Selecting an Essence
Trying to determine which essence to use can turn into a case of not being able to see the forest for the trees. You could just try and read all descriptions to see which one fits best, but you may find that you can probably use a bit of everything. That much information can get a bit confusing, and that’s where this page comes in.
If this is your first time using essences, try and stick with one essence. Try it first, see how you like it, see if it clicks, and then take the next step. A 10 ml bottle will take you a long way, depending on how you use it, it will at least last a couple of months, which should be enough to determine if it’s a good fit for you.
Depending on your preference, you can choose from a number of tools to select an essence. You can go by intuition, use a dowsing method or muscle test, work with a search-essence or use the essence guide to look for keywords and phrases that resonate with you and see what essences you can use for them.
And then there’s the essence oracle, a fun little gadget that serves up a random essence description. There’s no such thing as coincidence, so maybe it will treat you to something you find useful….
Intuitive testing
For intuitive testing, you can use a pendulum or dowsing rod, or any other tool you prefer. This helps you make visible information that you pick up unconsciously. Tips and tricks are described in a bit more detail on this page. Basically, it means that you use a tool to help you ask yourself the question which essence you need most at that point in time. You can use the essences themselves if you have them on hand, or use a list or diagram with the essence names on it. You can find them here .
Another way of testing intuitively is to use a muscle test. A muscle test is a quick and easy way to check if something is a good fit for you energy-wise, and it requires no tools whatsoever. Or rather, you are the tool. This is also explained in more detail on this page, but what it boils down to is that you make circles with the thumbs and first fingers of both hands and interlock them.
Then you ask your question and try to pull the circles apart, and depending on whether or not they stay connected, the answer is yes or no. Usually staying connected means yes, and disconnecting means no, but you can determine and test that before you start. The principle is that your unconscious reacts to the energy you are asking it to concentrate on, which either strengthens the system (circles stay interlocked), or weakens it (one circle breaks through the other).
You can use this method for just about anything: essences, vitamins, minerals, crystals, food, you name it. If you have the object at hand, you can hold it, but if you don’t, you can write it down and look at that while testing. The trick is to concentrate on whatever you want to test so your system can react to it.
There is also a way of muscle testing that you can do almost unobtrusively, if you like. You hold the object or concentrate on it while standing, ask your question, and ask to either lean forwards or backwards, depending on whichever you want your yes or no answer to be.
Essence Guide
If there’s something specific you want to work on, you can also take a look at the essence guide (wiki style version coming soon (or have a look at the Dutch version).
This is a list where the essences are listed according to the keywords or key phrases that apply to them. This will help you make a pre-selection of essences you can look at if you want to tackle a certain theme.
Start with whatever’s most urgent for you, but if you don’t know where to start, the table below offers some suggestions. These are essences that are generally suited for everyone at every moment.
Search Essences
If you’re feeling adventurous, you can also work with a search essence. That’s an essence that you use by itself for a while to help you find the sore spots. This may be quite confronting if you’re not ready to face them, but it can be a big help if you are.
The following essences are good to use as a search-essence, they will help you gain insight into yourself and help you become aware of where the sore spots are:
31. Blue Eyes
47. Happy
56. Heart
80. Cleanse
c61. Into You
c66. Click
These essences will help you become aware of what is going on, after which you may have a clearer picture of which theme you want to work on first. What they show is different, but be prepared for it that whatever’s most urgent will start to stand out more. It may seem like it’s getting worse, but that’s not it. It’s more like a spotlight is being pointed at it so you can see it more clearly.
Use two drops a day from a search-essence for one (Blue Eyes) or two weeks (the other essences in the list), in a glass of water that you sip from slowly or drink from with 30-minute intervals.
The difference between these search-essences is that Blue Eyes, made with blue obsidian, is the clearest and the fastest working of the bunch, which also makes it the most confronting one. It can really force you to face the facts.
Happy, made with ametrine, is a bit more gentle and therefore it needs more time to give you a clear picture. At the same time, it does help you to remain neutral about what you find, so there’s that.
Heart and Cleanse are both essences that work on the heart chakra. They very gently emphasise what is wrong and can be used for a longer period of time if needed.
Click is both a search-essence and an insight essence. It will help you realise things about yourself or your situation and helps the knowledge to sink in as well.
If you like, you can combine the search-essence with 43. Flow to help you remain more neutral towards what you discover.
If you happen to have Bach Flower Essences on hand, you can use 15. Holly for a search-essence if you are extroverted or 36. Wild Oat if you are introverted. They work more gently and subtly, though, so use them for at least two weeks. I went for Holly even though I’m solidly an introvert, and had better (but also more shocking) results with that essence than with the Wild Oat.
Don’t Know Where to Start?
No problem! Below is a list with suggestions for essences that are popular and/or good for just about everyone to use every once in a while. They cover general themes like fear, protection, self worth, growth and self development. The links open in a new tab so you can easily get back to this page if you want to read another description:
Single Essences:
2. Helia – blue calcite – expressing yourself
5. Guardian Angel – mookaite – gentle grounding
8. Oceana – blue fluorite – expressing yourself, determining your values
15. Green Forest – green fluorite – clearing the mind
21. Trust – tiger’s eye – protection
36. Full Moon – moonstone – connecting with emotions
40. Tender Heart – amazonite – balances mind and emotions
43. Flow – opalite – processing emotions
44. Faith – hemimorphite – hope, faith, inner child healing
49. Peace – green apatite – (self)acceptance
50. Love – kunzite – opening the heart
56. Heart – rhodocrosite – opening the heart and processing emotions
58. Glow – amber – positivity, confidence, enjoyment and flexibility
71. Sweet – danburite – universal love, letting go, loving yourself
80. Cleanse – prehnite – detoxifies, opens the heart, soothes and helps find the cause of discomforts
Combination Essences:
c1. Big Hug – comforting and soothing
c7. Protective Bubble – energetic protection
c15. Break the Circle – self confidence, breaking patterns
c20. Heart of the Matter – opens the heart chakra, giving and receiving love, joy, self love
c25. Freedom – feeling less trapped and seeing a way out
c35. Surrender – confidence, safety, grounding
c40. Hope – releasing negativity, changing perspective, embracing positivity
c43. Swept – releasing energy (i.e. after energy healing or energy from others), boundaries
c44. Abundance – finding abundance in yourself
c45. Rise Up! – standing up for yourself
c64. Fuzzy – comforting, soothing, feeling safer
c70. Ease – in case of overwhelm
c73. Sense – connecting with your emotions
c78. Healing – supporting all kinds of healing, hope, strength, courage, new energy
c86. Embraced – inner peace, self confidence, self worth
c112. Believe – let go of the past, take the best and leave the rest, believe in yourself