©1991 by Hetty de Boer-Jongkind
As a medical astrologer who works with flower remedies, I feel the Bach remedies are more related to the Moon and
that the remedies by the Flower Essence Society (FES) are more related to the Sun. While not all
the Bach remedies take care of lunar issues and that not all FES
remedies work on solar issues, on the whole, this is the distinction
I see.
In deciding whether to work with the Bach or FES remedies in a
given case, the marked difference is the starting point of individual
experience. If it is a person who is much affected by impressions from
outside, then this is the territory of the Moon. If it is a person
who lives right from the heart, then this is the territory of the Sun.
The Moon with her aspects symbolizes our body and soul. She recollects
our past, including our thoughts, feelings, and deeds. She is remembrance
or recording, often made unconscious, because she obeys the cosmic law
of grace. There is no learning without memory, and we all experience
what we have created because like begats like.
We are not born on
earth with clean slates. Usually we do not know, due to this same
law of grace, where the dirt on the slate comes from, as we might
be too judgmental. The Moon weaves her recollections into a new
body and circumstances.
The Bach remedies especially work to heal and uplift these past
and habitual thoughts, feelings and deeds. They help us to wipe the
slate clean and start anew with fresh patterns, rather than reacting
only to the past.
For example, Honeysuckle is famous as a remedy for those who
dream about the good days of their youth and for those who dream
about unrealistic situations like living in a past century or
bringing back the conditions of times past. Honeysuckle returns
them to the present so they can concentrate on current opportunities.
This remedy is linked to the element of water and the romantic
feelings of a water sign Moon (i.e. Cancer, Scorpio, or Pisces).
The Moon shows our reactions, and it is the Moon that collects
experiences from the past. It is not the Sun that reacts or collects
experience, so again the Bach remedies are more for Moon conditions.
Chestnut Bud is for those who don't learn from the past, but react to
every situation as though it were new. The Moon in a fire sign
(i.e. Aries, Leo, or Sagittarius), in
particular, reacts before the person is aware of what exactly is
happening, so Chestnut Bud might be especially useful here.
With
the Moon in an air sign (i.e. Gemini, Libra, or Aquarius), however,
we'd like to use our mental
capabilities to solve all kinds of problems. White Chestnut is
for repetitious thoughts about things we cannot solve, mostly
because they are due to emotions.
With his intuition and his listening to his Inner Teacher
who obeys the Law of Love (the Sun), Dr. Bach's knowledge blossomed
into flower remedies which cleanse and atone sticky past habits of fear,
hatred, impatience, and so on.
Bach's work, out of which has grown a
new generation of healers, reminds me ofthe FES essence Lotus. The
fragrant lotus grows out of the dark, muddy water (the Moon) into
the light of the radiant Sun, symbolizing the Universal power of
loving creativeness, our origin and destiny.
It is that special creativeness of the Sun, the sign Leo, and
the fifth house that we find in the FES remedies. The Sun represents
the inner force and the power of self-realization in the astrological
chart. It is the outward-moving energy of the deepest level of our
spirit. The FES remedies support this energy. They take care of the
development of the inner reality to help us fulfill our destiny.
To give some examples, FES' California Poppy solves creative blockages
and helps us to find direction toward our goals. Penstemon supports
the inner force in times of adversity and strengthens our self-awareness
in conflicts with others who do not understand our special path and
destiny. Sunflower especially shows the effect of FES's remedies on the
Sun level, as it shows the way to higher awareness.
The FES remedies especially act on Sun issues of self-awareness
and self-esteem, but first of all we have to heal the emotional
level with the Bach remedies. Then we reach the level of inner
awareness of the Sun, which we can heal and nurse with FES remedies.
In my flower remedy work, then, both the Bach and the FES remedies
have their place, just as the Sun and the Moon both have their place
in the heavens and in our lives.
BIO: Hetty de Boer-Jongkind was a Dutch medical astrologer and healer
who combined classical homeopathy, flower remedies, and
iridology. She founded Asclepios, the Vocational School for Medical
Astrology in Amsterdam. The complete course at Asclepios required four years, and
most of her graduates were accredited by The Association of
Health Practitioners in the Netherlands. She died in 1993.
A WORD FROM VIBRATION EDITOR, DONNA CUNNINGHAM: This article is reprinted
from the first essence journal I edited, Shooting Star, a hard-copy quarterly which was devoted
to exploring the correlations between the flower remedies and astrology and which is long since defunct.
Some of the articles in that zine, however, were timeless and deserve reprinting, and
this article is one of them.
Hetty has since passed on, so I can't ask her permission
to reprint it, though I think she would be as enthusiastic in teaching the essences
on the internet as she was about doing so in more established ways. If anyone knows
her family or former students, do let them know that we wished to honor her
contribution by including this reprint.
CREDITS: The moon background tile was part of a
collection at Arcadia.
The golden rays tile and matching elements as well as the crescent moon button were derived from photos on a clip art
disk by MicroGraphx.
The World Wide Essence Society does not mean to imply any recommendation of nor give certification to any individuals or companies above. This article is provided purely for informational purposes. We ask consumers to make their own determination as to quality of the services and products offered above. This article is not meant to be advice, and the information is not meant to replace medical or psychological treatment.
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