The waking sun rose me from the dreamtime and into birdsong. Emerging from my bed, I dressed and followed the call through the kitchen and out the back door. There, I stepped onto the coolness of the brick patio laced with a ground cover of blooming thyme. In my mind, I replayed the disturbing events of the previous day. My son, Sean, had come home. He arrived in post-traumatic shock, fleeing the Tucson desert in his motorhome, driving for two straight days after the violent shooting death of a close friend.
I walked across the patio and stood before Sean’s vintage Toyota Dolphin motorhome parked alongside the house where he slept inside. I closed my eyes, grieved for his loss, and prayed for his healing.
When I opened my eyes, tender green tips waved delicately in the April breeze, belying the fierce winds yet to come. Erratic, by definition, is the nature of Spring. Like a buried seed, something else broke free from underneath at a time when life is alive in everything. I gazed up the hillside in front of the parked motorhome. A cluster of tiny yet conspicuous white flowers had burst through the unmanicured grass beneath the apple tree on an embankment below the rise of a meadowland pasture. The flowers glowed in the morning sun and beckoned to me. So I clambered up to get a closer view. I didn’t know what species it might be, but it seemed familiar and medicinal.
I examined the plant’s long lily-like stem and counted six newly unfolding petals. The grass-like leaves remained camouflaged beneath the higher grasses that surrounded it. Excited to find a plant I had never seen in that location before, I returned to the house and consulted Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. I discovered Ornithogalum umbellatum, more commonly known as Star of Bethlehem, a familiar botanical medicine used as a flower essence to treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Six-petaled flowers tend to produce the most balancing and harmonizing essences. They capture the essence of both twoness and threeness and represent the highest order of balance and union. Essences made from six-petaled flowers bring together the higher mind with the earthly self. — Nicholas Pearson
Star of Bethlehem had been an ally during my years of midwifery practice when I used it for mother and baby following a traumatic birth. But I had never seen it growing in the wild. The Star of Bethlehem I discovered most likely had escaped from New England, where it had been introduced as a horticultural plant and eventually became a naturalized flower of Southern Appalachia. It has a beautiful delicate flower that derives its name from the Star of Bethlehem that appeared in the biblical account of Jesus’ birth. The flower essence is the most commonly used for shock, trauma, and stress, including grief and depressed states. It is also one of five essences that make up Rescue Remedy, designed for use in situations of acute stress and an essential part of any holistic medicine cabinet.
While Autumn is generally a time when feelings of loss, sadness, and grief express, there is a reason why Star of Bethlehem comes to us in the Spring. When the naturally descending energies of Fall move into the frozen state of Winter, and we remain stagnant there, unable to emerge with the rising Spring energies, this flower essence may offer us its support. Depressive feelings indicate that a person is experiencing an imbalance or disharmony which needs addressing. Dr. Edward Bach referred to Star of Bethlehem as “the comforter and soother of pain and sorrows.” War veterans could greatly benefit from its medicine. This essence can help soothe our imbalances like a beautiful song whose vibrations harmonize our entire being.
The three most foundational elements of grief are loss, longing, and feeling lost. We live in a culture that encourages us to deny our grief and to continue functioning even though we may be suffering from PTSD until we are no longer able to function at all. Perhaps the COVID “pandemic” has shown us this on a larger scale than at any other time in history. We lost so much during COVID: livelihoods, freedoms, connection to family and community, and lives. We fear the shadow of darkness grief and loss can bring. A flower essence like Star of Bethlehem is a beacon of light that reawakens the personality which has withdrawn due to pain and sorrow and leads us back to our higher self. A flower that opens only in sunshine, she re-establishes an energetic link. Residual trauma dissolves, which allows energy, vitality, mental clarity, and inner strength to return.
Energetic trauma often doesn’t appear until years later with a person exhibiting psychosomatic conditions that have no apparent cause in their current life. Clients proven untreatable by conventional means may often respond and find relief with this flower essence.
A few years after my son had moved on, Star of Bethlehem appeared again behind my house. The behavior of appearing in some years and not in others is due to the weather. As a perennial bulb, Star of Bethlehem requires a cold winter to complete its life cycle. A period of exposure to cold is necessary before spring growth can begin. With global warming, we no longer see it blooming every year in the Southern Appalachians.
The second time I observed this flower, I had to ask myself, “Why is this showing up for me now?” The answer was not a mystery. I suffered from PTSD following events after my mother died and had been seeing a trauma specialist. My daughter recommended the specialist after observing me and witnessing the opening of a Pandora’s box. Even though I knew about Star of Bethlehem, I had never employed its medicine until then for myself.
Spring unlocked hope’s roots, and renewal ascended like Persephone from the underworld. Sometimes we need that extra support when combined with other healing modalities or an herbal remedy. It was no accident that Star of Bethlehem showed up for me as it did for my son in our hour of need because our medicine is never any further than we are. Right now.
Notes:
• Toxic to grazing animals and the bulbs contain toxic alkaloids. Use caution. Star of Bethlehem stradles the divide between medicinal and toxic, as it contains compounds that are known to kill livestock and humans alike.
• In the Bach Flower System, Star of Bethlehem is in the category of remedies indicated for Despondency and Despair.
• Also highly effective for animals who have suffered any type of abuse or trauma. Rescue Remedy is a good starting point for rescue animals while helping them to settle into a better situation with greater ease.
• A decoction of the bulbs has been used for congestive heart failure, but has serious safety concerns. Bulbs are washed and cut in half, covered with water and boiled for 20 minutes, steeped for an hour and the process repeated 3 times, adding a little more water each time.
• Used as a homeopathic remedy for stomach ailments and possibly for cancer of the intestinal tract, especially of the stomach.
Resources & References:
Trauma Incident Reduction Association
Flower Essences from the Witch’s Garden: Plant Spirits in Magickal Herbalism, by Nicholas Pearson
An in-depth and detailed book about co-creating at the devic level. Through this magickal work, Pearson practically and intuitively connects us to the energetic medicine of flower essences, which first and foremost treat the spirit. He reminds us that we are in a world in need of spiritual medicine.
— Thea Summer Deer, Witch’s Garden Endorsement
Premium content below:
Listen to Blessing of a Star by Thea & The GreenMan, unreleased and available only to paid subscribers.
Receive a coupon code for the entire tuition of Healing the Heart Mind: Restoring Spirit & Finding Joy, a work at your own pace, online course, at Five Element Academy. A $25 value available to paid subscribers.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Thea Summer Deer to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.