Bach Flower Database

Botany: Ornithogalum embellatum
Preparation: Boiling Method
Represents: Resurrection

Edward Bach believed that every serious trauma we experience leaves behind a psychic "footprint" on our souls. These ghosts of our traumas leave us with what amounts to "emotional scar tissue". To overcome these blockages in our emotional energies, Bach recommended star of Bethlehem.

Star of Bethlehem is also the remedy of choice when nothing else seems to be working. Bach believed that it was often necessary to remove physic blockages before other treatments could be effectively administered. And Star of Bethlehem is frequently combined with other remedies. One popular way to use it is to combine it walnut then add the mixture to a newborn's bath water to ease the trauma of birth.

The star of Bethlehem personality is characterize by a deep sense of understanding of other people's emotions. These souls are extremely effective at comforting others because are acutely "tuned in" to the often shifting tide of emotions in other people.

In the negative star of Bethlehem state, however, these same souls are so blocked by past traumas that they will to to great lengths to avoid any circumstance that might cause them to relive any part of their past experiences.

Imagine a young woman who is deathly afraid of crossing bridges. When she was very young she witnessed her father's automobile being pulled from the shallow waters of a local creek. Her father died when his vehicle left the narrow bridge and plunged several feet into the water below.

On some level, this young woman knows that her fear of bridges is irrational. The bridge on which her father was killed was old and narrow. It had guardrails along the side. By contrast, the bridge she needs to cross every day is new and modern. It is engineered with safety in mind and is inspected regularly, as her state's laws mandate. In her entire life, she has not witnessed so much as a single minor accident on that bridge.

However, the memories of her father's sudden death are so traumatic for her that she drives miles out of her way every day to avoid crossing any body of water. She is so desperately afraid of reliving those memories that her fear dictates where she lives, where she shops and even where her children attend school.

This woman in in a negative star of Bethlehem state. The fear of reliving that past trauma has quite literally crippled her ability to live a normal life. She spends countless hours and much money avoiding a stretch of highway that thousands of residents use every day.

The Positive Star of Bethlehem State

The positive star of Bethlehem state is one of resurrection from the crippling trauma of past ordeals. In this state, souls become powerful comforters of others. They are able to accept past agonies and use those experiences to grow.