Stachys officinalis
For fears that are hidden in the subconscious mind, including apparently irrational fears.
Betony is for unrecognizable and unidentifiable fears. These are the deep fears of the subconscious that hide from us yet, at times, can dominate our lives. These forces can make us feel unworthy, unloved or unwanted. In extreme cases, such fears can drive people to contemplate suicide. They cut us off from recognizing our own true worth. They may appear as fear of demons, devils, “the devil within”, the shadow side of our own being. They may also derive from childhood conditioning where we may have been led to believe that we are inherently evil – full of “original sin”.
Freud saw the subconscious as a repository of negative suppressed impulses. He did not realize that it is also the area of inner wisdom and light. We need to be able to shed light compassionately on those inner “demons” and then see them for what they are - just old thought-forms that have no real substance. Betony enables us to discover this inner truth so that we can go beyond the traps of such negative thinking. Once we become freed from old subconscious fears, then we are able to experience much more fully the glory of being alive. We then see that we have a golden opportunity to grow and develop in this amazing workshop we call Earth.