The Symbolism Of Flowers

Sunflowers symbolize adoration, loyalty and longevity. Much of the meaning of sunflowers stems from its namesake, the sun itself. These flowers are unique in that they have the ability to provide energy in the form of nourishment and vibrancy—attributes which mirror the sun and the energy provided by its heat and light.

Sunflowers are known for being “happy” flowers, making them the perfect gift to bring joy to someone’s (or your) day.

The History of Sunflowers

Sunflowers originated in the Americas in 1,000 B.C., and were then cultivated as a valuable food source for centuries. With the European exploration of the New World, the flower’s popularity spread, as the rest of the world began to appreciate its beauty and sustenance.

Artists throughout history loved the sunflower’s unique splendor—those of the Impressionist era were especially fixated on the flower. The use of sunflower images as religious symbols has also been documented in some native societies.

Wild sunflowers are often photographed with their tall stalks and bright petals stretched towards the sun. This interesting behavior, known as phototropism, inspired a motif that has appeared in many ancient works.

Today, sunflowers remain a highly recognized flower, admired for its sunny charm and delightful disposition. These beauties are also still sourced for their seeds, as well as oils used for cooking and skin emollients. For a flower that reflects so many of the sun’s positive characteristics, it isn’t surprising that people enjoy basking in the sunflower’s warming glow so much.

Rose

In literature, roses often symbolize love and beauty; therefore, they represent ladies, also. Roses are a frequently used flower symbol. From a Christian perspective, a rose is a symbol of heaven and harmony in the world. Furthermore, the rose is considered the flower of the Virgin Mary.

The color of the rose is often significant.

red for romantic love, selflessness, sacrifice
white for purity, charm, silence, "You are heavenly", reverence, humility, youthfulness, innocence
pink for youth, early love, recovery
yellow for friendship, joy, freedom
black for death, twisted relationships (Black Rose)
blue for fantasy, something unattainable

Like other plants, a rose, especially one that is still alive, can also carry overtones of growth, renewal. The thorns of a rose represent on how nothing is perfect thus the saying "Every rose has its thorn". In actuality, the thorns are prickles that are used to cling onto other vegetation or to protect itself. Its prickles are also capable of infecting sporotrichosis when punctured into the skin. Due to this, rose bushes can also provide a barrier.

The Classical Era

The rose was sacred to a number of goddesses including Isis, whose rose appears in the late classical allegorical novel The Golden Ass as "the sweet Rose of reason and virtue" that saves the hero from his bewitched life in the form of a donkey.[1] The ancient Greeks and Romans identified the rose with the goddess of love, Aphrodite (Greek name) and Venus (Roman name).

In Rome a wild rose would be placed on the door of a room where secret or confidential matters were discussed. The phrase sub rosa, or "under the rose", means to keep a secret — derived from this ancient Roman practice.

Islam and Sufism

The cultivation of geometrical gardens, in which the rose has often held pride of place, has a long history in Iran and surrounding lands.[2][3] In the lyric ghazal, it is the beauty of the rose that provokes the longing song of the nightingale[4] - an image prominent, for example, in the poems of Hafez.[5]

In turn, the imagery of lover and beloved became a type of the Sufi mystic's quest for divine love, so that Ibn Arabi, for example, aligns the rose with the beloved's blushing cheek on the one hand and, on the other, with the divine names and attributes.[6]

Other well-known examples of rose symbolism in Sufism include;

The Sufi master Jilani is known as "the Rose of Baghdad" and his order, the Qadiriyya, uses the rose as its symbol.
Two prominent books aligned with Sufism are The Rose Garden by Saadi and Mahmud Shabistari's The Rose Garden of Secrets.

The rose is the emblem of Islamabad Capital Territory in Pakistan

In Christianity

Medieval Christians identified the five petals of the rose with the five wounds of Christ. Roses also later came to be associated with the Virgin Mary. The red rose was eventually adopted as a symbol of the blood of the Christian martyrs. A bouquet of red roses, often used to show love, is used as a Valentine's Day gift in many countries. On St George's Day in Catalonia people offer dark red roses as gifts, especially between lovers. The Virolai, a hymn to the Virgin of Montserrat, one of the black Madonnas of Europe, begins with the words: "Rosa d’abril, Morena de la serra..." (April rose, dusky lady of the mountain chain...). Therefore, this virgin is sometimes known as “Rosa d’abril”. The red rose is thus widely accepted as an unofficial symbol of Catalonia.[7]

Roses are occasionally the basis of design for rose windows comprising five or ten segments (the five petals and five sepals of a rose) or multiples thereof, though most Gothic rose windows are much more elaborate.

The Rose of England

The rose is the national flower of England.[8] The usage dates from the reign of Henry VII who introduced the Tudor rose, combining a red rose, representing the House of Lancaster, and a white rose, representing the House of York, as a symbol of unity after the English civil wars of the fifteenth century which, long after, came to be called the Wars of the Roses. The rose thus appears in the histories of William Shakespeare and in the Child Ballads. It has been the symbol of England Rugby, and of the Rugby Football Union, since 1871.[8]

In North America

In 1986 it was named the floral emblem of the United States,[9] and it is the provincial flower of Alberta (the wild rose) in Canada. It is the state flower of four US states: Iowa and North Dakota (R. arkansana), Georgia (R. laevigata), and New York[10] (Rosa generally). Portland, Oregon counts "City of Roses" among its nicknames, and holds an annual Rose Festival, as does Pasadena, California, holding the Tournament of Roses Parade since 1890 in conjunction with the Rose Bowl since 1902. In April 2011, the United States government space program agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration celebrated the Hubble Space Telescope's 21st anniversary by releasing an image of spiral galaxies Arp 273 positioned in a rose-like shape.[11]

The red rose is also the official symbol for the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), an American organization which advocates and helps drive the promotion of Democratic-Socialism. [12] The organization is a root of the former Socialist Party of America, and is a current member of Socialist International.
Socialism

A red rose (often held in a hand) is a symbol of socialism or, more notably, social democracy: it is used as a symbol by Socialist International and by German, British, Irish, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Estonian, Finnish, American, Brazilian, Dutch, Bulgarian, Korean, and other European labour, socialist or social democratic parties, mostly adopted in the period after World War II.[13]
In the world today
See also: Sub rosa
See also: Language of flowers

Roses are used as a symbol of love and compassion in many countries (e.g. US, England, Spain, France, Italy). The meaning ascribed to the rose depends on context;

examples include the romantic love of roses given on St. Valentine's Day, as part of courtship or for an anniversary; filial love in the case of mother's day; compassion in the case of a funeral.

Roses can also be a symbol strongly associated with Harpocrates, god of silence, secrets and confidentiality, and can sometimes be seen painted or else plastered upon borders around the ceilings of rooms intended for the receiving of guests, as a sign that topics discussed within that room are not to be repeated outside the room or discussed with other outside parties.

Symbolic Rose Meanings

Love
Honor
Faith
Beauty
Balance
Passion
Wisdom
Intrigue
Devotion
Sensuality
Timelessness

I particularly enjoy how numerology partners with the symbolism of the rose.

For example, in art of the renaissance, a rose with eight petals is a message of rebirth and renewal.

In alchemical texts and art, a rose with seven petals is a symbol of inclusion, universal understanding and order. Presumably, because in Pythagorean numerology the number seven is iconic of the perfection in the specific unfolding the universe as well as human understanding.

We see a partnership between the rose and numbers in Freemasonry too where three roses are symbolic of a guiding principle. Each of the three roses seen in Freemason symbology indicates abiding 1) Love, 2) Life, and 3) Light.

In mythology, rose meaning is associated with Aphrodite (Greek) goddess of love who was often depicted adorned with roses around her head, feet and or neck. In lore, we track down this association when we discover that a rose bush grew within the pool of blood spilled from Aphrodite's slain lover (Adonis). We can interpret the symbolism here several ways. The most common interpretation is that the rose symbolizes an immortal love or a union that will never fade - even through time or death.

Similarly in Christian lore, a rose bush was said to have grown at the site of Christ's death. His blood serving is often associated with a red rose, combined with its thorns is thus symbolized the ultimate sacrifice.

In addition to being a symbol of love, the rose is also symbolic carrier of secrets or tacit understanding. The term “sub rosa” means under the rose and comes from the practice of Romans hanging roses above meeting tables. Here it was understood that anything said at this table, beneath the hanging roses, was forbidden to be repeated elsewhere.

Seeking symbolic meaning of the rose from an esoteric perspective, we can look at the Tarot, in which the rose is considered a symbol of balance. Here the beauty of the rose expresses promise, new beginnings, hope. This beauty is contrasted with its thorns which represents defense, physicality, loss, thoughtlessness. The rose is seen in the major arcana as: Magician, Strength, Death and Fool cards. All of these cards hold strong meanings of balance and equilibrium.

Rose meaning is found in their color too: (flower color meanings can be found here.
Rose Color Meanings

Yellow Rose: Joy, Protection against envious lovers, Mature love
White Rose: Purity, Sanctity, Secret admirer, Mysticism
Red Rose: Sacrifice, Immortal love, Health, Memorial, Passion
Pink Rose: First love, Innocence, Healing