Description

ROSE PETALS – used to induce dreams of one’s future love. In addition to being used primarily in love spells, roses are also linked to female intuition, dream work, avoiding conflict, beauty, confidence, truth, and passion. You can present or sacrifice rose petals to any deity, spirit, faerie, demon, or other inter-dimensional being you feel would appreciate them. The energy of rose petals is what attracts some entities to them. Rose petals are appreciated by goddesses including Aphrodite, Venus, Gaia, Flora, Astarte, Lilith, and others.

Fossil records from more than 35 million years ago reveal that roses have a very old history. The cultivation of roses is considered to have started in China around 5000 years ago, but it wasn’t until the late 18th century that this variety of rose arrived in Europe. The Chinese roses were praised for their capacity to bloom again every year, and after being crossed with tough native roses, these cultivated roses became the foundation for the majority of the roses we see today.

Roses, whether wild or grown, have become a universal representation of wealth and beauty. When she was dating Marc Anthony, Cleopatra used to scatter them throughout her home so that every time he smelled a rose, he would remember her. Both the Middle East and the Roman Empire, where the nobles constructed huge public rose gardens as emblems of their wealth, had considerable rose cultivation. Romans placed a wild rose on the door of a room to signify that whatever was talked within was to be kept private because they valued roses so highly.

Mid-summer is the ideal time to collect rose petals. On a dry morning, gather the petals. Pull the petals away gently, preserving the rose’s calyx in their place. Dry on a tray in a warm, airy space or in a food dehydrator at a low heat (about 34°C/93°F). Wait until the rose hip is fully ripe, typically in the fall and brilliant orange or crimson, before picking it.