The March Lily (Amaryllis Belladonna) holds a special place in my heart as it was the first essence I made on the Fynbos Reserve I stay on just up from Cape Point in Cape Town, South Africa. It was also the start of the products to be part of the Blue Bottle Apothecary. The mother essence was made in the beginning of March 2024, a year of the Dragon.
March Lily bloom all over Cape Town during February, March and April and are a sign that Autumn is on the way. They bloom from the dry ground after the hot summer months where a bulb has been lying dormant after growing leaves during winter and releasing the leaves during the summer. They teach us to embrace our own inner seasons and that we too can’t bloom all year round. They aid our transition to inner Autumn so we can harvest what we have learned and compost what is no longer serving us which allows us to find the wisdom we have gained from what we have experienced. The March Lily says – “Grief is the portal to deeper healing and remembrance, allow me to hold you through it”.
The stories, signs and symbols relating to the March Lily Essence
Spirit speaks to us in signs, symbols and stories. We also all have Clair senses that we can cultivate, and when we learn to be still enough, we are able to hear nature speaking to us, the land, the flowers, the plants, the trees, the animals. Learning to interpret these messages is part of the healing and reclamation process. So here are the stories, signs and symbols, along with what I was able to innerstand, when sitting with the March Lily to make this essence:
- The Name
The botanical name for the March Lily is Amaryllis Belladonna. Belladonna meaning beautiful lady and Amaryllis being linked to a story from Greek mythology. Amaryllis, some say a shepherdess, some say a nymph, was in love with a shepherd named Alteo, who too had otherworldly qualities. They met along the mountainside and as much as Amaryllis tried to gain his affections, Alteo only had a love and passion for flowers. Alteo would only love the one who was able to create a new flower that was not yet in existence. Wanting to gain his affection, Amaryllis went to the Oracle at Delphi, going to the Temple, that has inscribed on the entrance the words meaning “Know Thyself”. The Oracle gave her a Golden Arrow and told Amaryllis that each night for 30 nights she must dress all in white, stand outside Alteo’s house and pierce her own heart with the Golden arrow before knocking on his door. She did this for 29 nights and on the 30th night when she knocked on his door, Alteo answered. As he opened the door, Amaryllis’ heart was fully healed, and on the ground there stood the most beautiful red lily flowers. From that day forth, Alteo vowed to give Amaryllis his undying love.
When I sat with the March Lily to make the essence, I did not know of the story behind its name. Like all myth, it is not meant to be read and understood literally, and I like to reimagine the story as Amaryllis was given the time to tend to her own heart, and from that create beautiful flowers, which in turn opened her up to being in relationship from a space of wholeness. The March Lilies from the essence were growing close to a broken-down home on the reserve that is yet to be restored, and from this symbolism I could tell that the essence would help with tending to a broken heart and relationship issues, which the story behind the name also reconfirmed. The divine family unit has been targeted on purpose, as it is in the home we are supposed to develop a healthy sense of self, be encouraged to embrace our gifts and have a grounded confidence to go out into the world thereafter and share these gifts. Breaking up the home has caused many to have deep feelings of abandonment, rejection and a lack of self-worth, which can be there whether the unit is together or not, due to many parents being present but not emotionally available. March Lily will hold us as we heal from these wounds, softening the heart to let go of anger, sadness, resentment, guilt.
– The Colour and characteristics
The Amaryllis Belladonna in Cape Town are a pink and white colour with a sweet fragrant smell. They have what is called an inflorescence which is more than one flower arranged on a stem and usually you will find them in groups of many flowers, they truly are beautiful. The colour also confirmed what they shared, that their essence is heart medicine and helps with healing emotionally. A big part of the healing journey is allowing ourselves to grieve what has happened to us, who we have once been, the life we may have had if something was different, the lose of innocence. We are currently going through a collective time of deep grief and this can show up differently for everyone, from feelings of numbness to the other side of anger and rage. All of these emotions are valid and necessary, and grief when felt is the most transformative emotion, that opens your heart up and frees you to face what we have all experienced throughout the ages which we hold in our DNA through epigenetics. March Lily helps us with processing this personal and collective grief; to grieve the past and accept previous versions of ourselves so we can open our hearts to give and receive love more freely.
I made the essence in the morning around 9am when there was still dew on the flowers, and there was one flower which was on the ground, which felt like a gift. I put the dew on my face as my Irish ancestors once did as dew is considered magical and was rubbed on the face in the morning, especially during Beltaine. The dew was also on the flowers in the essence adding the magic of the Fae.
- Other stories and symbols
We had a beautiful mix breed black dog staying on the reserve called Django. He belonged to a wonderful person staying up from us, who has become a dear friend, and at the time Django would come back and forth between our homes giving everyone love. On the day I made the essence Django came and sat next to the broken down home and watched over me while I sat with the March Lily. The medicine of the Dog is loyalty, steadfastness and companionship; however, dogs have also been represented as psychopomps in many cultures around the world, aiding to carry souls to the afterlife. Again, this brings in the element of grief and Autumn, allowing ourselves to grieve what has been, and to let go of what no longer serves so it can become compost for us to grow from.
I also kept getting the song “The Dog Days are Over” by Florence and the Machine playing in my head so I looked into the dog days. I found this explanation “The ancient Romans called the hottest, most humid days of summer “diēs caniculārēs” or “dog days.” The name came about because they associated the hottest days of summer with the star Sirius. Sirius was known as the “Dog Star” because it was the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major (Large Dog). Sirius also happens to be the brightest star in the night sky. Sirius is so bright that the ancient Romans thought it radiated extra heat toward Earth. During the summer, when Sirius rises and sets with the Sun, they thought Sirius added heat to the Sun’s heat to cause hotter summer temperatures”. The Roman Empire is often glorified in mainstream media, however in the history books it is often not written about the amount of trauma that they created through mass genocide. It was also the template that created further empire, leading to colonisation and many of the atrocities we are still living in the result of now. This is part of the collective grief that needs to be tended to and healed.
The dog days in the southern hemisphere are from end Jan to March when this essence was made. Sirius is the brightest star in the sky and is at its brightest during those months, this star is known as our spiritual sun. This essence also harnesses this magic.
The land, the water and the preservative
As mentioned, this particular essence was made on a Fynbos Reserve just up from Cape Point, which is a sacred place in Cape Town where the two oceans of the Atlantic and Indian are said to meet. Spring mountain water was used from Newlands Spring which comes down from Table Mountain, which is an important portal on the Earth’s grids.
You are given a choice of the preservative used from either an organic Apple Cider Vinegar from Elgin, Brandy from the Karoo or Honey Liquor Mead made by a local company who are contributing to the preservation of South Africa’s indigenous mead-making heritage. Depending on which one you choose, this will also add in the healing properties and mysteries of the apple, the grape, honey and the bee to the healing that comes from using this essence.
In summary, the March Lily may assist and support with
In summary, taking the March Lily Essence may assist with and support you with the following:
- Processing personal and collective grief
- Softening the heart to let go of anger, sadness, resentment, guilt
- Relationship healing, broken home, broken heart
- Inner autumn while letting go of what no longer serves, and composting wisdom gained
Thank you to all the indigenous tribes that tended to this land way before it was colonised and severed, I honour you and the trauma that has happened. I make these essences for us to heal, as not one who owns the land, but is a bridge for reconciliation. The flowers and the plants want to help us heal; may it be so.
