The Magical Meaning of Rose Petals

Roses have been a popular symbol of romance for ages, but the magical meaning of rose petals goes much deeper. Learn how to use these beautiful petals in all kinds of witchcraft.

We've all seen countless romantic movies with a bed or bath strewn with rose petals. It signals romantic love and sex. Receiving red roses from a romantic partner is so ubiquitous in our culture, especially around Valentine's Day, that it's almost expected.

But this fragrant flower with its dozens of variations carries much more than just the metaphysical energy of romance and passion. Rose petals can be used all over the place in witchcraft. Let's explore their energy a bit deeper.

Metaphysical Properties and Correspondences of Rose Petals

As roses spread around the world, they took on different meanings in different cultures. Their beauty seems to have captivated just about everyone, including magical practitioners. Below are the correspondences and metaphysical or magical properties of rose petals. Call on these energies in your own spell creation.

• Elements - water, earth
• Planet - Venus
• Deities - Adonis, Freya, Thor
• Astrology - Libra, Pisces
• Chakra - sacral, heart
• Month - June
• Gender/Duality - feminine/receptive
• Magical properies - love, healing, divination, peace, harmony, psychich ability, spiritual growth, luck, beauty

Color Magick with Rose Petals

These days, roses come in almost every color imaginable. You can even get artificially dyed roses in neon or rainbow hues. Purple roses are my personal favorite. You can work with traditional color magic to select the best color of rose petal for your spell.

There are also specific magical properties associated with the more common or natural colors of roses. Some of these meanings are also taken from the Victorian language of flowers, where pretty much every flower imaginable had a specific meaning assigned to it. Sending someone flowers suddenly became a coded message.

Below you'll find the traditional magical meaning of rose petals associated with different colors.

• Red - passion, love, romance
• Pink - friendship, self-love, happiness, secret love, indecision, compassion
• White - peace, clarity, purity, innocence, silence, sympathy
• Yellow - happiness, friendship, joy, jealousy

Witchcraft Uses for Rose Petals

As roses come in such a huge variety and have been loved by humans for centuries, they've found their way into all types of magical workings. Roses are edible, but be sure that if you're going to ingest them, you've bought rose petals that are intended for that purpose. Your grocery store rose petals are not safe to add to your tea pot, as they're covered in pesticides. Dried rose petals for tea are easy enough to find online, and you can use those in a variety of ways

• Kitchen witchcraft - Make a rose syrup for drinks like this Rose Quartz Cocktail, or add dried rose petals to cakes, cookies, or other pastries as magical decoration.
• Bath magic - We've all seen romantic visions of bathtubs filled with rose petals. You can certainly add fresh rose petals to your bath. If you want to infuse your bath with their energy without having to clean up soggy petals at the end, make a tub tea, and add that strained infusion to your bath instead. Combine rose petals with other herbs for your intention.
• Dream pillows or poppets - Sew dried rose petals into dream pillows, poppets, or other stitchy witchery.
• Tea magick - Add dried rose petals along with other herbs to your favorite tea blend and drink to bring your intention right into your body. Again, make sure your rose petals are safe for consumption.
• Oil infusion - Cover your dried rose petals with oil to create a magical oil blend that you can use for anointing yourself or your magical tools.
• Incense - Grind dried petals along with other herbs to suit your intention, then burn the powder on a charcoal disc to release their energy into the air.
• Candle dressing - Add your dried rose petals to a mortar and pestle and grind to a powder, then use them to dress candles.
• Honey jar - Infuse honey with rose petals, then strain and eat or leave as an offering to spirits.
• Potpourri - Maybe the most common use of dried rose petals, blend them with other dried botanicals and leave the blend in a bowl or bag around your home to remind you of your intention every time you inhale the fragrance.
• Spell jars or charm bags - Add dried rose petals to any charm bag or spell jar to bring in the energy that aligns with your intention.

Start making some magick

I hope this helps you understand more about the magical meaning of rose petals. They're great to use in witchcraft because they can work in so many kinds of spells, especially spells for self-love, which I think is super important. They're also very easy to source, and you can even grow them yourself.

How do you use rose petals in your witchcraft practice? Let me know in the comments.

Sources

• Kitchen Witchcraft: Garden Magic by Rachel Patterson
• Element Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells by Judika Illes
• The Modern Guide to Witchcraft by Skye Alexander
• Everyday Magic by Semra Haksever
• Practical Magic for Beginners by Maggie Haseman