Understanding The Impatiens Flower Essence
How this flower essence remedy may balance the challenging cosmic energies of the current Mars-Mercury transit
Mars and Mercury Exchanging Signs: Potential for Anger, Frustration, and Communication Breakdowns
As I discussed in a recent article, Mars and Mercury are exchanging signs from March 31 until May 10. This is known as Parivartana Yoga, Mutual Exchange, or Mutual Reception, and it is occurring because Mars is in Mercury's sign of Gemini, while Mercury is in Mars' sign of Aries. This exchange can indicate a higher-than-normal tendency for anxiety, anger, annoyance, frustration, and impatience. This placement is also associated with communication breakdowns, transportation issues, cyber-attacks, violence, accidents, acute health issues, debt crises, legal matters, and problems with siblings or neighbors.
Impatiens Flower Essence: Balancing the Challenging Energy of this Mars-Mercury Transit
Physician and homeopath Edward Bach developed the system of Bach flower essences in the 1930s. He found that each flower has unique qualities, and that consuming, inhaling, or interacting with these essences might influence one’s outlook, emotional state, and behavior. As an example, Impatiens Flower Essence, one of the original Bach flower remedies, is specifically recommended to pacify and balance the kinds of emotional reactions indicated by an afflicted Mars, such as with the current Mars-Mercury exchange.
Dr. Edward Bach, 1886-1936
The Flower Essence Services website is one of the best sources available on this topic. The website also shares many additional valuable resources.
Here is a small excerpt about the essences, what they are, how they are made, and how to use them:
Flower essences are liquid extracts used to address profound issues of emotional well-being, soul development, and mind-body health. They are part of an emerging field of subtle energy medicine, which also includes homeopathy, acupuncture, color therapy, therapeutic touch, and similar modalities. Although flowers have been used for healing for many centuries, flower essences in their modern form were first developed in the 1930s by an English physician, Dr. Edward Bach. He prepared 38 remedies, mostly from English wildflowers.
In recent decades companies such as FES [Flower Essence Services] have researched new flower essences from other plant species. Flower essences are dilute, potentized herbal infusions or decoctions, prepared from wildflowers or pristine garden blossoms. They are made directly in the ‘laboratory of nature,’ where the four alchemical elements of earth, water, air and fire are found in harmonious balance. To this is added the fifth ‘quintessential’ element of the sensitive awareness and attunement of the preparer.
The fresh, dew-filled blossoms are gathered in the early morning of a clear, sunny day. Floating on the surface of a bowl of water, they are irradiated by the warmth and light of the sun for several hours. This process creates an energetic imprint of the etheric energy pattern of the flower in the water, embodying the healing archetype of that plant. This ‘mother essence’ is preserved with organic grape alcohol and then further diluted and potentized to form the ‘stock’ which is sold in stores and to practitioners.
[Flower essences]…are typically taken orally from a dropper bottle; the standard dosage is four drops four times daily. You can take the drops directly from stock bottles available in stores; mix them in a glass of water; or make a dosage bottle by mixing several drops with water and brandy (typically ¼ to ½ ounce) in a one ounce dropper bottle. When mixing in a dosage bottle or glass of water, take two to four drops from each essence selected. There are many others ways of using them, such as in misting sprayers, in a cream base, or in baths.
As a Vedic astrologer, Polarity Therapy practitioner, and Flower Essence practitioner, I count flower essences among the most effective remedies for balancing and healing karmic difficulties which can be seen in the Vedic astrological horoscope. I often recommend them to clients to help rectify specific problems in their natal charts. I also recommend flower essences to balance any potential problems associated with the planets in the transit chart, as in the case of the current Mars-Mercury exchange.
Impatiens: Understanding the Nature of this Flowering Herb
Impatiens is one of the Twelve Healers originally delineated by Dr. Bach, who correlated these twelve plants with certain personality types. Toward the end of his life, Dr. Bach also researched the connection between astrology and the flower essences. You can read more about this in An Astrological Study of the Bach Flower Remedies by Peter Damian.
The Twelve Healers relate to our essential nature. These plants were traditionally the most common starting point for selecting essences. Dr. Bach described a certain type of person who might benefit from Impatiens:
Impatiens is for those who are quick in thought and action and who wish all things to be done without hesitation or delay. When ill they are anxious for a hasty recovery. They find it very difficult to be patient with people who are slow, as they consider it wrong and a waste of time, and they will endeavor to make such people quicker in all ways. They often prefer to work and think alone, so that they can do everything at their own speed.
Impatiens is a flowering herb that grows throughout Europe, Asia, North America, and Africa. Its flowers come in a variety of colors, including coral, pink, purple, red, white and yellow. The Impatiens essence can be an excellent ally to help us find overall ease in life and especially to help us when dealing with maddening people or difficult situations. According to the Bach Centre, Impatiens flower essence is “the remedy for impatience and the frustration and irritability that often go with it.” This can be for temporary feelings or more persistent long-term impatience, frustration, and irritability. The remedy can be useful in both situations. I often prescribe it in a formula that includes other flower essences, gem elixirs, and homeopathic cell salts.
Impatiens flower essence may be a useful way to balance the challenging energy of the current Mars-Mercury transit. During this event, Mars (representing impatience, energy, and action) is exchanging signs with Mercury (representing thought and communication). This may cause some of us to feel impatient, irritable, or frustrated. We may have communication difficulties and say things in haste that we later regret. According to Vedic astrology, the Impatiens flower essence may calm these challenging energies of Mars and Mercury, allowing us to feel more balanced.
You can purchase Impatiens on the FESflowers website, where it is listed as Impatiens glandulifera (Himalayan balsam), one of the many unique varieties, as shown in the photograph above. The Bach version of the remedy is also available in many health stores and multiple online sources.
Another lovely description of Impatiens is given by Julian Barnard in his inspirational book titled Bach Flower Remedies: Form & Function (Great Britain: Flower Remedy Programme, 2002, pp 33-44):
To be with the plant is to sense the gentle easing of the mind, the peace of forgiveness, restfulness, the release of mental tensions and desperation, the admitting of spiritual light and truth — all phrases which describe what Bach felt about the remedy in its positive state. The positive aspect, often forgotten in the mass of negative indications, is what the plant shows of itself. This is the plant's consciousness, perceived with our sixth sense.
As I stated before, I regularly prescribe flower essence remedies for my clients. I tailor my recommendations to match the unique aspects of a natal horoscope, the current planetary transits, and one’s personal goals and challenges. If you are interested in receiving a personalized recommendation, you may schedule an Astral Tune-up/Vedic astrology consultation on my Astral Harmony website.
Flowers speak to us when we know how to listen to them. It is a subtle and fragrant language. (Mirra Alfassa, known to her followers as The Mother or La Mère, founder of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram)
Thank you!
Thank you for this useful information.