Healing Shock "susto" with Flowers

Star of Bethlehem is in the garden! I actually can’t believe it has appeared - it’s not been there before and with it’s vibrational properties to heal shock in the body it seems such a poignant time to arrive. I’ve always felt it to be the most powerful of flower essence medicines.

As one of Bach’s original 38 - I like to refer people to the most beautiful resource for information on this flower which is at Healing Herbs.

This essence attends to shock, sudden news, or also sadness that just won’t shift, big grief, family trauma old and new or something that has caused great distress over a prolonged period. It brings comfort. I’m making an essence of it, perfect timing in the three days before this next full moon when it’s potency will be very high.

In curanderismo shock is referred to as “susto” which just means fright in Spanish - but the reference is towards shock that effects your spirit. And every treatment whether it is the heart to heart talking, the massage, a limpia or a ceremony attends to the susto a person is presenting in their system. The treatment work creates incarnating gestures be that sweeps down someones back, calling their name, or specific ceremonies, rituals or prayer and points on the body that in part shock and also nurture someone back to themselves. Susto can be from a current shock, old trauma, or inherited patterns. Recent studies in epigenetic trauma is now acknowledged in psychotherapy - and it is also attended to in many modes of healing such as somatic therapy, and family constellations.

But we are all effected differently. It could be an accident or bad news and it might just have a long term effect. We have familiar names for it - even using terms such as “I jumped out of my skin” or knowing that our “spirits are down” and it manifests in many ways low energy, difficulty sleeping, depression, breathing difficulties or panic attacks - and also physical symptoms or an auto-immune response. I’m currently nursing a frozen shoulder which I know relates to a susto in me from last year and the ongoing stress I suffered.

The shock or susto is also infectious - it passes from mother to child, child to mother, and sometimes friend to friends - you can feel someone’s shock. You can also see different types of this susto in peoples eyes. After treatments the look in the eyes changes, and a certain shine comes back!

Star of Bethlehem

So Star of Bethlehem is a great go to remedy for shock. Also homeopathic Arnica. In many cases you need some help from another person, but just knowing the plants that help can be useful. Hyssop and all the Salvias also have this incarnating quality and are used in all the solutions for ceremonies to heal susto. Such exquisite scents that make you take a long breath in and a sweet natural out breath that lets go. Tabacco too is the mighty magician for this healing work.

If anyone would like a Star of Bethlehem essence please contact me artsbotanical@gmail.com