In most cultures, dew is seen as a life-giving substance both in terms of providing necessary physical nourishment and that of spiritual sustenance and transformation. The droplets of water that appear in the early morning light are an important source of moisture and nourishment for many plants and animals; dew has also been collected by people since time immemorial, and used for agricultural, healing and mystical purposes. For others, dew symbolizes a type of inner alchemical process of transformation, a substance that grants liberation and immortality.

According to ancient philosophers and numerous traditions, dew represents the Universal Spirit in condensed form, and an alchemical elixir of life that appears out of the vastness of the calm, clear, night sky to offer nourishment and regenerative power. This condensed form of universal prana is thought to carry information about the environment and surrounding ecosystem, including influences of the sun and moon, planetary configurations and especially of the plant or flower on which it condenses.

New research is now exploring the possibility that water may have the ability to be imprinted with different patterns of information contained in its environment. In this context, dew can be described as the alchemical mixing of universal, environmental and floral energies taking place within the vessel of the flower or plant: the flower receives and holds the water that appears during condensation of dew which contains the influences of the environment, and imprints it with its own information.

Flowers are the crowning achievement of the plant kingdom, the site of pollination and reproduction, and therefore contain the highly concentrated life-force energies. When dew forms on flowers it is imbued with those energies, which give it unique qualities that can be used for healing purposes.

Dew in World Traditions

Historically, dew and its ability to sustain life was of great importance to numerous cultures around the world, including the ancient Egyptians, Chinese, Native Americans, Australian aboriginals and the Maori of New Zealand.

To the alchemist, dew is a medium that collects and concentrates moonlight, and a precipitation of the cosmic fire element; it is considered one of the primary sources of the mysterious Niter, the subtle form of the primal fire of nature. Dew is an important ingredient in many alchemical preparations, including elixirs believed to bestow youthfulness and longevity.

Alchemists considered dew to be produced by a kind of cosmic distillation cycle: moisture from the earth is drawn upward by the action of the sun and moon, which then condenses in the cool night air and settles again on the earth. From the spring equinox on March 21st through May 21st, when the sun is in the astrological signs of Aries and Taurus, alchemists collected dew by dragging clean sheets across the morning grass or shaking plants to cause their dew to fall.

During the Middle Ages, the Lady's Mantle, or Dewcup (Alchemilla), was favored for its extraordinary capacity to collect dew on its lobed leaves. The dew of the Lady's Mantle was thought to be a special holy water for curing the body, mind and spirit; the Druids considered it one of the most sacred forms of water. Hildegard Von Bingen and Paracelsus both collected dew from flowering plants to treat health imbalances.

It is interesting to note that the Latin word ros means both rose and dew. Some alchemists believed that dew is a kind of grace that gently showers the earth with a special wisdom called aqua sapientiae, the water of wisdom. Some alchemists describe this sanctified shower as a quintessence, or fifth element, that unites with and transcends the other four elements.

To the ancient Chinese, dew symbolized immortality, and was an important part of Taoist philosophy and practice. The Immortals of Taoism were said to be perfected beings who lived on mountains, fed on the wind, sipped the dew, and experienced ecstatic flight. It was believed that dew which formed around temples and at sacred places was especially auspicious.

Saliva is referred to as dew in qigong and Taosit alchemy; practices of accumulating and purifying saliva in the mouth are used to clean the blood, regenerate the marrow in bones and balance energy. The Scripture on the Nourishment of the Vital Principle and the Prolongation of Life, quoting a lost commentary on the Tao Te Ching, gave salvia several names depending on the role it plays or on the various states it assumes: when it flows it is the "flowery lake," when collected in the mouth it is the "jade beverage,” when used to rinse the mouth it is the "sweet source," as it descends, it is the "sweet dew." The resulting "golden beverage" is thought to purify the body and nourish the spirit.

At summer Solstice with its abundant growth and long nights, Baltic traditions celebrated the Festival of Rasa. Rasa, meaning dew, was celebrated as an elemental manifestation of life force that had the ability to predict the size of that year's bounty according to the abundance of dew on the morning fields. It is believed that dew which forms before the sunrise on Solstice morning possesses exceptional healing powers.

Dew was said to increase beauty, and therefore to enhance the chances of attracting a husband if a woman bathed in it before dawn.

Dew and Flower Essences

In many regions dew is crucial for providing nourishment and necessary moisture for countless plant and animals. It has been highly regarded around the world by many traditions as a symbol of rebirth and regeneration, and considered to have important healing powers.

One of the most important ways that the properties of dew can be captured for healing is by making flower essences. The methods of making flower essences are in many ways similar to what occurs during the natural formation of dew.

In the 1500’s, Paracelsus gathered dew on plates of glass under various astrological configurations, believing the water to capture, concentrate and carry within it the planetary energies.

In the 1930's Dr. Edward Bach, a British physician and homeopath, began collecting morning dew from flowers for its perceived healing powers; he is now consider the first pioneer of modern flower essences.Bach had a similar view to Paracelsus of the dew accumulating on flowers. Bach felt that the dewdrops contained some of the properties of the plant upon which it rested.

It is easy to intuitively understand how the five elements of the environment influence a flower essence preparation: the heat of the morning sun (fire), acting through the dew (water), would serve to draw out the flowers’ properties (earth), until each drop was magnetized with power. As Bach’s work is described in the Secret Life of Plants, "If he could obtain the medicinal properties of the plants in this way, the resulting remedies would contain the full, perfect, and uncontaminated power of the plants, and they might heal as no medical preparations had been known to heal before."

Dew can vary in quality from plant to plant of the same species, depending on the environment it grows in, different weather conditions, seasonal, planetary and astrological influences. Thus, the dew forming on each plant is considered unique, as it is imprinted with the qualities of the five elements from the environment and the particular plant on which it forms.

At this time, the technology to measure these exact differences and variations is still in early stages of development, but studies have shown that water imprinted with energetic information can produce measurable improvements in physical and emotional health on those who consume it.

Flowers have long been used for their beauty and healing powers. Because a plant channels its metabolic energy into forming its flowers for reproduction, it could be said that flowers are the highest creative expression of a plant.

Originally, the first flower essences were the dewdrops gathered directly from flowers. Dew formation, however, is limited to certain weather conditions and other environmental factors, and this method is not always practical. The modern method of making flower essences mimics the process of dew formation on flowers, and this way of preparing 'floral dew water' has several benefits and advantages. first 

A flower essence is the bioenergetic imprint of a flower that has been transferred and stabilized in water. To make a flower essence, fresh flowers are placed in a crystal bowl containing spring water and placed in the light of the sun or moon. The subtle energetic information emitted by the flowers is transferred to the water, through physical contact as well as the influences of sunlight or moonlight. A flower essence, therefore, is the life force of the flower that coalesces into water under the influence of light.

The making of flower essences can be done at almost any time. The most important requirement is that the rays of the sun or moon are unimpeded by clouds, so the activation and transfer of information from the flower to the water is complete.

The fire element of the sun's rays can be utilized more effectively when making flower essences than when harvesting dew, as the dew evaporates quickly. In this sense, the sun's presence is more active in a flower essence. For this reason, the flower essences prepared in the sun differ from those prepared in moonlight, having increased dynamic activity of the fire element.

Flower essences are a subtle yet powerful and effective way to imprint the elemental powers of nature into a form that we can utilize for healing and transformation. These essences, each containing the influence of the sun, moon, and water and the intelligence of each flower species, contain valuable information that addresses a wide range of emotional, mental and spiritual concerns.

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