Beauty with Boundaries

Dear Readers, there's a reason rose is described as the flower of the heart.

Today’s tea is rose — and you may be thinking, oh this is an easy discussion. but Gentle Reader, I'm going to take you much deeper into the wisdom of the rose and hope per chance that you may now and forever on, see the rose with a very different perspective and awareness.

A rose is not just a flavor or a fragrance. It's a message the Western world has been whispering to itself for thousands of years.

The rose has long been the symbol of love, beauty and inner truth. It has held that role not because it is delicate — but because it is layered...

A rose is soft and it is thorned. It's extremely fragrant and yet, quite guarded. At the same time, it is open and protected. Just like the human heart.

Drinking rose tea is not about romance first. It is about a relationship with yourself.

In Western esoteric wisdom traditions, the rose represents the unfolding soul. Each petal is a layer of consciousness. Each opening is a stage of awareness and in the center is the hidden truth.

This is why we see roses in alchemy, sacred art, mystery schools, poetry, cathedrals, secret societies, love rituals and devotional imagery.

The rose became sacred because it teaches that to love deeply, you must open slowly. You must protect what is tender, while at the same time, be willing to bloom.

Even the thorns carry meaning — boundaries are not the opposite of love. They are what make love safe.

Rose tea carries this wisdom into the body.

It works gently on:
• the heart
• the emotional field
• the nervous system
• memory and grief
• tenderness and trust

Rose does not push healing, she invites it. She says, “You may open at your own pace.” Self-love of this nature is not indulgence. It is the art of staying open without breaking and rose is here to teach us how.

As you may know Gentle Reader, from reading past articles here with me,  I am in year one at my new home, which I have named StoneVeil Cottage. This year I installed a trellis outside my window and in the late Fall I planted climbing roses.

I am very much looking forward to seeing these roses climb their way up the trellis as they work to create a gorgeous canopy. Right now with the melting snow outside, the trellis stands looking cold and forlorn. Yet I know this will all change in the coming seasons, much the same as love lives within us and blooms when the time is right. 

This turns my thoughts back to reflecting on roses and rose tea. Sipping it feels like...
• being spoken to kindly
• remembering something sweet about yourself
• touching your own heart without fear
• slowing down enough to feel
• letting beauty exist naturally

This tea turns your attention inward, as rose is a return to the most beautiful parts of the soul. The rose has always symbolized this wisdom teaching in Western mystical systems-  Love is not outside you, it unfolds from within.

It represents:
• the hidden heart
• the sacred feminine
• the soul’s journey
• the mystery of beauty
• the courage to open

To drink rose tea is to participate in that ancient language.

In this season of the rose, my cup emptied and the rose seemed to say: “The language of love resides deep within, you only need to remain open to it for it to bloom".

Here’s to rose as a teacher, to going deep within as sacred practice, and to the ancient Western symbol that reminds us that the heart is not meant to be armored, it is meant to bloom.

With warmth, humor and deep intention, your tea-totaling sommelier,
Kala 

Kala Ambrose
Wisdom Teacher, Intuitive Interior Designer & Oracle of Energy
https://www.exploreyourspirit.com/

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