Dr Bach's Seven Groups & the Bach Flower Remedies
After Dr Bach had discovered his final remedy in the range, he placed the 38 Bach Flower Remedies into seven main groups. The seven Bach groups can be a useful insight into choosing which Bach Remedies will help with particular issues and personality patterns.
Fear Group
- Aspen - apprehension, unknown fears
- Cherry Plum - fear of losing control, suicidal
- Mimulus - known fears, nervousness
- Red Chestnut - fear for others
- Rock Rose - extreme fear, nightmares
Over Care for Welfare of Others
- Beech - overly critical, intolerant
- Chicory - possessive, controlling
- Rock Water - self punishment, rigidity
- Vervain - over enthusiasm, perfectionism
- Vine - dominating, need for control over others
Insufficient Interest in Present Circumstances
- Chestnut Bud - inability to learn ones lessons
- Clematis - dreamy, absent minded
- Honeysuckle - living in the past, homesickness
- Mustard - gloom, despair for no apparent reason
- Olive - tiredness, exhaustion
- White Chestnut - thoughts buzzing around in head
- Wild Rose - apathy, lack of enthusiasm
Loneliness Group
- Heather - over talkative
- Impatiens - impatience, irritability
- Water Violet - proud, upright people, superiority
Despondancy or Despair
- Crab Apple - cleansing & purity
- Elm - overwhelmed by responsibility
- Larch - lack of confidence
- Oak - the strengthener
- Pine - feelings of guilt, unworthiness
- Star of Bethlehem - shock, trauma, accidents
- Sweet Chestnut - extreme anguish, despair
- Willow - resentment, bitterness
The Seven Groups
The Seven groups was Dr. Bach's attempt at helping people to understand the remedies, how to appraoch them and how the remedies might fit together as a group. It was probably a developing idea for him, one that he would probably have refined further had he lived longer. Certainly it is only a rough guide, and some of the remedies could definitely live in more than one group. However, the groups are a reminder that the remedies are treating our emotions, thoughts & feelings, and that often people fall into certain personality groups. All of Dr. Bach's research pointed to the importance of treating the individual and not the condition that they are dealing with.
The Importance of the Personality & Human Health
Dr Edward Bach was driven by a deep desire to find the truth about human illness & disease and to find a simple, natural set of remedies that could be available for all. Through his research and his developing ideas around understanding illness and disease at a deeper level, Edward Bach came to the understanding that the true cause of illness and disease in human beings lies in the personality - in the mental and emotional patterns through which we view ourselves and the world around us. Nora Weeks, in her biography of Dr. Bach, said that he developed his theory about personality types while observing his fellow diners at a banquet he was attending.
"Bach had attended the dinner somewhat unwillingly and was not enjoying himself greatly. To pass the time he was idly watching the people around him when suddenly he realised that the whole of humanity consisted of a number of definite groups of types; that every individual in that large hall belonged to one or other of these groups, and he spent the rest of the evening watching all the people he could see: observing how they ate their food, how they smiled and moved their hands and heads, the attitudes of their bodies, the expressions on their faces and, when he was close enough to hear, the tone of voice they used. So close was the resemblance between certain people that they might have belonged to the same family, although there was no blood relationship."
He began to understand that humanity was made up of a definite number of personality groups or types and that “the individuals of each group would not suffer from the same kinds of diseases, but that all those in one group would react in the same or nearly the same manner to any type of illness”. This was a break through moment for Bach, that it is the state of mind and emotion that is of most importance not what condition the patient is suffering from. Since the body is a direct reflection of the mind, transforming negative vibrations into positive good vibrations allows the body to respond naturally with better health.
