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The Shasta Daisy flower essence
A journey of co-creation between humans and plants
Amongst the California essences, Shasta Daisy is a shining star for synthesizing information, organizing thoughts, personal integration, and more.
The Shasta Daisy flower essence was one of the very first essences created by Richard Katz and Patricia Kaminski of the Flower Essence Society (FES), during the early years of their research beginning in 1979. At that time, this was the only essence they prepared from a cultivated plant variety, while all others were made with flowers that grew wild in the fields.
They told us during a class that whenever they had been initially called to prepare an essence from a cultivated variety, they would systematically try to substitute it for a wild species when available. However, in the case of the Shasta Daisy, the intuitive message has always been that this daisy was the right choice.
Many years later they understood why the inner message came to them so clearly, that this was the daisy with which this essence was meant to be prepared. Keep reading, and you will also discover why.
The Shasta Daisy 🌱 Archetype
A mandala-shaped flower expressing principles of a higher order
The Shasta Daisy flower essence is prepared from this vibrantly white daisy.
Its shape is one of a mandala, with a yellow center composed of many disk flowers, following the ordered harmony of the golden rule, a principle that pervades the whole of Nature, as well as the universe of which we are part. This circle of geometric harmony is framed by clear white ray flowers.
Amongst its many qualities as a flower essence, the Shasta Daisy helps us organize our thoughts in ways that take into account the bigger picture while integrating each one of its parts.
A flower created over 17 years in the living laboratory of Nature
The Shasta Daisy flower was developed by Luther Burbank, a genius who was passionate about plants. in a rapidly changing world, Burbank’s contributions became well known beyond the US borders.
A renowed inventor, who worked in co-creation with Nature developing numerous plant species, he connected during his life with illustrious men such as Thomas Edison, inventor of the lamp, film camera, etc., Henry Ford creator of the automobile, the blind writer Hellen Keller, and the yogi Paramahansa Yogananda.
This daisy was created as a synthesis of many daisies
Developing this flower was, for 17 years, what we call the “pet project” of Luther’s creative genius. His goal was to develop an ideal daisy of remarkable brightness, that would have a strikingly clear presence, surpassing all the other daisies that grew in the wild in the area where he lived, and elsewhere.
He started with the Ox-eye daisy Leucanthemum vulgare that grew wild in his surroundings. To begin with, over a significant period of time he inter-pollinated it with the English Field Daisy Leucanthemum maximum.
As he went along, he selected the best resulting plants and pollinated them with a wild Portuguese Field Daisy, Leucanthemum lacustre. He did this for over six more years.
These blossoms turned out very good, but nonetheless, he still wanted more white and more brilliance. In order to do this, he selected his favorite ones and cross pollinated them with the Japanese Field Daisy Nipponanthemum nipponicum, one that had remarkably white petals.
Finally, in 1901 Luther Burbank was satisfied and offered this hybrid daisy to the world calling it Shasta Daisy in honor of Mount Shasta, a majestic volcanic California mountain that has it’s top always covered with glistening white snow.
Shasta Daisy Flower Essence Qualities and Application
In light of its remarkable origin as a species, we can see why the Shasta Daisy Flower Essence offers us this range of very clear qualities:
Shasta Daisy flower essence for systemic thinking
- considering the whole and all its parts
- grasping the vision of the whole, while seeing parts articulated with this whole
- awareness of the big picture, and perceiving all interconnections and the impact each aspect has on the whole
- caring and managing complexity in ways that are efficient; maintaining the vision of the whole while knowing how to give proper attention to each part
Organization, planning, and prioritization
- organizing and planning your life from a comprehensive vision
- taking care of the whole and of all its parts with competence; holistic thinking
- knowing how to take care of aspects and details, while seeing their part in the bigger picture
- able to account for everything that is happening; taking care of details while understanding how to take the whole towards a desired direction
Synthesis and integration of acquired knowledge
- as you study, helps integrate what you learned by making it yours and putting it in your own words
- helps with synthesis; understanding, taking in information, and offering an output that comes from a place of true integration
Personal integration
- reaching new levels of integration of various aspects and facets of your own psyche
- connecting and integrating the many parts of your own being
