Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon my Darlings.   Today’s post is all about giving some love to my very favorite of all Plant Families.   That’s right, we are giving massive love to Rosaceae, the Rose Family!   These plants are so special with the majority of the family having those simple and lovely five-petaled flowers.   The five-petaled flowers that are common in this family are mirrored in the orbit of Venus, which makes perfect sense, as these plants are often ruled by the planet Venus.   This also serves to relate to the fact that Love Goddesses and many of my beloved Faery Queens hold these plants sacred!   Now, that we have gone over why I adore this family of plants so deeply, let’s look at some of my favorite plants and trees in the family.

APPLE🍎(Malus spp.)

~Of course, we must begin our list of favorite plants and trees of the Rosaceae family with my favorite tree, my beloved Apple!   I adore Apple trees of all sorts for their fruits and blossoms in equal measure.   She is the fruit of immortality, sexuality, and wisdom.   There is so much magick in the Apple tree, and I could write and have written whole posts going on about ways to use the Apple in magick and folkloric uses for Apples.   Since this is a post about the Rosaceae family as a whole, I will simply mention that Apple is my personal tree guardian and that of course I adore her for being so abundant and deeply entwined with Avalon!

HAWTHORN (Crataegus monogyna)

~My second favorite tree of all time and another deeply personal plant spirit guardian for me is Hawthorn.   She is such a magickal and lovely presence with her berries, her flowers, and her leaves, all being a huge part of my magickal and herbal practices!   She is the Tree of May, another Faery Tree, and is strongly valued by the Faery Queens, especially the May Queens.   Hawthorn is another tree I could go on about forever, but once again, as I want to highlight several plants here, I will finish by simply stating that Hawthorn was one of only three plant spirit guardians that appeared to me very viscerally during my Herbs of Avalon class last year.   What I mean by that is that she is a plant spirit guardian who will be with me my entire life and has had a gigantic impact on my life, as opposed to plants that I adore, but do not feel the same spiritual connection with!   

RASPBERRY (Rubus ideaus)

~Raspberries are so delicious and nutritious, but in herbalism, my favorite part to use is their leaves.   The leaves of this lovely plant are a truly magickal tonic for the womb and help to soothe and protect the women’s reproductive system immensely.   Even these leaves have a very light and sweet taste, without having the berry included!   She is an ideal ally in many a Red Tent and Fertility blend. 

STRAWBERRY🍓(Fragaria × ananassa)

~My husband’s favorite fruit, and one I have adored forever, the Strawberry is a lovely member of the Rosaceae family.   She is a fruit very obviously linked to the heart given her bright red color and heart-like shape.   The look of her fruit can actually be an example of the Doctrine of Signatures, which in herbalism denotes a plant whose appearance signals some of the uses of the plant!   She is certainly a fun addition to many a date night, whether covered in chocolate or dropped into champagne.

LADY’S MANTLE (Alchemilla vulgaris)

~Another great womb tonic and reproductive system support plant for women, Lady’s Mantle is a beautiful and protective herb.   Her Latin name having the word Alchemy in it also signals her truly magickal and transformative nature!   This makes her another ideal ingredient in Red Tent and fertility blends.

ROSES, ROSES, ROSES! 🌹  (Rosa spp.)

~Finally, I had to end with my favorite flower and the plant that gives the whole family its name, the Rose!   While my personal favorite Rose is the White Rose (obviously) I also adore Red and Pink Roses, and even ones that are genetically modified to give us unique colors, like Blue.  The Rose is the ultimate Flower of Love, with her heart-centered soul intentions, and her ability to heal the heart and promote sexuality and self-love!   I could go on forever about how beautiful and magickal the Rose is, but I will simply leave off with the fact that she makes me feel endless compassion for myself when I am being overly self-critical.

~I hope you have enjoyed this short exploration of why my favorite family of plants is Rosaceae.   What is your favorite plant family?   Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is a gorgeous artwork of a White Rose.   I found the artwork on https://www.oceansbridge.com/shop/artists/l/lap-law/johan-laurentz/white-rose.

LINK TO AVALONIAN ROSE FAERY MYSTERIES PATREON: https://patreon.com/AvalonianRoseFaeryMysteries?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

Tarot Note: I have a page offering tarot and oracle readings for those interested in these services!    I am very happy to be offering these readings to my treasured readers at White Rose of Avalon!  Link to page: https://whiteroseofavalon.life/tarot-and-oracle-readings/  

Further Reading

• Eyewitness: Garden Handbooks: Roses: A Photographic Guide to more than 300 Roses by type, size, season of interest, and color by Linden Hawthorne
• 100 Flowers and How They Got Their Names by Diana Wells
• An Herbalist’s Guide to Formulary by Holly Bellebuono
• Cunningham’s Guide to Magical Herbs by Scott Cunningham
• Magickal Faery Plants by Sandra Kynes