Mimulus is the remedy for normal, everyday fears and anxieties where the fear is known. For example, fear of the dark, of spiders, of public speaking, of redundancy. The remedy encourages inner strength and courage and helps us face up to our fears and work through them. Mimulus type people are shy, quiet people who like to avoid being noticed in public and do not like to share their fears with others.

Aspen treats vague, unnamed fears where there seems nothing to be afraid of. The fear ranges from a mild sense of unease right up to complete terror, but in all cases the cause is undefined. The positive action of Aspen is to calm this uncanny fear so that the person can face the real world with more confidence.

Rock Rose is the remedy for absolute terror. The fear is normally of something specific but it is a lot stronger than the Mimulus fear and leaves the victim unable to think properly. Even when the external cause appears trivial the inner state is dramatic and leading to panic or one which renders the person frozen and unable to act at all. The remedy helps unlock even the greatest fear so that we are better able to deal with it.

Cherry Plum is the remedy for a very particular kind of fear: the fear of losing one's self control and of doing harm to oneself or to someone else. In a cherry plum state a person may be in some desperation because they feel their control going, they may talk of suicide or appear hysterical or violent. Another example is the child in a tantrum who screams at his mother but underneath is terrified of how he feels and just wants to be picked up and soothed back to reason.

Red Chestnut is for people who constantly worry about their loved ones and fear something will happen to them. The fear can be out of all proportion to the real risk and lead to over-protective behaviour that harms the confidence and independence of the people being worried over. The remedy helps to put fears fears into perspective.

Honeysuckle people escape from the present by reliving the past., sometimes seeing the past as a golden age never to be recovered and at other times they brood over the things that went wrong. The remedy helps us to focus more on the present and the future. We can learn from the past without losing our ability to act and plan.

Clematis people are dreamers who live their lives in their heads and love to create fantasies of wonderful futures but do not do anything to make their dreams come true. Their minds dwell on what might be rather than what is, so they may miss opportunities. They can achieve great things if they can carry out their plans and the clematis remedy can help them do this because it doesn't prevent dreaming but does bring dreams into focus.

People in a chestnut bud state seem unable to make out the patterns in their own lives and in the lives of others. Instead of making a mistake and learning from it, they make the same mistakes over and over again. Chestnut bud gives clarity and enables them to see where they are going wrong.

White Chestnut is for constant, unwanted, worrying thoughts which go round and round the head. The worries themselves may be over things that may or may not happen, or they may involve replaying over and over again some scene or argument experienced during the day. The remedy helps to calm the worry and put the sufferer back in control of his or her own mind allowing them to get on with their life in a rational way.

Wild Rose is for people who seem apathetic and lethargic and make little or no effort to improve their lives. They are not normally unhappy about this state of affairs, they are just resigned to what happens to them and are quite content to let things go and just drift. The remedy reawakens their zest for life and gives them a renewed sense of purpose

Mustard is the remedy for those times when we cannot explain why we feel so down and hopeless. There is no apparent reason for us to feel this way. Its like we are under a dark cloud that blocks out the light and joy of life. The remedy helps lift the black clouds of gloom and gives us a feeling of peace and joy.

Olive is the mood remedy for tiredness that comes afater an effort. The effort can be physical, such as digging the garden or recovering from illness, but it is just as likely to be mental or emotional such as being worn out by studying or a messy divorce. Olive works to restore energy. It recharges our batteries naturally.

Heather people are wrapped up in their own lives and problems, so much so that they take no interest in the problems of others. They dislike loneliness and do anything they can to avoid it, sometimes becoming so self-obsessed that they talk about nothing except themselves and their concerns. They do not hear what other people are saying and seize every opportunity to turn the conversation back onto them. Dr Bach used to describe them as 'buttonholers' from the way they seize hold of their listeners to stop them getting away! This drains the people they talk to and as a result they soon find that people begin to avoid meeting them. The result is loneliness - the very thing they feared. The remedy helps them see beyond their own troubles enabling them to listen and sympathise with others.

Impatiens is for people who are always in a hurry and who have no patience with the slow, methodical people of this world. They put themselves under pressure when it isn't necessary. Often they prefer to work alone so as not to be held up or have to explain and consult with other people. Mannerisms include drumming fingers, fidgeting, tapping feet and other signs of impatience. The remedy restores calm and balance. It teaches patience and the ability to value more methodical people for the different skills and capabilities they bring to life.

Water Violet people like their own company. They are nature's aristocrats, graceful and self-possessed but can appear arrogant and proud because they find it difficult to mix with others, preferring their own company. They never intrude on the privacy of others. The remedy helps them to open up more to other people so that they don't grow too isolated.

Hornbeam is often called the remedy for the Monday-morning feeling or for the morning after. The lethargy has an emotional cause since no physical or mental effort in the past has caused it. The tiredness is all in the mind. If something exciting happens we immediately find our strength returns. The remedy helps to give us the impetus needed to begin a task. Once we have begun the Hornbeam fatigue drops away of its own accord.

Gentian gives encouragement to people who have suffered a setback and helps them cope and overcome their circumstances. The aim of the remedy is to turn the negative defeatism around so that they can get over the setback and either try again or find another way round the obstacle. Gentian state is a mild, low feeling, and usually thought of as a passing mood rather than a personality trait.

The Gorse state can be seen as the next stage on from the Gentian state above. The Gorse person has given up hope. They choose not to look for solutions as they are convinced nothing will work. They do not enjoy the gloomy view they take of life and their state is one of utter despair. Gorse has been described as 'sunshine in a bottle'. This is partly attributable to the deep radiant yellow flower the remedy is made from, but it is also a reflection of the remedy's positive effects. Gorse shines light back into life so that the dark hopelessness of the Gorse state is replaced with life and a renewed determination to take action to make things better.

Scleranthus helps when we have a decision to make but can't make up our minds which way to go. The decisions can be minor such as whether to see this film or that, or major such as whether to go to university or start work. The remedy helps to calm the indecisive mind and remove the clouds of uncertainty so that we can take calm and rational decisions. Scleranthus is often used when there are regular mood swings from one emotion to another. Some people take it for motion sickness because they believe that emotional indecisiveness is the underlying cause of that particular problem.

Wild Oat people are often very talented and eager to do something really worthwhile with their lives but they do not have a clear idea of what that something should be. Consequently they drift from job to job, career to career and hobby to hobby never finding anything that meets their vague criteria. This leads to frustration and unhappiness. Wild Oat helps people to see more clearly what it is that they really want out of life. This allows them to make meaningful changes with some idea of what they want the changes to achieve.

Cerato people are capable of making decisions but do not always trust in their own judgment. They then seek out reassurance from the people around them asking them what they should do. If everyone they ask has different opinions they end up confused and no longer sure what to think. The Cerato remedy is given to increase the person's confidence in his own decisions so that he can take proper charge of his own life, without having to ask the opinions of others. It puts them back in touch with their intuition.

Star of Bethlehem is the remedy for shock and trauma. It is one of the most important ingredients in Rescue Remedy where it helps us get over the shock of an immediate crisis. So we can take it to comfort bereavement, grief and loss but it can also be used for shocks and losses that were experienced long ago in the past which have never been satisfactorily dealt with. In all cases the effect of this remedy is to allow the person to regain balance. Once this has been achieved, the events that knocked the personality off course can be coped with more effectively.

People in this state feel self-pity and resentment. They blame others when they themselves are at fault. They see life in the negative and feel bitter about other people's happiness. They make dull wearisome company! We can all feel like this at times but the trick is to get back to the positive as soon as possible and that is what the remedy helps us to do. It puts our troubles into perspective, making us realise we all go through bad times and it's not necessarily someone else's fault. Willow helps us feel more generous towards others so we are able to share and enjoy their triumphs.

Elm people are extremely capable and quite willing to take on responsibility but find themselves taking on too much. They don't know when to stop and only when something goes wrong do they suddenly see how much they have taken on. The comes the crisis of confidence and they doubt their ability to fulfil their obligations. Their feelings range from tiredness and weariness through to depression and worry - but Elm people are naturally resilient and with the help of the remedy they quickly recover their poise and self belief.

Pine is for people who blame themselves for their own mistakes and for the mistakes of others. 'It's all my fault' you hear them say. But guilt is extremely destructive when it is not dealt with and can poison lives. Often Pine people are very conscientious but they are rarely satisfied with their achievements and always looking for faults in themselves. The remedy helps them move away from guilt and into a more positive frame of mind where they can judge themselves fairly and be aware of their achievements as well as their failings.

This is the remedy for people who have explored every alternative in their search for a way through their difficulties and now feel that they have reached the end of the road and there is nowhere left to go. We often associate these emotions with crushing events such as serious illness, bereavement and miscarriage. Quieter, less dramatic triggers include redundancy, or despairing of ever forming a genuine relationship with someone. As with all the remedies, the key is the response to the situation rather than the situation itself. Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between the Gorse and Sweet Chestnut. The key difference is Gorse people to some extent choose hopelessness as they give up before looking. Sweet Chestnut people have hopelessness thrust upon them by circumstance and when they search for a solution they find nothing. The remedy can't make the person's problems disappear but it will give them courage and fortitude so that hope can live again.

Larch is the remedy for lack of confidence. People in this state do not take up challenges because they are convinced that they are going to fail. Having no confidence they miss opportunities, preferring to stay in their comfort zone. The Larch person may be frightened of not doing something well and choose to avoid the possibility by not trying in the first place. They have a fear of failure. Taking the Larch will give them the confidence to try things and not to worry over success or failure.

Oak people are steady and reliable and often end up carrying other people's burdens as well as their own. They work with immense strength and at the same pace, never resting, never hurrying, never showing how tired they are until they eventually collapse with exhaustion. Their determination can lead them to over extend their physical strength. The remedy helps them to stand back and take stock, allowing them to see they need to rest now and again.

Crab Apple is the cleansing remedy. It is used to cleanse anything - mental or physical - that you don't like about yourself. We may feel dirty or unattractive as if something is wrong with us and needs to be removed. We may be over fussy and compulsive, checking and re-checking whether we have done something. Feelings of uncleanness can degenerate into disgust for the physical life, so that biological functions such as eating, making love and going to the loo feel unpleasant or digusting. As a cleanser Crab Apple purifies our feelings about ourselves and our surroundings. We can relax more and enjoy the basic, sensual experience of being alive. Our sense of true perspective returns and we can see and enjoy ourselves for what we really are.

Vine is for people who know their own minds and assume that they know what is best for other people as well. They are excellent leaders in an emergency but they have a ruthless streak. If they can get where they want to go without having to explain or justify then they will, and they will use force to overcome any resistance. At their worst they are out and out bullies! The remedy is taken to encourage a more flexible, understanding approach to dealing with others and to bring out those positive qualities that make Vine people so valuable to humanity. Vine will help them to value the contributions of other people, listen to their ideas, and allow them to steer their own paths without interfering.

Vervain is the remedy for over enthusiasm. It can be hard to see why too much enthusiasm should be a problem but the danger is that constant activity can lead to exhaustian and mental tension. The happy, willing worker turns into a workaholic, unable to switch off, sleepless with plans for tomorrow and working every hour God sends. The passionate defender of justice and liberty turns into a fanatic, unable to understand or even listen to other points of view. Vervain helps to turn the negative state back into its positive. The person does not lose commitment and passion but can understand other points of view, making them a more effective campaigner.

Beech people can be very intolerant of others. They fail to see why everyone doesn't live like them and never make any allowance for the difficulties others might be facing. They like to have precision and order, not only in their own lives but also in the lives of those around them. The remedy is taken to encourage tolerance of others so that Beech people can live and let live and see positive qualities even in people who choose to follow other paths through life.

Chicory people hold on to the people they love and do not easily let go. They need to be needed. In a negative state they expect love, duty and attention and if they do not get them in sufficient quantities they can become manipulative and may exaggerate their unhappiness and sense of loneliness and abandonment as a way of getting what they want. The Chicory remedy helps to accentuate the positive, generous, giving side of Chicory people. Love can be given selflessly and without thought of return.

Rock water people drive themselves hard trying to set an example but they never preach! They tend towards martyrdom. This happens when they take their habits of self-denial and self-control to the point where they won't allow themselves pleasure and take little joy in their lives. Rock Water remedy allows the person's strong convictions and high ideals not too become too rigid, encouraging greater flexibility of mind.

The Centaury person is kind and gentle and wants to be of service to others. They get pleasure from assisting friends and relatives. The tendancy is to say yes to every request and they find it very difficult to say no! The remedy allows them to stand up for themselves when they are in danger of being exploited and draw boundaries between their own needs and those of other people. It won't turn them into ogres!

Walnut is the remedy to protect against unwanted influences and the effects of change. Walnut is sometimes referred to as the link-breaker because it severs those ties that keep us from moving forward. It can help at all times of growth and change, from teething and starting school to retirement and the menopause, bereavement, and even moving house!

Holly is the remedy for balancing strong negative feelings directed at someone else, such as hatred, jealousy, envy, suspicion and spitefulness. We have all been in a Holly state at one time or another, and accepting how we feel is the first step to changing it. It is often thought of as the remedy for anger and in some cases it is, but only where the anger is the result of one of the emotions mentioned. We get angry for other reasons such as loss of control, impatience and intolerance and in these cases other remedies would be indicated. Holly works to support our innate ability to understand and forgive wrongs done to us. We can see good in others instead of being eaten up with hatred.

Agrimony types tend to be happy fun-loving humorous people who are distressed by arguments or quarrels and will try their best to avoid them.   No matter what is happening in their lives they put on a brave face.  They dislike making a fuss so do not share their troubles preferring to carry on going and keep smiling!  They seek out social activity rather than being alone with their thoughts.  They may also turn to drink or drugs in an effort to blot out their worries. Agrimony helps them get to grips with their inner torment and pain and deal with them more effectively.