The practice of sending flowers is as old as civilization itself. Flowers, with all their infinite variety and beauty, carry meanings outside of the rational and material experience. Because they are alive, they are like us, temporary passengers on an exhilarating ride. But they are also connected to parts of nature that we never experience.
They arise from the soil and enjoy being out in the rain and the sun. They use animals to pollinate and keep the planet alive in the process. The connection between flora and the spiritual realm is a potent one. Keeping the right flowers close to you can hasten divine connectedness. Explore each flower’s unique power and meaning to see if they can enhance your spiritual practice.
Bird of Paradise
This is a protector flower. If you are meditating or worshipping inside of a building on a regular basis, planting Bird of Paradise outside protects your spiritual practice from outside distractions.
Cactus
In Feng Shui practices, Cacti are only good for warding off intruders, but a blooming cactus is a reminder to reach toward the heavens. If you find yourself drawn to trancelike meditation, consciousness-expanding moments await you in the moonlit blooms of various cactus flowers.
Carnation
Wearing carnations in a corsage or headdress connects one to the wider universe. Pink carnations invite you into a maternal relationship with the world around you. Red carnations help you arrive at absolute decisions in regard to your spiritual pursuits. White carnations not only symbolize purity, they de-intensify the need to seek earthly pleasures. Specific colors carry significance, but all carnations are a potent spiritual medium.
Chrysanthemum
Placing these flowers in your area of worship signals well-practiced devotion and discipline. Perhaps you have been on your path for several decades. Maybe you are an old soul. When you fast or make other ritual sacrifices, chrysanthemums help to strengthen your resolve and commitment.
Daisy
A harmonious and happy bloom, daisies pull like-minded people together to sooth dissent and restore a sense of joyful peace. This is an important flower to have on a shared altar.
Hyacinth
Much spiritual practice is about finding direction, but the Hyacinth works in opposition to the clarity of knowing. It delivers an energy that elevates ambiguity. At times, you might not be ready for an answer. To hurry your journey would be to spoil the process of slowly unfolding discovery. A hyacinth plant delays absolutes from arriving before their time. If you have mastered impatience, you have inhaled the aroma of this fantastic flower.
Lily
When you take an oath or a vow, the presence of lilies in the room strengthen the commitment. This flower is a must at a wedding. If the floral arrangements at the marriage ceremony of a friend don’t include lilies, wear a corsage made with these flowers to ensure marital success. The closer you are to a lily as you say, “I do,” the more likely the marriage will last forever. One word of warning: Do not cast your cat in the role of flower girl. Lilies are poisonous to kitties!
Lotus
This is the flower of consistent meditation. Day in and day out, the presence of the lotus, in any state of openness, reflects and honors your connection to this world, to the present moment and to all the worlds beyond this mortal coil.
Orchid
When you have a spiritual breakthrough, purchase an orchid or accept one as a gift and put it in the sunlit place where you spend the most time. Orchids mark events and track a span of time. If your orchid wilts away, it only shows how far you are moving beyond certain accomplishments. If it thrives, you maintain the plateau you have achieved. Either state of being is fine; think of the orchid as a clock where midnight and noon are marked in the same location.
Rose
The popularity of roses has led to many different varietals, hybrids and colors. Symbolism abounds, but it is not always spiritual in nature. A universal symbol of love, the rose is a sacramental bloom. Its presence can add majesty to any ritual. This is one serious flower.
Tulip
This flower assists you in finding the divine beyond words. Often we become hung up on the small stuff; little trifling details that merely take us away from our larger goal: spiritual peace and connection. Tulips pulsate to higher planes with the big picture of salvation and transcendence. Wherever you see a tulip, there is a portal to joy.
In the 17th century, when religious disagreements were tearing Holland apart, Dutch painters substituted flowers for depictions of saints and deities as their illustration of the divine. The role of earth’s blooming buds in finding our own path beyond this earth is a powerful gift from the universe to all of humanity.
