The Many Gifts of Connemara Marble

Connemara Marble heightens our ability to connect with the elemental kingdom and the Nature spirits, especially the faerie realm. You can pair this with the orchid essence Nature Communion for an enhanced Nature experience.

It also addresses the heart chakra, connects us to our ancestors (especially the Celtic & Gaelic connection), and promotes inner wisdom and common sense. Connemara Marble has also been known to help remember dreams connecting with Celtic and Gallic past lives. In addition, it provides access to the spiritual history of earth and creates a sense of peace, tranquility, restoration, and healing. This powerful gemstone also promotes love, emotional harmony, trust, and empathy. In fact, the famous Blarney Stone (kiss it and your wish will come true) is made of Connemara Marble! 

New to the world of flower essences? Today, we’re answering the two most frequently asked questions from flower essence beginners. You’re not alone if you’ve been wondering Where the heck did flower essences come from. In our fast-paced world, it seems as though new health fads are constantly surfacing. The good news is that flower essences aren’t one of them.

In this post we’ll explore the ancient roots of flower essences and their powerful, natural healing properties. Let’s dig in!

History of flower essences

With their high harmonic frequencies, flower essences support change, growth, and heightened spirituality. It is often assumed that flower essence healing is a fairly young, new age practice because of the momentum that it is gaining in the mainstream media as an innovative, new approach to healing. The truth is that flower essences, in some form or another, have been used for centuries. In fact, evidence exists that flower essences were used by the aborigines of Australia and Peru, as well as by Native Americans.

In the 16th century Swiss physician Paracelsus studied the essential qualities of life, which moved him to work with the healing power of flowers. It is said that he is the first to articulate the Doctrine of Signatures theory, introducing the notion that the external appearance of a plant provides clues to its healing properties. He even had his patients drink the dew from flowers in order to access these healing properties.

Flower essences saw a modern revival in the early 1900’s with the help of renowned flower essence practitioner Dr. Edward Bach. Dr. Bach was an English pathologist and bacteriologist who gave birth to the revival of the ancient knowledge of flower essences. Inspired by 18th century German physician Samuel Hahnemann and his homeopathic principles, Dr. Bach recognized that nature provides more gentle, effective healing than many medical practices. And so, Dr. Bach went on to prepare 38 flower essences that have come to be known as the Bach Flower Essences. (Editor’s Note - Star Essences has our own line of Golden Bach Flower Essences, inspired by the very essences created by Dr. Bach!)

How do flower essences work?

Flower essences are crafted by imprinting the unique energetic signature of a flower into pure, clean water. This imprinted water is known as the mother essence. Flowers are the highest expression of a plant’s development. They are the soul of the plant. When placed in water and infused with the energy of sunlight, the flowers are able to charge the water with their energetic imprint. Being that everything that exists has a frequency, whether high or low, flower essences, and their high frequency, are able to raise the energetic frequency of users. Flower essences shift lower frequencies to higher frequencies, allowing users to operate on a higher energetic plane.

There you have it - a brief history of the ancient practice of flower essence healing and the powerful ways that flower essences offer their healing properties. We hope this helps spark a lifelong love of flower essences!

New to flower essences? Wondering how flower essences differ from essential oils and aromatherapy? You’ve come to the right place. There are a few things you will need to know as you embark upon your love affair with flower essences.

Today, we’re bringing you 4 truths about flower essences to clear confusion and ignite your passion for the vibrational healing of flower essences!

4 Truths About Flower Essences

1.    Flower essences do not have a floral scent.

When most people think of flowers, they think of beautiful, breathtaking aromas. We can’t walk by a gorgeous flower without stopping to sneak a sniff of its scent. The truth is, however, that flower essences do not carry a scent. An essence in its pure form contains the powerful, vibrational signature of the flower without having a floral aroma. In fact, most flower essences have a faint smell of alcohol from the preservative used to guarantee quality and cleanliness. Some essence blends, like our Angel Spray, carry a scent because of the addition of essential oils. The essential oils on their own possess powerful healing properties, so when combined with the powerful, vibrational energy of flower essences we can create a transformative healing blend.

2.    Flower essences are different than essential oils and aromatherapy.

Quite frequently flower essences are confused with essential oils and aromatherapy. The truth is that they differ in a number of ways. As mentioned above, essential oils carry a strong aroma, while flower essences do not. Because the work of flower essences is performed on an energetic level, they do not need to carry the aroma of the flower in order to provide their healing benefits. Essential oils and flower essences also differ in that essential oils require a large amount of the plant to create an oil, while flower essences only require as little as one flower to craft an essence.

3.    There are no adverse side effects of taking flower essences.

Ever watch a prescription drug commercial and find yourself completely perplexed and utterly frightened by the never-ending list of negative side effects from a drug for relieving eczema? Is silky, smooth skin worth the risk of depression and blood clots? Luckily, with flower essence healing, you don’t have to make that choice.

With flower essences, users cannot overdose. They also are free from possible adverse side effects. When using flower essences, the worst that can happen is nothing. The best that can happen is a magical miracle. Now that’s a risk worth taking!

4.    Flower essences will transform your life from the inside out.

Flower essences carry the energetic signature of flowers, allowing them to perform their healing work, not on a the physical level, but on the energetic level. The energetic properties of the flowers interact with your body’s energetic system, enacting change from the inside out. When using flower essences, you begin to transform the energetics of your body, which in turn transforms the energetics of your life!

My recent trip to Hot Springs, Arkansas was life changing. Seriously life changing. A few months ago a friend forwarded a couple of links to some YouTube videos (see links at bottom). I watched them and immediately felt I needed to get to Hot Springs and get in the water there. Hot Springs is adjacent to several lakes, one of them being Lake Ouachita (pronounced wash-ah-taw). It is considered one of the cleanest lakes of its size in America. It also has one the largest veins of Quartz crystal in the world running under it. The gist of the videos was that the crystals in Hot Springs, Arkansas (as well as Brazil) were being activated at a new level beginning in 2015.

My feeling was get there, get in the water, receive the transmissions and get back to my lovely Santa Barbara. 4 days would be plenty. I remembered I had a friend, Kayse, there, and made some calls, and ended up putting a trip together with her called "Arkansas Crystal Adventure." 8 Women came, in addition to Kayse and I.

People would say to me, “ I can’t make it this time, and I want to go with you next year” or, "Do you think you will be doing this again?" Inside my head I was saying, No way: I’m going to make a quick trip to Arkansas for 4 days- receive the transmissions, and go home. The words that came out of my mouth were, “ You never know."

It feels like every single thing that happened was a divinely guided blessing.

We made our itinerary- which was amusing, since I had never been there. We scheduled a day with Kayse’s husband Gary. My feeling was that I didn’t want to hear someone talk all day, when I could be outside. I was saying maybe 1/2 day. Kayse assured me we would need at least one day. We agreed on a full day because  it is very experiential- with a trip to the lake after.

Oh My!!! How right she was!!!! We did not want to tear ourselves away. Gary is a Guru. A devoted meditator and devotee of yogananda for over 40 years, and a crystal wizard since he was 9 years old. He is a mining engineer, who immediately shifted to crystals after some amazing experiences with the crystal beings. Crystals are his life work and he has worked with every aspect of them.

His stories go on and on and we were all mesmerized- as well as activated by the crystal grids that he and Kayse set up for us. This is a very condensed version of what happened. Someday (soon) he will create a crystal temple with crystals he has been collecting for this purpose for the past 40 + years.

We began our journey with a despacho (offering) at the lake to bless our journey. It was beautiful.

Another divine thing that happened is that the week before we arrived there was a Kryon event right in Hot Springs, featuring Greg Bradden, Joe Dispensa and Bruce Lipton. There were 600 light workers there. Very interesting… Some of our participants went early and attended some of the events, and Kayse volunteered, so she knew what was happening, knew that the next week- the week myself and the others arrived, many of the light workers would still be there. She knew the Crystalline Choir would be singing special tones, and that they allowed an audience to attend. There were around 300 choir members. They sing what they call the Pineal Tones once a year, in different places on the planet. This year the chosen spot was Hot Springs, Arkansas.  I and several others in our group attended this.

Beyond words… Yes, way beyond amazing.

After that we really wanted to get back into the lake! Which of course we did.

And so the week went. On our last day beautiful Sandy Rose, who had been preparing all of our delicious, organic, vegetarian, blessed meals, invited us to go out to have our lunch on her boat, which would hold all of us. (Kayse’s boat is smaller, so she would shuttle us back and forth so we could hang out in the deeper water with foam noodles in the special places on the lake that she is aware of- after being there for almost 20 years.)

Sandy Rose wanted to take us to see a bald eagle nest, and perhaps, if we were lucky, we would catch a glimpse of an eagle. What happened thrilled and amazed us all. Not only did we catch a glimpse- We saw FIVE of them! First we saw the nest...

 Then we saw them flying...

Then we saw 3 of them on the beach (they really are there)...

Then we saw them landing in the trees…

Someone mentioned Eagle Essence- and everything inside me lit up.

I remembered that I had brought my empty bottle that day, to get some lake water. I had brought it to Arkansas thinking that I would make some crystal essences, and that wasn’t happening. And EAGLE was! I fetched my bottle from the boat, all the time asking for signs, and the Eagles would fly by. I got the bottle, went back to where they were on the shore, and made the essence. I then asked if I really had their energy to give me another sign. I was swimming back with the bottle, wondering- and all of a sudden it was like the finale at the fourth of July. They were all flying around, seemingly buzzing us. Giving me signs. Saying Fly Like an Eagle.

Part 18 of the series The Moment of Bloom ~ My Ecstatic Journey Making the Bach Flower Essences in a Golden Bowl 

I've been searching for the words... I'm not so sure that even now I have them, and I will say that the FEELINGS for me, of what happened are profound.

Making the Chicory essence was powerful. I felt the presence of the Chicory so strongly on the day I made it. I remember the feeling, and even being aware of the strength of the connection. There was also strong guidance for picking flowers in several locations. I sent out my newsletter announcing the Chicory, and when I got the e-mail from my friend saying that the "Chicory" photos were actually of Cornflower, I was pretty disconcerted, to say the least.

I went searching for answers. I centered myself and went to walk the labyrinth on my land. Right away- like immediately, and without even asking- the energy of the Chicory was in my face, very much in my energy field. That's the best way I can explain it. The message was specific that the Chicory energy was in the essence. There wasn't really a conversation. It was simply abundantly clear that I was to let this essence go out. (I would have been perfectly fine to "recall" the essence, and in fact I was prepared to do just that.)

Essences can be made without cutting the flower. Many essence makers do this. I have always done it by cutting the flower- because I didn't trust myself and my connection to the spirit of the plant, and just in case, there would be the physical action of cutting the flower into the water. I do my best to remain impeccable in this. I feel very good about my essence making, and I have often heard from my guides that I am a good essence maker- and that is why I was called on to make so many essences. (Currently I've made over 250 individual essences, and having so many products has made my business more complicated in many respects.) The plant spirits and gem guardians don't seem to be concerned about economics or logistics or storage or any of that. They are happy to have their gifts available.

I know this exercise with the Chicory is my lesson. With plants (and things that don't have mobility) there is an Oversoul. I'm not sure that is even the right word. The soul of the plant or gem is not held within it- thus the plant is not "killed" when we cut it. That is another reason I always have felt fine about cutting the flowers, and even eating them.

I had been wondering just what the Cornflower is about and why it was in the essence, and if I didn't even know it was there, was there a connection? And all sorts of other thoughts. There are times that I can tune in to the spirits and there are other times that it just doesn't happen. Right now it is around 4:30 AM with a visible eclipse happening. I could see it for most of it, and now it has gone below my horizon. Of course it is still happening whether I can see it or not.

There is some analogy with that.

So why do we have the Cornflower with the Chicory?

It deepens the power of the essence. It gives it a broader spectrum. It moves the vibration slightly to address the 21st century. 

The Chicory helps us to release the need to control, change or make others to be what we deem more perfect. The Cornflower helps us to release our idea of what perfection is.

It helps us to know that our idea of perfection and someone else's idea of perfection aren't necessarily the same, and it isn't necessary to change their idea. There is room for it all. The Cornflower gives another dimension to the essence. This Chicory essence isn't just about dealing with the need let everyone else know how to do it right, it's about the allowance of expanding what is "right." Chicory helps you feel okay about yourself, regardless of how you perceive that others are behaving, and with the Cornflower something deeper- a greater acceptance of everything- can happen.

The essence needed to be made the way it was because my rational mind would not have done it. I would have wanted the Chicory to be pure. I would have wanted it my way, and I wouldn't have had room to allow for it to be different from what I deemed "perfect."

Again the Chicory comes and shows me that the bottles with the drops are infused with its energy. The Cornflower laughs, because since I have the photographs of it, it doesn't have to "prove" anything to me.

I am also being shown the power of the drops, since yes, we can connect to the spirit of the plant and bring the energy to us (without taking drops), and it has taken me several weeks (and the full moon eclipse) to get to this beautiful connecting place. This place gratefully also comes on days I make essences, and I can't always conjure up the connection at at a moment's notice. I CAN take a bottle of essences and take the drops 4 x a day or more, and keep that frequency until my body continues to remember it- which can sometimes (and not always) take awhile- like days, weeks, months. Sometimes (often) taking drops is just easier than taking the time to make the connection with the plant spirit.

This is a whole lot of words, to explain a feeling that happened in seconds.

Take the essence. It will teach you, and expand your field of acceptance.

Part 17 of the series The Moment of Bloom ~ My Ecstatic Journey Making the Bach Flower Essences in a Golden Bowl 

The Oak tree was calling. I was feeling it. I started looking around and didn't see it in bloom yet, and still I kept hearing it. I looked at the oaks I had planted on my land. No blossoms. I looked up how old oak trees were when they bloomed. 20 years. So mine wouldn't be blooming any time soon- they'll need another 10 years. I sent out a message to a couple of friends that I figured might have some in bloom. I never heard from them. Then- I was with some lovely ladies doing a Blue Lotus meditation. Right after the meditation we were dreamily talking about what we had seen. We were deep in the magic of Egypt, when out of the Blue (pun intended), Diane says: "Have you seen my Oak tree outside in full bloom? It's amazing!"

I nearly fell off the couch. She said she just felt like she had to say it right then. Of course at that moment I knew the Oak Golden Bach Essence was about to happen.

The next morning Diane e-mailed me and said I was welcome to the Oak tree(s) any time. All of a sudden, just like in the past when I had a new boyfriend- I had to see that Oak tree. That was where all of the energy was. No matter that I had only a sliver of time before I was due at a meeting, and plenty of other things to do. There was time to make the drive up the mountain, and get back in time. No question, I had to follow that energy. It's the only thing I wanted to do. I just wanted to say Hi to the tree. I would go back when there was more time to actually make the essence.

I love that feeling, that feeling of being in love.

And this time it was with a tree.

I jumped in my car and drove up highway 154 in eager anticipation. I got there, and it was in radiant glory!! I could feel its happiness and embrace. It was in total bloom. Oak flowers everywhere.

It felt ecstatic that it was going to be an essence.

Then I remembered. When Diane moved in about 4 and a half years ago, the oaks were very sad, seemingly dying. She began working with them, and giving them essences. Lots of essences, especially Earth Balancing Trinity, and other essences as they called. Now, 4 1/2 years later- have a look.

The trees are so happy to give back. They have been nurtured with essences, and now they get to BE one. They kept telling ME how grateful THEY were.

Such a special journey. That feeling of being in Love, for me, was such a great sign that I'm doing the right thing.

“As you dissolve into love, your ego fades. You’re not thinking about loving; you’re just being love, radiating like the sun.” 

-Ram Dass

It felt like the day was made for me. I woke up early, filled with excitement, and that happy-for-no-reason feeling. I knew there was the possibility of making the dolphin essence. I had it in my heart to make it for over 15 years, waiting for the right moment... I knew it had to be in the Santa Barbara channel, and I didn't know much else- except it would have to feel right, and be graceful.

Maureen Bell, who is an inter-species communicator- in particular with whales and dolphins- and Art Cisneros, a Chumash elder, invited me and a group of other conscious folks for a cetacean-communing cruise on the Condor Express, a wonderful local whale watching charter. They organized the journey knowing that when we commune with these beings, we are changed- our vibration is raised and our hearts are opened and our DNA is rewoven. Also, we had an intention of transmuting some of the toxins in the ocean- and the food the dolphins and whales were eating. I'm not sure how successful we were with that. The message Maureen received from the whales was simply to receive their gift.

We were supposed to meet at the marina at 7:30am. The bucket I thought I would use had disappeared, and so did the rope, so I had to find a store open early. I found the perfect turquoise bucket (turquoise seemed very dolphin-y) - and no rope. Oh well, it's a boat!  They're bound to have some rope. (Of course, I am reminded, in the nautical world you're supposed to call it line, not rope.) Otherwise we were going to be tying shoelaces together if it really wanted to happen.

As we were getting on board I spoke with Eric, one of the crew, telling him what I wanted to do: I wanted to make a dolphin essence, with the dolphin water. He thought that was pretty cool, and figured he could come up with some line (rope). He spoke to the captain, and the captain said it was okay to do, as long as Eric did it with me. His big concern was that he wanted to make sure we didn't drop that bucket into the ocean. I like that. The Condor Express crew were very conscious, letting us know that there are no parts on the boat that can harm the critters... no sharp things, everything is safe. And as far as tracking the whales- they only do it with photographs. No tagging or anything. That was all really good to hear, and you could feel how much they loved their jobs. They seemed to get as excited as us to see the fabulous creatures.

Maureen is amazing in her conviction. She never had a moment of doubt that the dolphins would show up, because she had specifically made an appointment with them. She assured me we would see many of them, and indeed, there were two of them greeting us as we left the mouth of the harbor- to welcome us.

First we saw the sea lions, and then we started seeing more and more dolphins. They just kept showing up, and "surfing" with our boat. At one point I started to get the bucket, and Eric showed up and said we would come to an even better place, and they would slow the boat way down. A little later, Eric, on his own, showed up with the bucket. He was quite happy to be a part of this event. We made the essence. It was so easy. Eric even got a funnel so we could put it into the clean glass bottle I brought. I anointed the folk on the boat with some of the mother essence. Oh what FUN.

And- that brings me to the people who showed up. Oh My! Around 40 or 50 people who crisscrossed many different circles that I am in. I knew nearly everyone, and met a few new folks, and everyone was excited, and from the minute we saw the first dolphin, in the first 2 minutes of our journey, hearts opened and opened and continued to open. We would all squeal with excitement every time we saw something wonderful- Minkey whales, over 1000 dolphins, dolphins mating, mother and baby whale, spouting whales, whale tails- all that extracted great joy from all of us. We were, for sure, a happy group.  We toned and sang to the whales and dolphins. Art sang them songs. It was the perfect atmosphere to make the essence. It was the best most amazing heart fest and field of love.

O What a Happy Day!

The dolphin essence is called "DolFUN ~ Being Love" and addresses unconditional love, unity consciousness, lightheartedness and play. It can also be helpful for clearing and healing the earth's waters, and like all of the essences, has myriad other gifts.

Part 16 of the series The Moment of Bloom ~ My Ecstatic Journey Making the Bach Flower Essences in a Golden Bowl 

The Clematis had been spotted in the wild by Aanjelae (Star Essence Office Priestess and Customer Service Angel) on her long weekend hikes. I was very happy to know it was there, and the time to go on the search didn't seem to be there. Then Lori Ann (my friend and botanist) told me she has it growing in her yard.  I went and had a look.  It was very beautiful.  After that the purple clematis kept coming to me- I could see it so often when I closed my eyes.  I kept thinking, should I go on that hike and find it in the wild?  Would that be best?  The Clematis from the yard was relentless.  It said, Make it easy on yourself.  The energy of the wild clematis is going to come and offer it's energy as well.

So again, I went to Lori Ann's amazing garden, and made the Clematis, and it was super cosmic!

I kept seeing holograms of the flowers hovering above the bowl. It was gorgeous. And indeed, I could feel the energy of the Clematis from the mountain trail move in. It was a beautiful thing, as I could see and feel the energy move in through Aanjelae's heart and into the bowl. I'd never had that happen before. Then energies from clematis everywhere started following- entering the bowl. They came in like little gentle energetic angel butterflies. It was very different than when the pines were entering the bowl- which was more like a zoom or a whoosh.

Part 15 of the series The Moment of Bloom ~ My Ecstatic Journey Making the Bach Flower Essences in a Golden Bowl

Beech came quickly and easily, at my botanical friend Lori Ann's yard.There it was, right in bloom- both male and female flowers going into the essence. I could feel the Beech tree energy entering me as I was driving up the mountain to her home. Beech trees from all over coming to share and add their energy.

As I sat and watched the bowl I saw a golden orb moving around in front of me, and I'm wishing I could have somehow documented it...  It was about the size of a ping pong ball. It looked like a golden dandelion floating. It was fun. I don't know if it had any other message.

Afterwards Dr. Bach was clapping his hands and saying, Well done! It is such a joy to feel Dr. Bach's presence so powerfully as I embrace this project. I feel such support from the higher realms.

NEXT: Making the CLEMATIS Essence