Bach Flower Database

Botany: Aesculus carnea
Preparation: Boiling Method
Represents: Compassion

Red chestnut corresponds to our ability to feel compassion for others. People in the positive red chestnut state possess the ability to form deep and lasting connections with others. When a red chestnut personality loves you, you are definitely loved.

For souls in the negative chestnut state, however, this love becomes an obsession. The ordinary concern we all feel for our loved ones becomes an all-consuming source of extreme anxiety. People in this state are the parents who call their children daily at college to make sure they haven't been mugged. A strange car in the neighborhood triggers panic about a break-in at a neighbor's house and a plea to the local police to "check things out".

Imagine a young woman who is obsessed with the safety of her family. She is currently trying to convince her mother to sell her home and move to an assisted living facility, despite the fact that her mother is still several years shy of being "elderly". Mother's doctor assures our young woman that her mother is perfectly healthy for a woman of her age but our young woman is obsessed with a fear that her mother will break a hip, forget to turn the stove off or neglect to lock the doors at night.

This obsession also extends to the woman's children. During evenings out with her husband, she calls the sitter to make sure everything is all right. Sleep-overs at a friend's house also warrant at least one call, as do day-long visits to Grandmother's house.

Our young woman is a negative red chestnut state. Rather than dealing with her fears in an appropriate way, she projects those fears onto those whom she loves. As a result, her children will grow up feeling "smothered" and her mother will begin avoiding taking her phone calls. Her obsessive need to protect them is, ultimately, driving them away.

The Positive Red Chestnut State

In a positive chestnut state, there is a sense of peace and trust. Concern for others is tempered with a regard for their right to make their own choices. Souls in this state respect their loved ones' decisions and allow them to live their own lives. Positive red chestnut personalities recognize when "concern" becomes "meddling".