Star of Bethlehem

bringing us present

After collecting ~10 essences in the last month, I thought maybe I wouldn’t collect any more before heading to Ireland. But last week, on a walk, Star of Bethlehem offered its essence, and I accepted.

Star of Bethlehem is one of the essences in Dr. Edward Bach’s collection of remedies, and a part of his crisis formula Rescue Remedy. Two of my closest friends cite their first essences experiences as being with Star of Bethlehem, but I had never used it, and had never seen it either.

The Story

Often when I’m collecting an essence, or when a potent healing session is about to occur, I will experience a state of slight dissociation in which I feel only about 50% mentally present. I can sense that part of me is off in the other planes, doing what it needs to do to facilitate the appropriate results on this one. I might seem a little “spacey” to others. In fact while I was collecting Bloodroot recently, I was speaking to a friend who said “you sound like you’re somewhere else.” This dissociation isn’t traumatic, doesn’t feel negative or troubling in any way, and it’s a part of many of my collection stories. It always resolves after the need for it has passed.

So last Sunday, I felt that state coming on as I was preparing for a healing session. The session was beautifully potent and benefitted from that state of presence, so I understood why it was happening. But it didn’t stop right after the session. I remained in that state through mid-day Monday. I assumed it was for a reason, but I didn’t know what it was.

When I finally got some mental presence back, I went outside for a walk. While walking and talking on the phone, I noticed a single patch of a beautiful, star-shaped white flowers. I didn’t recognize the plant, but this was the same place I had discovered bloodroot a month earlier, and though distinct from one another, there were some similarities between the two plants physically that grabbed my attention. I took a picture without interrupting my conversation, and kept walking.

When I turned around to walk back, finished with my phone conversation, I stopped to ID the plant and listen to it for a moment. I heard “there is always a way forward” and got the distinct impression I should collect an essence, knowing more would be revealed later. When I identified the plant and learned it was Star of Bethlehem, it felt right to me that I had stumbled upon it. Knowing it had been a powerful essence for two friends, and that it was one of the Bach essences, I was curious to see what would come up in my collection. Would I receive a unique transmission, or would it more or less be the same as the traditional description?

Dr. Bach’s description of Star of Bethlehem is:

The remedy for the after-effects of shock, such as is caused by unexpected bad news or any unexpected and unwelcome event. It can be used just as well for the effects of a shock received many years ago, even very early in childhood. This is also the remedy for that sense of emptiness and loss that sometimes occurs when a loved one dies or moves away. Star of Bethlehem is a comforting remedy to take in such circumstances.

And in her book The Language of Plants: A Guide to the Doctrine of Signatures, Julia Graves writes:

The Star of Bethlehem is very simple and straightforward, as a flower as well as in its healing properties: it brings us back present into our bodies once we have joined the cosmic realms on a sojourn as a space cadet, having been shocked out of our body by trauma.

When I read Julia Graves’ description (above), I immediately identified with having been in “the cosmic realms on a sojourn as a space cadet” but I noted that my sojourn didn’t feel related to trauma.

I recognized that finding Star of Bethlehem and collecting its essence coincided with my return to presence in my mind and body. Did Star of Bethlehem reach me from a quarter of a mile away and bring me back? Did I stay in space cadet mode for the purpose of learning about the essence? Or did I find the essence for the purpose of solving my problem? Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

I brought the collected essence from Pennsylvania to New York so I could bottle it in my healing room. On Saturday, the first thing I planned to do when I got to the shop was bottle the essence, so I could sit with it and receive more of its transmission.

But when I arrived I thought I had better tend to some tasks I told the landlord I’d take care of regarding a broken basement window. I covered the window from the inside with some cardboard to keep critters from coming in, and went outside to collect the unbroken glass pane to save for when we would be able to fix the window. As I was pulling the pane of glass towards me with a window wiper on a long pole, I inadvertently set off a chain of events with our fuel tank that was fairly disasterous. It felt like a true emergency and I sprung into action, making calls and doing everything I could to fix the situation. Once I had done all I could do and cleaned myself up, I sat to bottle Star of Bethlehem, aware that it could help me feel more centered.

While bottling and tasting the essence, I had the experience of being brought back to presence in my mind and body without feeling heavy or detached from the experience I’d just had. I arrived fully into my body, and grounded into the earth while retaining lightness and awareness. It was a lovely, helpful, and informative experience.

While my first experience with Star of Bethlehem lacked the trauma element, my second experience showed me how the essence works when you’re starting from a heightened nervous system state that more closely resembles trauma.

Essence Description

Star of Bethlehem essence helps you to come back into your body and mind from a state of dissociation, whether brought on by trauma, ascension practices, meditation, astral travel, or any other reason, positive or negative. This essence allows you to retain your lightness while grounding and connecting to your body, mind, and all aspects of your physical being. No matter what has befallen you, there is always a way forward that allows for integrated embodiment of your experiences.