even the state of the rose or a portion of it could give meaning to the recipient:

    • Dried white roses meant that death was more desirable than the loss of virtue

    • A single rose leaf would signal that the recipient may hope for love.

    • Rosebuds, not yet in bloom, symbolized youthful beauty.

Magickal Properties & Ritual Use:

• Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs attributes the powers of Love, Psychic Powers, Healing, Love Divination, Luck and Protection to the rose.

• Judy Ann Nock’s The Modern Witchcraft Guide to Magickal Herbs assigns Romance, Love, Sexual Attraction and Spiritual Enlightenment to the flower.

• And Juliet Diaz’s Plant Witchery points to its powers of Protection, Love and Intuition.

About Protection

The roses ability to act as a protector is sometimes overlooked, understandably. When we think of roses almost all of us automatically think of love.

But what other figures can we think of that act out of love but are also fiercely protective? My mind immediately goes to the images of a mother or a queen. The rose is, in fact, the queen of flowers. Do queens not seek to rule with love while also making it perfectly clear that crossing them would be detrimental? The queen in my mind does anyway...

The rose, for all its beauty and grace, has sharp thorns – and they will draw blood should you approach a rose bush with carelessness. Tending requires careful maneuvering and lots of respect for the queen.

I find that when most practitioners are working with love or self-love magick, they could due with some protection as well. You want to find true love, of course, but you should want to seek to protect yourself from false suitors along your way. You want to learn to practice more self-love, but self-love also requires a level of assertiveness and strong-boundaries around people who would seek to tear you down.

The Rose offers the exact kind of bold protection that any kind of effective love magic could benefit from – and also what is more protective than powerful love?!

The Rose is ruled by the planet Venus, names for the goddess of love and beauty. That same goddess played a hand in maybe just as many battles as she did romances. Love… is not to be trifled with… and neither is the Rose…

So, when we work with this powerful ally, its important to listen to her desires as much as our own. She might want to help you find love or friendship… or she just might want to help you stand your ground with someone in your life who doesn’t seem to want to give you the respect you deserve. She’ll come forward where she’s needed.

Correspondences & Properties:

Planetary Ruler: Venus

Zodiac Sign: Taurus, Cancer, Libra, Sagittarius

Day of the Week: Friday

Element: Water

Tarot: Empress

Gemstone/Minerals: Desert Rose

Deities/Spirits: Adonis, Aphrodite, Cupid, Demeter, Eros, Flora (Chloris), Freya, Hathor, Holle, Isis, Venus

Intentions/Powers/Properties: affection, the afterlife, attachments, attraction, banishment, beginnings, blessings, calm, clairvoyance, compassion, confidence, connections, consecration, devotion, dignity, divination, fertility, fidelity, grace, happiness, harmony, healing, breaking hexes, intuition, jealousy (yellow), love, luck, sex magic, messages/omens/dreams, patience, peace, power, pride, protection, psychic ability, release, reversal, secrecy, sensuality, sex/uality, sleep, sorrow, spirituality, strength, trust, wisdom

An Excerpt from Plant Witchery: Discover the Sacred Language, Wisdom, and Magic of 200 Plants by Juliet Diaz:

Roses are queens. They are luxurious and sophisticated and hold SO many different meanings for so many different cultures. I could write an entire book just on the rose! She teaches us to open our eyes to the beauty of the world - the beauty of all things and all people. Dreams of roses can mean different things, depending on the color of the rose, but generally speaking she visits to bring you good news.

I especially loved the mention of the rose opening our eyes to all the beauty that surrounds us. It reminded me of the image of The Fool, holding the white rose and looking up at the beautiful afternoon sky, rather than where his feet are leading him. We don’t need to take a huge scary leap to embody this energy.

Tarot: the Fool from Fortune & Flora, Episode 3

Listen to Episode 3: Fortune & Flora - The Fool and the Rose