An Introduction to Bach Flower Remedies / Essences

Bach Flower Remedies (in USA they are called Bach Flower Essences because FDA doesn't allow the word Remedy) are the gift of the Spirit to mankind through Dr. Edward Bach, an English physician who lived from 1886 to 1936. They are considered as 'Alternative Therapy', 'Herbal Supplementation' and 'Energy Essences'. In some countries, to meet the local laws, they are classified as Homeopathic Dilutions. Together with Herbal Supplements, Aromatherapy, Acupressure, Schussler Tissue Remedies and where necessary allopathic medication / surgery, they form an effective and safe healing system.

Bach Flower Remedies are Flower Essences (with one exception of Rock Water, which is a specific natural spring water, but is clubbed with the others) derived from the flowers and some other parts of wild plants and trees of English countryside. Introduced between 1931 and 1935 by Dr. Edward Bach of England, the remedies or essences are 38 in number and have proved themselves over the years all over the world. They are called Bach Flower Remedies in England and Bach Flower Essences in USA.

Dr.Edward Bach (originally pronounced as Back, but later pronounced as Batch by his colleagues and that stuck) was born in 1886. He was of delicate health (and destiny chose him to discover a system which heals others!). His father wanted him to continue in the family business of foundry, but Edward chose to become a doctor. As was the usual practice, he studied in the regular orthodox medical system and worked in various hospitals. Like other path-breakers, he too was not satisfied with the system of treatment prevailing in his days. Thus he was always looking for better ways. In the course of his work, he became a bacteriologist and became acquainted with the work of Samuel Hahnemann, the brilliant German doctor who discovered the homeopathic principle of ' Similia Similibus Curanter - like cures like' about 150 years earlier.

Dr.Bach was happy to realise that his ideas of mind influencing the matter were not new and that Homeopathy recognised this long ago. However, he also felt that it should be possible to classify the basic human nature and the mental/emotional aberrations into a fairly limited number of classes or groups and thus simplify the method of treatment. He felt that once the mind is OK, body will become OK. Treat the person, not the individual symptom was his motto.

During the course of his work in a hospital, Dr.Bach prepared 7 nosodes (homeopathic potencies of diseased tissues and or disease products) from the intestinal flora of his patients and found excellent results in terms of restoration of health. In a way, this is similar to the use of prebiotics and probiotics to take care of IBS, Crohn's Disease etc. More about it later. If any of you are specifically interested, I will discuss about them later. The nosodes developed by Dr.Bach and others are extensively used in homeopathic practice even today. Dr.Hahnemann and other homeopaths believe that whether it is pure gold or filth, anything and everything is useful as a curative remedy and there should be no taboos.

But Dr.Bach had some aversion to administer disease products, of however minute quantity through the mouth to his patients. He was convinced that the same God/Nature which produced a problem also provided a solution and thus was compelled to abandon his practice in London and move to the countryside. His own ill health must have been another added factor. He was diagnosed with stomach cancer if I remember correctly. (I will give more deatils after checking up). There in the course of a few years, he discovered some wild flowers whose essences (not aromatic, by essence it is meant its healing properties) could help the person recover from negative emotions. He found that these essences work as efficiently or even more efficiently as the nosodes.

Here it will be helpful to differentiate the use of the word Essence in this system and in Aromatherapy. There Essential Oils refer to aromatic substances distilled from flowers and other parts of trees, plants etc. Here, the word essence refers to the essential (important) part of the plant from the point of view of healing. It refers to the spiritual vibrations of the flowers and not to the smell. In fact, Bach Flower Essences are free from smells (except that of the grape alcohol).

There are 38 of them and a compound or mixture of 5 of them discovered by Dr.Bach himself as being of invaluable service in emergencies and which he called appropriately as Rescue Remedy. Though Rescue Remedy is a mixture of 5 different Essences, it is classified as a single Essence. I will explain more about it later.


The list of remedies and their principal uses -

Name of the Remedy/Essence - Main symptom which it helps

Agrimony - Hiding problems behind a cheerful face
Aspen - Vague and undefinable fears
Beech - Intolerant of others, critical
Centaury - Weak-willed, easily led, unable to say no
Cerato - Not trusting one's own judgement, always asking others for advice
Cherry Plum - Fear of Losing self control
Chestnut Bud - Failure to learn from past mistakes
Chicory - Possessive, Over-protective
Clematis - Dreaminess, lack of interest in the present
Crab Apple - Poor Self-Image, Sense of uncleanliness
Elm - Overwhelmed by responsibility
Gentian - Discouragement, Despondency
Gorse - Despair, Hopelessness
Heather - Self-centered, Talkative, Always talking about one-self
Holly - Envious, jealous, hatred, lack of love
Honeysuckle - Dwells on the past,nostalgic
Hornbeam - Mental weariness, doubting one's ability to cope, but doing well once taken up.
Impatiens - Impatience (very useful for competent and quick, impatient people)
Larch - Lack of confidence
Mimulus - Fear of specific known things
Mustard - Deep gloom with no origin, Depression
Oak - Exhausted but struggles on
Olive - Lack of Energy, exhaustion of body and Mind
Pine - Self-reproach, guilt
Red Chestnut - Fear or over concern for others, esp. loved ones
Rock Rose - Terror
Rock Water - Rigid, inflexible, self-denial
Scleranthus - Uncertainty, Indecision
Star of Bethlehem - After effects of Shock
Sweet Chestnut - Extreme Mental Anguish
Vervain - Over enthusiasm
Vine - Assertive, dominating,inflexible
Walnut - Protective from change and outside influences
Water Violet - Proud, Aloof
White Chestnut - Unwanted thoughts,mental arguments
Wild Oat - Uncertainty as to correct path in life
Wild Rose - Resignation, apathy
Willow - Self-pity, Resentment
Rescue Remedy - For emergency (accidents, injuries, burns and panic attacks etc.)



Rescue Remedy is a combination of Impatiens, Star of Bethlehem, Cherry Plum, Rock Rose and Clematis. Rescue Cream with added Crab Apple is available and is useful as a multi-purpose skin salve. Rescue Spray also is available.

If you or your friends are sceptical about the efficacy of Bach Flower Essences, the first Essence which you should try is Rescue. The next time a cut or burn or a sprain or a panic attack occurs, try that. If the results are not satisfactory, Bach Flowers are probably not for you or that person.

Bach Flower Remedies are prepared from the flowers by 'Sun Method' and 'Boiling Method', each of which is briefly explained below. Note that each Flower Remedy is prepared using one of the two methods, depending on its nature. The same flower will not be prepared using both the methods. Which Remedy is prepared which way is detailed in Bach Literature. I will give you links to various websites, and books etc. later.

In the Sun Method, flowers are placed in a bowl of water and are exposed to the sunlight for about an hour. The essence of the flowers is absorbed by the water and the energised water is preserved as a standardised mother tincture by dilution with 40% pure brandy. The stock remedies are prepared by further dilution with 27% grape alcohol.

In the Boiling Method, flowers, twigs etc. of the plant are put in a kettle and are boiled. The distillate is collected and processed further as above.

As already mentioned Rock Water is not a flower essence and is collected from some natural springs oozing out from under some rocks. Useful for very rigid thinking, highly idealistic.

The treatment bottle is prepared by taking two drops of the stock remedy and adding mineral water to a 30 ml bottle. More than one Bach Flower Remedy can be added to the same botle and thus a mixture individualised can be prepared.

Bach Flower Remedies are unlike homeopathic medicines in that they are not potentised. They could be called dilutions at the most. And the dilution is fixed, as described above. They are prescribed purely based on mental / emotional symptoms, without reference to the physical symptoms, modalities (time, location, aggravations, ameliorations) etc., which form a crucial part in homeopathy. Bach Flower Remedies are selected many times with the active participation of the patient in the treatment process. Classical homeopaths spend a lot of time in taking the symtom picture and then decide on the homeopathic remedy matching that symptom picture. The name of the remedy is usually not revealed to the patient. "The name of the disease is not my concern and the name of the remedy should not be your concern" is the attitude. Of course, it is possible to find a suitable remedy in either system by self-study but self-treatment is always discouraged by all health professionals!

Bach Flower Remedies are safe and are used for treatment of Children, Pets and Plants too. No adverse reactions are reported from use of a wrongly selected Remedy or from over dosage.

Since there are only 38 remedies it may be necessary and it is permitted to mix two or more remedies at a time in the treatment bottle. To that extent, they are similar to Schussler's 12 Tissue Remedies. I will take up the course of that later. Rescue Remedy, if selected is counted as one remedy. Up to 6 or 7 remedies can be mixed at a time, though Dr. Bach used up to even 9 remedies at times. However, it is always recommended to use as less number of remedies (essences) in a mixture as possible. There is a strong temptation to mix all 38 essences as a sort of Cure All. It has been tried and Dr.Bach did not find good results.

Bach Flower Remedies can be taken directly from the treatment bottle or mixed with food, tea, coffee, cool drinks, juices etc., unlike homeopathic preparations, which are to be taken separately.

In India, Bach Flower Remedies are also available in the form of sugar pills wetted with the liquid. In India, they are available from homeopathic shops. In UK and USA, Nelson Bach is the main supplier. but there are others too and a search on the internet will be helpful in locating a shop nearby. It is also possible to order the Remedies through Mail order.

Distance learning programs and other courses are available from Bach Centre, UK, Nelson Bach etc.

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/talkbach is an excellent Yahoo Group, where one can get a lot of information and advice about the Remedies.

www.essences.com is a good site which gives a lot of resources including educators, practitioners etc. in various countries.

www.gemmamonter.com is another good site maintained by my friend Gemma Monter, BFRP. She has started compiling an International Directory of Bach Flower Therapists. Especially for Spanish speaking readers of this blog, I recommend Gemma.

The above recommendations are done to set you exploring and without any monetary or commercial motives.