Initially, it might seem harsh to equate Love with a bitter flavour because of our cultural link between bitterness and displeasure. However, consider how many people enjoy drinking coffee or tea. Both beverages have a bitter taste, with coffee being more bitter than tea. This suggests that our negative perceptions of bitterness may need some reconsideration.
What is the function of bitter in Chinese Medicine? Bitter has the energetic effect of descending. Whether it is to send down a big and heavy meal or calming overly excited Heart, it has a downward directionality.
You might wonder, if love is about elevation and passionate energy, then bitter surely works in the opposite way, correct? Well, let's explore it further.
In Chinese Medicine (and likewise in Classical Greek philosophy) there are Five fundamental elements/energies on which all material and immaterial existence is based. The Five Elements of Chinese Medicine are: Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood; and everything can be associated with these elements.
Fire is associated with the Summer season, with fire, with the red colour, with the Heart, with Love and with the bitter taste. That already suggest that bitter tasting herbs, especially blue-violet Chicory flowers, are going to be beneficial to the Heart and its emotion of love.
Studying Bach flower essences has helped me grasp the significance of this bitter herb in relation to the emotion of Love. Edward Bach wrote about people who need the Chicory essence:
"…people are full of love and care for their families and friends. But they expect to receive love and attention in return, with interest, and feel slighted and unnecessarily hurt if they don’t get all they expect.
Their great love can lead them to hold onto their loved ones and try to keep them dependent and close to hand.
This may stifle the development of other personalities, or simply drive people away.
When we fall into this state the remedy helps bring out the positive side of Chicory: love given unconditionally and in freedom."
To me, the significance lies in how Chicory serves to strengthen and solidify the emotion of love, making it even more lasting. Reflecting on it, in any loving relationships there comes a point where we must acknowledge and accept something about our partner or family member that may not agree perfectly with us and we may attempt to impose our will rather than let the other be. The bitter-tasting Chicory helps us with accepting the other lovingly, sending it down, swallowing the facts, and by doing so our loving feelings are actually anchored down.
This process in Five Elements describes the dynamic of the Fire and the Water element. Water element corresponds to the Winter season, the colour blue, the Kidneys and the emotion of fear. By ancoring the emotion of Love in the depths of Water energy, the Heart may become unsure and insecure. Hence the blue-violet blooms of Chicory serve as a perfect bridge between the Fire and Water element; supporting the Heart and assuring its connection with the enduring and life-sustaining Water element.
In conclusion, enduring, profound and lasting love requires bitterness as a crucial ingredient. Without it, love may remain superficial, self-centered, conditional or fleeting.
Now... I am off to finish my Chicory flower essence I have harvested and infused earlier today, potentiated with crystals.
If you would like to get my Chicory flower essence contact me by clicking below:
