(this article was originally published in Pagan Dawn)
The
rose is the flower of Venus and the symbol of love in all its delicious
variety. It is symbolically linked to
Adonis, Aphrodite, Dionysus and Eros.
Greek lovers gave roses as a courting gift to their eromenoi. “So must you beautiful boys arm yourselves
with roses,” wrote Philostratus in the second century CE.
According to mythology,
Aphrodite trod on the thorns of a white rose-bush when she rushed to succour
her mortally-wounded lover Adonis. Her
blood stained the petals red, and this is how the red rose came to be. The red rose is sacred to Venus and
Aphrodite, who rule over love, life, creation, fertility, creation, beauty and
virginity. The open rose is a symbol of
the feminine, while the rosebud is a symbol of the masculine, and suggests
same-sex love, especially in the Middle East.
In a sixteenth century text by Mehemmed Ghazali (d. 1535), the relaxed
anus is compared to the “laughter of a thousand roses”, and the closed anus to
a “silent rosebud”. In
nineteenth-century French bohemian circles, men-loving men were dubbed “les
Chevaliers de la Rosette” (the knights of the little rose – the little rose
signified the anus). The rose also
symbolises the short intense life of a beautiful being who does not bear fruit
– the eternal ephebe.
In
alchemy, the rose symbolised the Divine Androgyne, and both Rosicrucian and
Sufi writings make extensive use of rose imagery. In the Rubai'yat of Omar Khayyam (a
Sufi poem), the rose represents the ephemeral nature of life:
Look to the Rose that blows about us---"Lo,
"Laughing," she says, "into the World I blow:
"At once the silken Tassel of my Purse
"Tear, and its Treasure on the Garden throw."
Similarly, in an Irish
ballad, the rose symbolises regret at the passing of youth:
'Tis the last rose of summer left blooming alone
All her lovely companions are faded and gone.
In
Rosicrucianism, the rose-cross contains the mystic rose as the wheel and the
divine light of the universe, and the cross as the temporal world of pain and
sacrifice. W B Yeats evokes these themes
in his poem, To the Secret Rose:
Surely thine hour has come, thy great wind blows,
Far off, most
secret, and inviolate Rose?
The Compass Rose or the
Rose of the Winds represents the cardinal directions and the winds, and is used
as a symbol of the circle in the Cochrane Tradition.
The rose is also a symbol
of secrecy – the term 'sub rosa' denotes this, and a carving of a rose is hung
in council chambers as a reminder to be discreet. In Alchemy, it was also a symbol of wisdom,
and the rebirth of the spiritual after the death of the temporal. In Egypt, the rose symbolised pure love freed
from carnal desire, and as such, was an emblem of Isis and Osiris (Aset and
Ousir). In Hebrew symbolism, the centre
of the rose is the sun, and its petals are the infinite variety of life. The Adept's Rose has 22 petals (one for each
Hebrew letter and path of the Tree of Life); the inner ring of three petals
denotes Air, Fire and Water; the middle ring represents the seven planets; and
the outer ring represents the twelve signs of the zodiac.
According
to Persian legend, essential oil of rose was discovered at the wedding-feast of
the Princess Nour-Djihan and the Emperor Djihanguyr. A canal was dug, and the surface of the water
was covered with rose-petals. The heat
of the sun caused the oil to separate from the petals and float on the surface
of the water, and the production of rose-oil began soon afterwards. Essential oil of rose (extracted from Rosa
damascena and Rosa centifolia) can be used to purge the vascular and
digestive systems and soothe the nerves.
It regulates menstruation and is good for genito-urinary infections and
as an antiseptic. It is also an aphrodisiac. Rose water reduces inflammation and can be
used as an eye bath for conjunctivitis, or in a poultice applied to the temples
to relieve a headache. Rosehip syrup is
an excellent source of vitamin C. Red
rose petals can be used for dyeing cloth, and any colour can be used to make
rose-petal wine. Rosaries were
originally made of dried rosebuds, and the beads are still carved in the shape
of rosebuds.
In magic, the thorns of
the rose are used for protection. Rose
petals and hips are used in healing magic, and to relieve stress. Drinking rosebud tea before going to bed is
said to induce prophetic dreams.
Planting roses in the garden is said to attract faeries, and rose-bushes
are said to grow best when they are stolen from another garden.
Yvonne Aburrow
Bibliography
Aburrow,
Yvonne (1993), The Enchanted Forest: the magical lore of trees. Chieveley: Capall Bann Publishing.
Conner,
Randy P., David Sparks, and Mariya Sparks (1997), Cassell's Encyclopedia of Queer Myth, Symbol and Spirit: Gay, Lesbian,
Bisexual and Transgender Lore. London and New York: Cassell.
Yeats, William Butler, The
Secret Rose.
