The 7 Bach Flower Groups

Dr. Bach placed his 38 Bach Flower Remedies into seven emotional groups. This makes it easier to identify the flower essence which is most applicable to the individual.

These emotional groups are as follows:

Overcoming your worries (fear)
  • Aspen - Helps when you feel fearful without knowing why. The fear is vague and unexplainable and may haunt you day or night.
  • Cherry Plum - For those who fear losing control of their thoughts and actions and doing things they know are bad for them or which they consider wrong. Teaches trust in one’s spontaneous wisdom and the courage to follow one’s path.
  • Mimulus - Helps when you feel fear, the type of fear that you can put a name on such as fear of dogs, spiders, being alone, losing a job, illness etc. Also, fear of speaking freely of it to others or shyness.
  • Red Chestnut - Helps when you find it difficult not to be anxious for other people, you are afraid that some unfortunate things may happen to your loved ones.
  • Rock Rose - Helps when you experience fears, such as terror or fright that makes you feel frozen and unable to move or think clear.
Know yourself (uncertainty)
  • Cerato - Helps trust your own judgment in decision-making.
  • Gentian - Helps when you get discouraged and depressed when things go wrong or when you are faced with even small delays or difficulty.
  • Gorse - Helps when you feel great hopelessness, and have given up belief that more can be done.
  • Hornbeam - Helps when you feel that you do not have sufficient amount of strength mentally or physically to carry the burden that life has placed on you.
  • Scleranthus - Helps when you have a hard time choosing between two things, such as Mexican or Chinese food, you simply can not decide which restaurant to go to.
  • Wild Oat - Helps when you are at a crossroad in life and are uncertain as to which direction to choose.
Live by the day (insufficient interest in the present circumstances)
  • Chestnut Bud - Helps you from making the same mistake over and over again. You do not take full advantage of observation and experiences and therefore it takes longer for you to learn a lesson.
  • Clematis - For those who find their lives unhappy and withdraw into fantasy worlds. They are ungrounded and indifferent to the details of everyday life. Teaches one to establish a bridge between the physical world and the world of ideas and may foster great creativity. Is also used to bring clarity and alertness to the present moment.
  • Honeysuckle - Helps you to let go of past experiences or events. Your thoughts are in the past rather in the present.
  • Mustard - Helps when you feel suddenly depressed without any reason. It feels like a cold dark cloud that destroys normal happiness and cheerfulness.
  • Olive - Helps you regain energy, vitality and interest in life.
  • White Chestnut - Helps when your mind is cluttered with thoughts usually arguments, ideas, thoughts which you do not wish to have in your mind.
  • Wild Rose - Helps you to take responsibility for your own life and take a lively interest in life, work and the world in general.
Connect with others (loneliness)
  • Heather - Helps when you are unhappy being alone for any length of time, you are always seeking the companionship and find it necessary to discuss your affairs with others, no matter who it may be.
  • Impatiens - For those who act and think quickly, and have no patience for what they see as the slowness of others. They often prefer to work alone. Teaches empathy and understanding of and patience with others. It is found to be fast-acting in alleviating an impatient attitude and lowering stress.
  • Water Violet - Helps you get a warmer relationship with other people. You love being alone, but often find yourself lonely.
Stay with yourself (over-sensitivity to influences and ideas)
  • Agrimony - Helps you to communicate your real feelings and worries. You are the cheerful, humorous type that gets distressed by argument or quarrel. You often hide your feelings behind humor and you use alcohol or drugs in excess to stimulate yourself.
  • Centaury - Helps when you find it hard to say no, and therefore easily get imposed on. You often find yourself serving others, neglecting your own particular mission in life.
  • Holly - Helps when you suffer from angry thoughts such as jealousy, envy, revenge and/or suspicion.
  • Walnut - Helps you break free from old ties and at times of major life changes. It helps you move forward and make necessary changes in order to be happy. Walnut gives consistency and protection from outside influences.
Find hope and happiness (despondency and despair)
  • Crab Apple - Helps when you feel that there is something not quite clean about yourself. You may need to wash hands often, find things dirty without any reason, you may find yourself ugly although others find you very attractive. This is the cleansing essence.
  • Elm - Helps when your responsibilities overwhelm you. You feel depressed and exhausted and may lose self-esteem.
  • Larch - Helps you to regain self-esteem and confidence in yourself.
  • Oak - Helps when your inner strength wanes, usually because you are an overachiever and will overwork and ignore your tiredness.
  • Pine - Helps when you feel guilt and self-reproach, often for other people’s mistakes or just anything that goes wrong. You are never content with your effort and results.
  • Star of Bethlehem - Helps when you experience trauma, serious news, loss of someone dear, the fright following an accident etc. The distress and unhappiness feels unbearable.
  • Sweet Chestnut - Helps you at moments when the anguish is too great and seems to be unbearable. Your mind or body feels as if it has tolerated the uttermost limit of its endurance. It feels as if there is nothing but destruction and annihilation left to face.
  • Willow - Helps when you have suffered adversity or misfortune and find it difficult to accept. You feel sorry for yourself and are grumble and sulky.
Live and let live (overcare for the welfare of others)
  • Beech - Helps you be less critical toward other people and accept them as they are.
  • Chicory - Helps you to be less critical, opinionated and argumentative. You always find something about others that you believe should be put right.
  • Rock Water - Helps when you expect too much of yourself.
  • Vervain - For strong-willed people who hold strong views. They put unnecessary effort into everything they undertake, your mind race ahead of events, you may suffer from lack of sleep due to an overactive mind.
  • Vine - Helps you respect other people’s views and ideas, you tend to try to persuade other people to do things your way.