agrimony flower essence

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Agrimony flower essence

"The jovial, cheerful, humorous people who love peace and are distressed by argument or quarrel, to avoid which they will agree to give up much. Though generally they have troubles and are tormented and restless and worried in mind or in body, they hide their cares behind their humour and jesting and are considered very good friends to know. They often take alcohol or drugs in excess, to stimulate themselves and help themselves bear their trials with cheerfulness." ~ Edward Bach, The Twelve Healers and Other Remedies

An Agrimony blockage:

• inner tension & worry

• restlessness

• skin problems

• drink and/or drug use to drown woes (perhaps regularly)

• hates being alone

• avoids conflict

• always in the company of others

• won't communicate freely & deeply with others

Positive expression of:

• honesty with self & others about feelings

• joyful

• optimistic

• faith in life

• ability to confront others

• can communicate easily

• inner peace

Agrimonia eupatoria

The first word that jumps to mind when I think of those who might benefit from Agrimony flower essence is: worry, worry, worry. The second word, which isn't lagging far behind, is: restlessness. Looking on superficially from the outside, however, you might not suspect either of these to be a problem. Why? Because like a chameleon, these folks are masters of (humor-soaked) disguise.

The Agrimony type will often be challenging to spot because they do such a superb job of concealing the sometimes overwhelming worries and problems in their lives. Either because they don't find their feelings to be discussion-worthy, or because they believe that their private life is none of your stinkin' business, they keep their anxieties strictly locked within. This becomes especially problematic when we realize that it isn't only others they won't communicate with, but also themselves. With a general intolerance to being left alone with their thoughts, they instead fill their days, hours, and minutes with the constant company of others in an attempt to drown out the inside noises with outside ones.

Very social in nature, they're often the life of the party. Humorous, popular, cheerful, and kind, they're a friend to all and seem to not have a care in the world. In lieu of companionship (or, more likely, in conjunction with it), they'll funnel their energies in one activity after another in a endlessly busy attempt to distract themselves and fend off any chance of introspection—for forever, if they can manage it.

A clue to the inner turmoil that they carry, however, is the hand that is never without a drink. Or a joint. Or any other intoxicating substance that can make their problems disappear—at least for the night. Whether or not this is done consciously, it helps to block the pain for a time and allows them to forget whatever it is in their life that, perhaps desperately, needs addressing. And so that drink may become a constant companion as they strive to ignore the emotional heaviness that they carry around inside.

peace at all cost

Those in need of support from the Agrimony flower essence find that they crave outer peace, sometimes at all costs—even when maintaining it is somehow detrimental to themselves. If their outer world is in harmony, then it may perhaps be easier to ignore the inner battles taking place. And sometimes, it even works (for a hot minute, anyway).

With a strong tendency towards people-pleasing, they will even go so far as to actively avoid negative situations or conflict with others. Unfortunately, this avoidance isn't an act of healthy self-care, but more of a defense mechanism that allows them to pretend that the darkness of the world isn't part of their personal reality.

Their faith in life—and in the belief that existence itself has purpose and meaning—isn't strong enough to help them weather the storms. Consequently, the walls get built, the armor gets donned, and humor is used to deflect anything uncomfortable—all in the hopes that these measures will provide enough protection to insulate them from the endless and traumatic woes of the world.

Alas, not understanding the blessings of their highly-sensitive nature, they instead continue to absorb the pain around them, adding it to their inner cache that is already far too heavy of a burden to bear. Desperate for peace, which seems an unattainable goal, they bury this desperate worry alongside all of the others. And paste a smile of their face to hide it all.

the physical indications

While we might like to pretend that our problems will simply disappear if we ignore them for long enough, the reality is that that's generally not how this living thing works. Unfortunate, yes, but pain does seem to offer the most incentive to learn and grow. So instead of miraculously resolving themselves, the problems compound. The tension builds. The worry increases. And the restlessness grows.

But that building tsunami of feelings that the Agrimony individual continually turns away from still demands expression—somehow and in some way—or that energy will often eventually spill outward. Needing an outlet, it then translates into behaviors, mannerisms, and physical problems—like acne. Nervous skin rashes. Nail biting or teeth grinding. And all of these external problems only point to the internal ones from which they stem. Lacking constructive and intentional release, the trapped inner emotions are now erupting outwardly.

Additionally, there may be an acute sensitivity to physical pain, but even when ill the Agrimony patient retains their seemingly carefree manner. Joking with the doctors, nurses, and caregivers, they pretend that all is well, even when it clearly is not.

only one

It's important to remember that if only one of the aforementioned "symptoms" resonates with you, then giving Agrimony a try is still a good call. There will be certain personality types that exhibit nearly all of the symptoms nearly all of the time, but that's not always the case.

For example, I worked with one individual who was constantly fidgeting, and the restlessness clued me in on his need for Agrimony. Taking the essence did definitely help; however, it wasn't the first essence that came to mind while working with him. Restlessness was my clue, and only later did I connect it to hidden worries that he found it difficult to share.

Just recently I gave it to another individual who is not generally the Agrimony type either. She came to me extremely frustrated because the skin on her face had recently become red, bumpy, and irritated. While she doesn't possess an Agrimony personality in general, she had recently walked away from an unhealthy relationship that was extremely Agrimony in nature.

In it, she felt as though she had to constantly conceal her worries and pretend that all was okay. While she sensed something was amiss in the relationship, she hid it all behind jokes and humor in order to avoid becoming "overly emotional." While typically very open with her friends and family, she kept this problem tucked away inside for much longer than she normally would have.

Consequently, the emotions were trapped inside but demanding a release. Lacking another avenue, they chose her skin, and rightly so because it became something she couldn't so easily ignore. She noticed a definite improvement after just two days of taking Agrimony flower essence.

the flip side

Mechthild Scheffer calls Agrimony The Honesty Flower because of its ability to allow us to be honest with both ourselves and others. Instead of ignoring our problems, it helps us to bravely address them head-on and then communicate our feelings with those in our lives. By sharing our troubles willingly with those we trust, it leads to a renewed sense of joy and a blooming optimism that maybe things aren't so bad after all. And even if they are "so bad" now, they're bound to eventually change. Instead of absorbing the pain of the world around us, we learn to see it without being consumed by it.

And although the Agrimony soul likely looks anything but lonely—constantly surrounded by others and a "friend" to all—there may be a persistent loneliness present nonetheless. After all, how deep and meaningful can any of those relationships be if one is unable to share their true self and their problems. With the help of Agrimony, however, we begin to let people in. We reveal ourselves and allow others to know us better. Now, the happiness that was sought without is able to be sourced from within.

Consequently, our faith in both ourselves and others will naturally grow. We come to believe that we're able to tackle our problems effectively and also to keep things in perspective. While one may always be an extrovert in nature, the Agrimony soul is now able to be alone with themselves and their thoughts, no longer afraid of what will bubble up unbidden. The worries subside as each problem is addressed and, eventually, we find the peace that has so long eluded us.

"The lesson of this plant is to enable you to hold peace in the presence of all trials and difficulties until no one has the power to cause you irritation." ~ Edward Bach

how to use

For a detailed explanation of how to take the Bach flower essences and where to buy them, please visit my post here: Flower Essences: How to Use. And before I leave you for today, I will reassure you that I'm still slowly but surely working through each and every one of the flower essences! You can find them all conveniently located here: flower essences. Individually, this is what I've managed to accomplish so far:

• impatiens

• clematis

• mimulus

• chicory

• vervain

• centaury

• all about Bach flower essences

And that'll wrap it up for Agrimony! Next on tap is: Chicory. Below you can find my cheat sheet that should tide you over until I get through all thirty-eight of the flower essences :)

flower essence cheat sheet.pdf

Download PDF • 555KB

Wishing you a worry free day :)

Much love & thanks for reading,

Melinda

Bach Flower Practitioner