About Rose
The rose is the flower of love in almost every tradition that knows it — romantic love, self-love, grief and beauty. Petals, hips and rosewater all turn up in love charms, baths and devotional offerings.
Dried petals in sachets, baths, or love spells; one of the most universal love correspondences.
History & folklore
The rose was sacred to Aphrodite and Venus, and later to the Virgin Mary — the rosary takes its name from it. Roses hung over a meeting table meant everything said was secret: sub rosa, 'under the rose'. In Victorian flower language, the colour of a rose carried its own message: red for passion, yellow for friendship, white for innocence.
Correspondences
- Traditional uses
- Love, self-love, beauty
- Latin name
- Rosa spp.
- Element
- Water
- Planet
- Venus
- Best day
- Friday
- Moon phase
- Waxing moon — for drawing things toward you
- Intentions
- Love, Self-Love
Ways to work with it
- Scatter dried petals in a warm bath while you speak kindly to yourself.
- Place a single fresh rose on your altar as an offering of love.
- Add petals to a jar or sachet for a relationship or self-love working.
Growing & gathering
Old-fashioned and wild roses are the most fragrant for magic. Gather petals from unsprayed roses in the morning after the dew dries, and spread them on paper to dry. Rose hips gathered after the first frost can be dried for winter love charms.
Use only unsprayed, food-grade petals in anything you eat, drink or bathe in. Shop-bought flowers are usually treated with pesticides.
Spells to try
Pairs well with
BasilProtection, prosperity, love
Lemon BalmHealing, love, success
YarrowCourage, love, psychic ability
HawthornProtection, love, BeltaneCorrespondences are traditional associations gathered from folk practice and modern craft books. They vary between sources, and they are not medical advice. Read our editorial approach.