Bach Flower Database

Botany: Castanea sativa
Preparation: Boiling Method
Represents: Deliverance

Sweet chestnut responds to our ability to deliver ourselves from the deepest pits of our emotions and experiences. Of all the Bach flower states, sweet chestnut is the one which perhaps feels things most deeply. It also has the most potential to take those feelings and turn them into something so new and so groundbreaking that they change the world. Many of our advancements in mathematics, engineering and medicine have come from the minds of people who had the courage and strength to think so "out of the box" they risked ridicule to see their dreams to fruition.

In the negative chestnut state, however, the ability to think so deeply and feel so acutely becomes overwhelming. Unlike other personalities, the sweet chestnut soul--even in the pits of its despair--would never consider taking its own life. In the negative state, sweet chestnut people are the "silent sufferers" who rarely share their despair with others.

Imagine a young woman in an abusive marriage. She knows she should leave both for her own sake and for that of her children. Unfortunately, she is so worn down by years of this horrible treatment that she is having trouble finding the courage to make such a drastic life change.

This woman is in a negative chestnut state. When she finally does leave--or "deliver" herself from this situation, she will not just leave; she will use her experience as an abused spouse to set up a shelter for other abused women. She will open a clothing store to help women like herself find suitable clothing for job interviews. She'll fight for changes in the law to make it easier for other women to leave.

In other words, she will not just make her world better; she will draw up on her experiences to make the world better for every other woman in her situation.

The Positive Sweet Chestnut State

In a positive sweet chestnut state, a soul is acutely "tuned in" to world around it. Sweet chestnut people use this ability to change the world. They make the world better not only for themselves but for all those around them.