ROSE
Rosa spp.
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Common Names: Rose, Rosebud, Rose Hips, Hip Berries, Roseberries, Queen of Flowers Zodiac: Taurus, Libra |
Magickal and Ritual UsesRose is a Venusian ally for love, beauty. Use her petals in spells for self-love, romantic connection, and emotional renewal. Add them to ritual baths to soften your heart or blend them into beauty oils to enchant your glow. Place them on your altar as offerings to Venus, a gesture of devotion and desire. Her thorns are potent tools of protection, reminding us that true love requires boundaries |
Potions and BrewsTincture (ratio & % alcohol): Fresh: 1:2 or 1:3 70-95% Dry:1:5 50-50% Tea: Hot/cold infusions, decoction Rosehip Decoction (for mucous membrane support): |
Habitat and Botanical Description:Wild roses are native to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, growing across North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. These resilient plants favor the edges, thriving in canyons, meadows, forest margins, and hillsides where sun meets shade. They root deeply in moist, well-drained soils and often grow in tangled thickets, offering protection and nourishment to the creatures of the land. Botanically, wild roses are deciduous, perennial shrubs or climbing vines, most often armed with thorns, nature’s built-in boundary spell. Their flowers bloom with a simple five-petal grace in wild species, while cultivated varieties often boast layers of ruffled petals. If left unharvested, their blossoms form fruit: round, red-orange rosehips, rich in nutrients and medicinal magick. After blooming, a new shoot called a surculi, emerges to prepare for the next year’s growth. |
Medicinal Uses:Rose is the herbalist’s balm for the heart, body, and spirit. The petals are gentle but potent nervines, easing emotional turbulence and helping restore balance to all three doshas. Rose is cooling and astringent, especially helpful in hot, inflamed tissue states, both physical and emotional. Energetically, Rose softens grief, quiets anxiety, and invites in the sweetness of life. Physically, she nourishes the female reproductive system, soothes menstrual imbalances, and restores libido when it’s been dampened by stress or hormonal fluctuation. The fruit of the Rose called Rose hips has also been used as for herbal medicine in many traditions. Particularly valued for boosting the immune system. Rose hips are found to be one of the richest herbal sources of vitamin C and a good source of vitamin A, calcium, and magnesium. Rose hips have a sweet, tart taste that can be used as a flavoring agent in many foods and drinks. A sweet addition to nutritive teas. Mucilage from decocted hips coats sore throats and inflamed digestive linings, especially helpful post-antibiotics or during stomach flu. The seeds of Rosehips are used in oil for their high antioxidant content. Rose hip seed oil is a well-known anti aging skin ally. Cold pressed oil from the fruit of the rose, is antioxidant-rich and deeply hydrating, helpful for acne scarring, eczema, and sun damage. It’s one of the primary ingredients Witch in the Woods Facial Serum for good reason. |
Beauty and Glamour MagickIn witchcraft, roses have a long history of being used in spells, rituals, and potions. They are associated with various magickal properties, including love, healing, protection, and divination. Rose is beauty magick made flesh, soft and fragrant. Witches have long called on her in potions, charms, and rituals of allure. Her petals cool and tone the skin, her scent calms the spirit, and her essence invites us to see beauty not as vanity, but as sacred. Use rosewater or oil in your daily rituals of adornment. Anoint your face with Rosehip oil to bless your radiance, or steep her petals into a bath to soak in her Venusian glow. Spritz rosewater before a date, a spell, or simply to shift your energy and call your magick back home. Rose doesn’t just beautify, she reminds us to soften is not to weaken, but to open. |
Astrological and Elemental InfluenceRose is ruled by Venus, goddess of love, sensuality, and sacred beauty. To work with Rose is to attune yourself to the Venusian current, where tenderness is power, beauty is a frequency, and desire is a compass. Where softness and strength are not opposites but companions. With Water as her element, Rose teaches emotional fluidity, resilience, and softness. She balances masculine and feminine energy, harmonizing the inner yin and yang. Use her in rituals for love and heart healing. Venus governs the signs of Taurus and Libra, and Rose carries the wisdom of both. Astrologically, she thrives in Taurus season, when the earth blooms, our senses heighten, and the desire to touch, taste, and savor returns. She teaches embodiment, how to feel, how to savor, how to root into the pleasures of being alive. She is a balm for the nervous system and the skin, cooling inflammation and inviting us back into the body. In Libra, she whispers of harmony, connection, and reciprocity, how to open the heart without losing yourself in the process. Rose helps smooth the edges of emotional conflict and guides us toward beauty that nourishes rather than depletes. Work with Rose on Fridays, the day of Venus, for spells involving love, charm, confidence, or glamour. |
Harvesting:Harvest Rose petals on dry mornings, ideally during Taurus season, just as the blooms begin to open but before they are fully unfurled. Choose unsprayed flowers and snip with care, leaving some behind if you hope to harvest rosehips in the fall. Rosehips are best gathered in in late fall or early winter, after the first frost when the fruit softens and their color deepens to a rich orange or red. This is when they are said to be the sweetest. Wear gloves and long sleeves to protect yourself from thorns, which can easily catch skin as you harvest. Once collected, rinse the hips and trim away the stems and blossom ends. If you plan to use them in food preparations, halve each hip and scrape out the seeds and inner hairs, as these can irritate the digestive tract. For tea or tincture, the seeds and hairs may remain as long as you strain well before use. Rosehips are also an important winter food source for wildlife. Rose is a generous plant, but she’s also beloved by the wild. |
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Sources:
- Chevallier, A. (1996). The encyclopedia of medicinal plants. London, UK: Dorling Kindersley.
- Easley, T., & Horne, S. (2016). The modern herbal dispensatory: A medicine-making guide. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.
- Groves, M.N. (2016). Body into balance: An herbal guide to holistic self-care. North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing.
- Holmes, P. (2007). The energetics of Western herbs: A materia medica integrating Western and Chinese herbal therapeutics (Vol. 1). Cotati, CA: Snow Lotus Press.
- Elizabeth, C. (n.d.). Rose monograph. Herb Rally. Retrieved from https://www.herbrally.com/monographs/rose
- Pojar J, MacKinnon A. Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Vancouver, BC: Lone Pine Publishing; 1994: 74.
- Skenderi G. Herbal Vade Mecum. Rutherford, NJ: Herbacy Press; 2003:321.
- Willard T. Edible and Medicinal Plants of the Rocky Mountains and Neighboring Territories. Calgary, AB: Wild Rose College of Natural Healing; 1992:293.
- Wood, M. (2008). The Earthwise herbal: A complete guide to Old World medicinal plants. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.
- Wood, M. (2009). The Earthwise herbal: A complete guide to New World medicinal plants. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.
- *Additional information collected from various sources including personal experience and class notes
Disclosure: This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Consult with a qualified healthcare practitioner before using herbal products, particularly if you are pregnant, nursing, or on any medications.