Summer 2003 Issue

Welcome to the fourth issue of our Online Newsletter. In the first two issues, I featured articles on service programs being conducted around the world by individuals and organizations using the Alaskan essences. In the third issue, I wrote about the Reindeer Moss essence and its healing implications in light of the events of 9/11/2001. In this issue, I highlight three new research flower essences. You can read past issues by clicking on the link(s) below.

• Summer 2003 Issue - Highlight on New Research Essences
• Spring/Summer 2002 Issue - Reindeer Moss and 9/11
• Autumn 2001 Issue - Projeto Renascer and the Pregnancy Support Formula
• Spring 2001 Issue - The Animal Care Story

This article is presented in response to the many people who have asked us over the years to make more information available on essences that are still in the early stages of their research and development.

I have decided to feature the following three research essences in this issue because I feel they have something extremely relevant to offer us at this moment in our evolution as human and spiritual beings. Two of the three essences are from orchids, bringing the total number of essences in our repertory prepared from the Orchid family to eleven, by far the largest representation of any family in our system.

Fairy Slipper - Calypso bulbosa

BOTANICAL INFORMATION: This beautiful sweet smelling flower has 3 light magenta sepals and 2 narrow, pointed, and twisted petals that sit erect above the lid-like anther and lower slipper shaped lip, which are white with deep magenta spots.

The leaves are small, dark green and oval shaped. New leaves develop in autumn after the plant blooms, remain through the winter, and wither the following summer. The seed capsules contain from 10,000 to 20,000 tiny seeds!

As with most terrestrial orchids, Fairy Slippers grow in close association with the soil fungi of their natural habitat. Therefore, they are difficult if not impossible to transplant.

This flower is also a good example of pollination by deception. The flowers contain no nectar and their pollen is inaccessible to foraging insects, but their color and perfume mimic insect food flowers. Their color patterning and scent change with time and vary greatly from one flower to the next. This reduces the chance that foraging bees will avoid other blooms–by the time they have realized the futility of their efforts, they have already cross-pollinated several of these orchids.

Fairy Slippers grow in moist, mossy woods in the southern and central parts of Alaska, blooming from mid-May to mid-June.

PREPARATION NOTES: Something very interesting happened when we prepared this essence. The essence was made using just seven flowers. As we put each flower into the bowl, it went to an area in the bowl that was not occupied and pressed its “slipper” to the edge. This happened with every flower in succession. The result was that each one had its own space in the bowl, and was in the exact same position relative to the edge as the others.

INITIAL ATTUNEMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS: Finding these beautiful orchids, after looking for them for so many years, was a healing in itself. We sensed a sacred power around them, and lowered our voices in respect, like one would upon entering a temple or monastery.

We found the Fairy Slippers growing in small, scattered groups in the forest. The largest grouping we saw had 25 flowers in it; most had less, but each flower possessed its own strong individuality.

The magenta colored stems rise vertically from earth and bend near the top to 90º (with the flower's weight), but the crown of sepals maintain their regal bearing. The energy of this flower projects horizontally out into the surrounding forest while maintaining its vertical alignment with the Divine and the Earth. This gesture of strength and individuality, combined with a proud but delicate beauty, gave us an immediate insight into the healing qualities these flowers have to offer.

During our initial meditations, we felt the energy of this flower working primarily with our three upper chakras. There was a sense of light being transmitted through the crown chakra, which in turn activated the brow and throat chakras. We felt that this essence would be especially helpful for men who wish to connect on a stronger level with their higher wisdom selves, and allow that energy to come down into their bodies so it can be expressed with a higher degree of articulation and authority.

Initial feedback from therapists using Fairy Slipper indicates that this essence can also be used to help both men and women learn to communicate with more awareness. More specifically, Fairy Slipper will help the person who is speaking choose words that will best hold the meaning of what he/she wants to say, and help the receiver to better understand the speaker’s point of view.

HEALING QUALITIES: support for standing in our power and beauty, and for projecting our unique individuality in a clear way; helps us manifest our spiritual wisdom through our bodies; strengthens the male principle in men and women; promotes clear communication through alignment with Earth and Spirit.

Northern Coral Root - Corallorhiza trifida

BOTANICAL INFORMATION:this is an interesting looking orchid to say the least. Slender, slightly green, leafless stems rise from the forest floor bearing 6-12 flowers that are each less than 1 cm across. The blooms are yellow/white with the typical orchid “lip” which is also white with red/purple spots.

This orchid is classified as a saprophyte. Saprophytes are neither parasitic nor capable of photosynthesis, but instead take their nutrients from dead organic matter on the forest floor. They do this by taking up the by-products left by fungi and other organisms that break down rotting plants and wood in the soil. As with most saprophytes, Northern Coral Root grows in a close symbiotic relationship with the soil fungi in its area and cannot be cultivated. (This coral root orchid does have some chlorophyll in its stems, enabling it to supplement its diet with the sun’s energy.)

Northern Coral Root is one of the first orchids of the season, blooming in early June in shaded woods and meadows in the southern and central parts of Alaska.

INITIAL ATTUNEMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS: This plant’s unique symbiotic relationship with the soil from which it grows illustrates a special kind of partnership with the Earth. Instead of depleting new resources from far away, as humans do, this plant lives from what is available in its immediate surroundings, using what other plants have left as sustenance.

In these times, when the Earth’s resources are being depleted at an alarming rate, I believe this flower will help people become more aware of how they interact with the Earth and learn to do it in ways that are more respectful and less consumptive.

It will do this by helping us to align our hearts, spirits and physical bodies with where we are in the moment. It is this alignment that allows us to receive the sustenance that is available right under our feet. This essence also reminds us that as long as we maintain a co-creative connection with the Earth, it will be possible to receive the nourishment we need wherever we are.

Northern Coral Root is also about transforming and transmuting the old into the new. On the physical level, this plant lives by converting “dead” organic matter into nutrition. Similarly, its essence can be used to transform old, toxic energy patterns back into Light.

At this time on our planet there is an abundance of toxic energy­, including the debris of our collective learning experiences and healing processes. Whether this energy is manifest on the physical, etheric, emotional, or mental level, its presence clouds our perceptions and impedes our collective progress towards living happy and fulfilling lives. As we release and recycle our own toxic thoughts and emotions, we increase our alignment with the nurturing energies of the Earth and the inspirational forces of Spirit, and the quality of our life improves.

This orchid challenges us to let go of our attachments to having our needs met in a certain way, especially if that way is contributing to the ongoing depletion of the Earth’s resources. It challenges us to look for new ways of connecting with the energy and substance that is available and come up with more creative ways of using and recycling it.

This essence can also be used by those doing Space Clearing, especially those working with land, to transform toxic emotions, thoughts, and energies stuck in the energetic matrix of the property back into Light.

HEALING QUALITIES: helps us become more aware and respectful of our symbiotic ­relationship with the Earth; supports us in receiving what we need through co-creative association and ­connectedness; helps us transmute toxic and distorted emotions, thought forms, and energies back into Light.

Star Gentian - Swertia perennis

BOTANICAL INFORMATION: Purplish stems up to 15” tall support five petaled purplish flowers that have a distinct star shape. Leaves are opposite, oval shaped, and occur at the base of the stems.

Star Gentian grows in wet bogs, subalpine meadows, and moist woods across much of the southern half of Alaska. It blooms from mid-July to early August.

INITIAL ATTUNEMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS:The signature of five is very strong in this flower. The five petals and five sepals are very organized and conspicuous. As the flower matures, five pollen bearing anthers rise up and present themselves to the stigma, and then afterwards bend back away from the center.

Star Gentian offers a field of awareness and energetic support that is easy to access. My initial experience with this flower was characterized by a profound feeling of calm and ease of focus.

During my attunement I received a very strong impression that this essence will help men serve the feminine through cooperation and the offering of protection. I also sensed that this essence will help to bring about a higher degree of balance and equanimity between men and women as both sexes are engaged in service to higher purpose.

The essence will do this in several ways. One is that it will help both men and women reclaim their spiritual self-image. Another is through the reconciliation of polarities. Polarities exist within each of us and between the sexes. Cooperation between these polarities is a final step in moving beyond them. Star Gentian encourages cooperation within the self between the polarities that exist there, which in turn allows for more cooperation between individuals and groups.

Star Gentian also helps us focus our energies towards goals of higher service and clarify our intentions as they relate to this service—within ourselves and in a larger, collective sense. Therefore it is a good essence for spiritually oriented groups who wish to achieve this clarity and attain higher degrees of cooperation amongst their members in order to reach their service goals.

Newsletter written by Steve Johnson with help from Jacqueline Kassick.
© 2003 by Alaskan Essences Inc. All rights reserved. Use granted by written permission only.