I didn’t plan for this to be a ceremony.

I just needed to feel better. To soften something sharp inside my chest.

That day, I said goodbye to someone I love—maybe not forever, but enough to feel the ache of absence.

The goodbye wasn’t loud. There was no fight. Just space.

And in that space: the quiet echo of doubt.

Did I do something wrong? Was this a lesson or a loss?

The Moment Everything Changed

I drew a bath to ground myself.

To let grief be held by warmth and water.

As the tub filled, I gathered red rose petals into my hands.

Pressed them to my heart.

And for the first time, I squeezed.

A deep red liquid bled from the petals—unexpected and haunting.

It looked like blood. Like something leaving. Like something being released.

I kept pressing. More color spilled out, swirling into the water like ink, like memory, like everything I hadn’t said.

I held the petals again, pressing them into my chest.

And I cried.

The Symbolism Wasn’t Lost on Me

That moment became the ritual.

The rose became the mirror:

• Red for love.
• Red for pain.
• Red for the life force that runs through both.

In that tub, I wasn’t just bathing.

I was bleeding and blooming at the same time.

The petals—so soft, so romantic—became symbols of everything I was carrying.

Everything I was letting go.

A Reflection on Duality

Roses are beautiful. And they hurt.

Their thorns cut. Their fragrance heals.

They’re romantic and ancient. Feminine and fierce.

Used in love spells, death rites, and sacred offerings around the world.

That’s why they work.

They hold both things at once:

• The tenderness of devotion
• And the grief of release

That night, I felt both.

And that’s what made it sacred.

This Is What True Self-Love Looks Like

Not indulgence.

Not escapism.

Not “treat yourself” on a surface level.

But this.

• Feeling grief when it arrives
• Creating beauty to hold your heartbreak
• Letting something simple—like a flower—turn your bathroom into a temple

Self-love is the decision to be with yourself through it all.

Not just when you’re glowing. But when you’re unraveling, too.

The Ritual: How to Take a Rose Bath for Heart Healing

1️⃣ Prepare the Space

• Wear red or white—symbolizing love, release, and clarity
• Brew a cup of rose petal tea (add bobinsana if you’re working with grief)
• Light a candle and some incense
• Place fresh flowers near the bath or altar space
• Sit quietly and set an intention: What am I ready to release? What am I opening to?
• Do a gentle kundalini heart meditation—breathing into your chest
• Begin to fill the bath with warm water

2️⃣ Bless the Roses

• Slowly peel the petals from each rose
• As you do, whisper a prayer or intention into them
• Place them into a bowl
• Bring the petals to your heart
• Hold them. Squeeze them. Let them speak.
• Notice what emotions rise. Welcome them.

3️⃣ Enter the Bath

• Sprinkle the rose petals into the water
• Step in slowly—breathe, soften, feel
• Visualize a rose blooming from your heart, gently opening
• Imagine any grief, tension, or heartbreak as chains, daggers, or armor—and release them into the water
• Use your hands to swirl the water, drawing out any stuck energy
• Press rose petals gently into your chest
• Anoint your heart with rose oil if you have it

4️⃣ After the Bath

• Let the water drain slowly, imagining it taking everything you’ve released
• Wrap yourself in something warm and soft
• Journal anything that comes up
• Draw the Heart Chakra as a rose—what did it look like today?
• Close the ritual with gratitude for what stayed, and grace for what left

Create Your Own Rose Ritual

You don’t need to follow this exactly.

Ritual is personal. It should feel like yours.

But let this guide remind you:

• You can grieve in beauty
• You can release with softness
• You can honor endings with the same reverence we give beginnings

The roses know.

They’ve held love and grief for thousands of years.

The Sacred Symbolism of Roses

Across cultures, roses have always been more than flowers. They are portals. Prayers. Medicine.

Love & Devotion

• Sufism: A metaphor for divine union
• Christianity: The “Mystical Rose” of Mary
• Hinduism: Lakshmi’s creation from rose petals

Grief & the Afterlife

• Mexico: Día de los Muertos altars adorned with roses
• Egypt: Roses in tombs for protection and sensuality
• Greece & Rome: Roses on graves as symbols of eternal love

Healing & Protection

• Ayurveda: Cools the heart, clears heat and emotional fire
• TCM: Opens Liver Qi, supports emotional release
• Indigenous Traditions: Used in water to purify space and spirit

Feminine Energy & Fertility

• Taoism: Yin beauty, softness, creative power
• Tantra: Sensual presence, sacred union
• Middle Eastern Traditions: Rose oil as a sacred perfume for prayer and intimacy

Heart Chakra Connection

• Color: Green and soft pink (like rose quartz)
• Element: Air (openness, breath, connection)
• Functions: Love, compassion, self-forgiveness
• Tools: Rose tea, rose oil on the chest, rose visualizations, rose baths

Let the Roses Guide You

You don’t need a perfect plan.

You don’t need anyone else to validate your grief or your love.

You just need a quiet room. A few petals.

And a willingness to let beauty carry you through your release.

Because even as you let go—

You are still blooming.

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