The Magic of Flowers: A Guide to Their Metaphysical Uses & Properties - Tess Whitehurst 2013

Petunia
The Flowers

If your only encounters with petunias have been in pampered and manicured gardens, perhaps you didn’t realize that these domesticated beauties are quite recent descendants of a hearty South American wildflower and very close relatives of the tobacco plant. Indeed, beneath her seemingly demure façade, wild beauty and adventurous freedom abound.

Magical Uses

Beauty

Physical beauty, environmental beauty, and beautification of people, objects, spaces, and situations are all included in petunia’s magical repertoire. For this purpose, plant her in your yard, take the essence, add two to three drops of the flower essence to a bottle of face or body lotion, employ the essence or blossom as you feel guided, or create the following mist potion.

BEAUTIFICATION MIST POTION

Simply add six drops petunia essence to a mister of rose water, along with ten to fifteen drops rose geranium essential oil. Shake gently before use. Mist yourself or your space as desired.

Carefree Joy

Need a little more of that carefree joy associated with summertime, vacation, and childhood? Petunia might be the flower for you. For this purpose, take four drops of the flower essence once per day in a bottle of water (sipped over a period of time), add twenty to forty drops petunia essence to your bath water, plant the flower in your yard, or incorporate the flower or essence into rituals or mixtures designed for the purpose.

Domestic Bliss and a Happy Home

Just as petunia lends herself so gracefully to domestication while retaining the wild freedom at her energetic core, petunia can help us blissfully embrace the settled lifestyle without having to surrender our spontaneity and creative juice. This can be especially helpful for newly married couples or for anyone still making peace with the concept of living in one place or in one situation for an extended period of time. To benefit from this aspect of her magic, cultivate petunias in your yard, take the essence, or mist yourself or your space with the beautification mist potion.

Inspiration

Like inspiration itself, petunia’s energetic dynamic is about channeling pure grace—starlight, freedom, and wild joy—into the physical realm. For this reason, petunia can help lift and rouse your spirits, activate your creativity, and generally infuse your life with inspiration. Try spending time in quite contemplation with petunia or employing any of the other suggestions presented in this entry.

Fresh Perspective

If you feel that a fresh perspective is just the thing you need to help get you out of a creative (or any other type of) rut, petunia might be an excellent flower to work with. Incorporate her into essence mixtures or rituals designed for the purpose, or try any of the previous suggestions.

Magical Correspondences

Element: Earth

Gender: Female

Planet: Venus