Bach Flower - Holly (Ilex Aquifolium)

Holly holds a central position among the Bach Flower Remedies, because it embodies love - the highest energy quality through which we all live, and which is our greatest healing power.

The desire for love is programmed into every cell of our being, and when we are going with the stream of love we live in a state of grace. However, when the need to give and receive love is denied, the negative Holly state emerges.

The personality will experience such extreme disappointment that love is expressed as its opposite - in jealousy, hatred, envy, resentment, malice, and a desire for revenge.

While everyone experiences these emotions at some time, in the negative Holly state they are prevalent, and can form the emotional basis for serious physical illness.

While even the negative Holly personality longs for love, it is unable to let it flow forth, and thus often repels that which it seeks through jealously. Even when finding someone with whom to share that love, uncertainty and fears predominate and it lives in fear of losing that love.

Mild forms of jealousy will arise in any loving relationship, and they lead to growth. But when the jealousy becomes "morbid" the love can be extinguished.

In an extreme negative Holly state, an individual becomes suspicious, is super sensitive to real or imagined slights, feels rage and anger, experiences violent bouts of ill-humour, and, understandably, feels unloved and unworthy of love.

Temporary states that can benefit from treatment with this Bach Flower Remedy arise from understandable jealousy - such as shown in a fist born child when a second child comes into the family. Also, dogs who have been the "only child" can also become jealous when displaced in their families' affections by a newborn child. Holly will help both the child and the dog overcome their jealousy and extend their own love to the newborn.

When describing this Bach Flower Essence, Edward Bach said: "Holly protects us from everything that is not Universal Love. Holly opens the heart and unites us with Divine Love."

The soul quality of Holly is that which we all desire - the ideal human state. In its positive state, individuals are able to live in inner harmony, taking pleasure in the achievements and successes of others, freely accepting and feeling love that flows toward them, and having a sense for the Divine scheme of things.