Gorse is a Bach remedy for discouragement in the face of a long history of obstacles. The West of Ireland was a place of terrible for centuries--so much so that there was an exodus from the Auld Sod to the United States, Australia, and New Zealand as soon as emigration became feasible.

As one of them was my great, great grandfather, I was much moved by my pilgrimage to Ireland. Getting out into the countryside and seeing the ruins of old farmhouses, I marveled at how harsh and rocky the soil was. Making a virtue of necessity, the stones became fences between the fields and walls for the farmhouses. The plant that grew most abundantly in that rocky soil was one that became the farmer's bane--gorse.

Gorse is a shrub that grows in thick clumps, with deep, hard-to-eradicate roots and nasty spikes. Its seeds explode so that the plant slowly spreads and takes over an area. Its one redeeming virtue would be the cheery yellow flowers that sometimes start in winter and burst into full bloom in spring.

The pesky plant gorse contributes a great deal to farmers' hardship in eking out a living, and so it is interesting that the flower remedy, Gorse, is such a balm for those who are discouraged by hardship. (Dr. Bach, a master homeopath, subscribed to the homeopathic principle, "Like cures like.")

In my work with clients over the years, Gorse (Latin name, Ulex europaeus) has proved powerful for those with discouragement, hopelessness, resignation, and darkness. Usually these are people who have faced so many challenges and obstacles and tried without success to overcome them that they have become discouraged and pessimistic in their outlook on life. Gorse strengthens and uplifts them and brings new hope and determination.

After several visits to Ireland, I emigrated, too, from the Great Sovereign Nation of New York City to the Pacific Northwest. It was the dead of winter, it got pitch dark at 4:30 P.M., and, yes, it rained...endlessly. In very early spring, my sagging spirits were lifted by the emergence of bright yellow blossoms on bushy clumps that I was told were Scotch Broom.

As the name implies, it came to the U.S. from the highlands of Europe, where it was used to make brooms. Locals dislike the shrub heartily because it is highly allergenic to the sensitive, plus it is invasive and all but impossible to eradicate.

Myself, I was rather glad to make its acquaintance, as I had been using the Flower Essence Society's Scotch Broom for years with my clients. Like Gorse, it is a remedy for discouragement. The blooms are certainly similar, though gorse has many leaves while broom has long flat, grass-like strands and no thorns. Both of these plants are in the family Leguminosae, which makes them very close relatives.

According to FES's invaluable repertory, Scotch Broom (Cytisus scoparius) is for those who are "feeling weighed down and depressed; overcome with pessimism and despair, especially regarding their personal relationship to world events." Keenly aware of the magnitude of our times of uncertainty, transformation and upheaval, they conclude, "What's the use?" (Flower Essence Repertory, p.375)

How do the essences Scotch Broom and Gorse compare? They certainly are similar, though there is more of a transpersonal quality to the despair of the Scotch Broom type. I use it often for those socially aware individuals with an abiding and often overwhelming grasp of how deeply the struggles of our lives are impacted by world conditions. It helps them to persevere despite social conditions they have no control over--e.g. in times when the economy is down.

Two other plants I have gotten to know well--and wish I hadn't--during these succeeding years in the Pacific Northwest are blackberry and wild rose. They seem to belong together in the same way that Gorse and Scotch Broom do. Cherrie Corey, Vibration's Resident Botanist, says they are close cousins, both members of the rose family. Blackberry's brambles and wild rose's thorns are very much alike, and blackberry blooms are like tiny, white wild roses. They both have fruits, though we are more likely to pick and eat the blackberries than we are to make use of the gift of rose hips.

It is said not entirely in jest, that really there is only one blackberry bush in the world. It has long roots that spread deep beneath the earth--you lop it off in one place and a new spike grows somewhere else.

Innocent that I was after spending most of my adult life in concrete-paved New York, I had no idea that you cannot safely turn your back on blackberry bushes. If you let them grow for, say, a week, the brambles will get long and thick and cover your terrace, and they will gouge you mercilessly if you try to get rid of them. You have to keep at them all the time!!

Blackberry was a mainstay of my essence work long before I ever encountered the reality of the bushes. FES's invaluable repertory recommends Blackberry (Rubus ursinus) for the "inability to translate goals and ideals into concrete action, becomes exuberant manifestation in the world; clearly directed forces of will; decisive action." It especially suggests this essence for individuals with lofty visions who are unable to translate them into concrete action. (FES' Repertory, p. 291) Looked at differently, this is still another remedy for persistence.

My coeditor, Deborah Bier, insists that blackberry is much less invasive and better behaved where she lives, in Concord, Massachusetts - doubtless a different species than we have here. From daily discussions with Deb over the past three years, however, I would have to conclude that almost everything is better behaved in Concord than out here in the wild and woolly west. This all confirms the importance of local plants in healing the woes of that area--no doubt the redoubtable Concordians need other remedies more.

She also points out that Broom is an ornamental in some places. Perhaps whether something is considered a weed or not is also a matter of place. Kudzu, which is discussed elsewhere in this issue, was imported into this country as an ornamental. It is a valued herb and legume in the orient, where it originated. Transplanted to the American South, it has taken on a more virulent turn.

It seems to me that the quartet of remedies I have been discussing exists on a spectrum of discouragement and a need for renewal of hope. Blackberry is perhaps for earlier stages of a vision or a lifework, when one might be daunted by perceiving how vast the scope of the vision is and how difficult to manifest. Scotch Broom might be a tad later, when you've tried to live out your vision or purpose, yet you see that the world is not exactly behind you and, in fact, may be working at cross purposes. Gorse is when the struggle has been so long and hard that you are worn down and discouraged by it.

At the far end of the spectrum is Wild Rose, (Rosa canina, the Dog Rose) by Bach. I have seen this one work so deeply that it can renew hope for someone who has given up on life. Typically, the individual is completely resigned to fate after a long illness or other abiding hardship. It is a remedy for apathy, which may be no more than discouragement carried to an end point. This remedy can quickly shift things the same way that Sweet Chestnut does for the dark night of the soul. It restores hope and vitality.

So like DOES cure like, at least in the case of these pesky and persistent weeds that provide us with a range of essences to turn discouragement or even despair into persistence. When it comes to weeds, however, I like some of them better in remedy bottles than in my back yard! Get back in the bottle, Blackberry, and we can be pals.

ART CREDITS: The blackberry border and button and the button for gorse were made from images in an excellent clip art collection by Zena which, alas, has been taken off line. Come back, Zena!! We miss you. The wild rose came from Art Today. The photo of broom came from a website about plants of Provence, also no longer accessible.

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