The Symbolism Of Roses

As Shakespeare once said, “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Juliet’s words on her balcony about her love were chosen thoughtfully and the symbolism well thought through. The rose was a well-known symbol of love even before Shakespeare’s works. In fact, the flower has represented love, war, and everything in between. Roses are thought to be over 35 million years old and grow in over 150 different species. The history and symbolism of roses are extensive but knowing everything these flowers show may be a perfect way to display any kind of feeling you may encounter.

The origin of roses is as mysterious as the flowers themselves. Overall, it seems that Asia is universally acknowledged as the first cultivator of the flowers. Records of roses in the Imperial Garden date back as early as 500 B.C. Eventually, the flowers migrated to Europe where they became symbols of civil war. The War of Roses refers to a war between two English families whose family symbols were red and white roses. The Greek’s even incorporated roses into their mythology. Greek stories focused on Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, and a boy named Adonis whom she raised as her own. According to legend, Adonis came across Ares, the god of war, disguised as a boar who then attacked Adonis to take out frustration on Aphrodite. Some stories said that roses bloomed from Adonis’s blood as he laid dying but other stories claimed roses came from Aphrodite as she ran through the woods to Adonis. Her feet cut on thorns of other flowers and the blood that ran from them turned the flowers red and became roses.

Whatever the origin of the flowers is, roses have grown into revered symbols all over the world.  The Tudor Rose is the national flower of England and one of the most identifiable symbols in the country. In Korea, they have a national “Rose Day” on May 14^th where couples exchange roses to symbolize their love. In the Middle Ages in Europe roses were hung from ceilings to represents secrecy. If you were under a ceiling of roses it was a sign that everyone in the room was held to the secrets shared in that room. This is where the term sub rosa extends from. In Ancient Egypt, pharaohs were often buried with roses and some even had roses painted on the walls of their tombs. On top of this, roses are used in almost every culture as everyday gifts to pass on sentiments.

Italy, Spain, and Japan all accept exchanging red roses is representative of love and passion. Germany and Wales both commonly use white roses at funerals as a sign of purity and condolences. Across the world and over history roses have been used to represent love, passion, hate, war, condolences, secrecy, and more. In Ancient Rome, roses were so revered that roses and rose water were actually used as a legal form of payment! In fact, every color of roses is meant to represent different feelings towards the recipient. Even the number of roses can represent different meanings.

Red roses are commonly known to show love and passion. Deeper red roses can mean you are ready for a deeper commitment. White roses have several meanings. Usually a general symbol of purity and grace, white roses can change their meanings based on their context. At weddings, white roses symbolize young love, eternal happiness, and new beginnings. At funerals, white roses are used to show remembrance and condolences. Ivory roses, though similar to white roses have different meanings. They are devoid of romantic intentions and are used to show grace and thoughtfulness. Pink roses show several kinds of feelings. Hot pink roses can express recognition and appreciation. Light pink roses are symbols of grace, sweetness, joy, and happiness. Overall all shades of pink roses mean elegance, gratitude, and gentleness. Orange roses are not commonly seen but can convey enthusiasm and energy. Yellow roses used to be representative of negative feelings especially infidelity in the Victorian era. Nowadays however they are the friendship flower and represent warmth and happiness. Most people refer to yellow roses as friendship flowers. Rare purple roses are not often seen but used to display enchantment and love at first sight. Other extraordinary colored roses green, blue and black are not often used. Green roses are symbolic of fertility and rejuvenation of the body and spirit. Blue roses mean mystery and impossibility. Similar to white roses, black roses are used in both positive and negative meanings. At funerals black roses convey mourning but in other situations, black roses can mean new things and major change. Such a difference from traditional red roses but growing in popularity the meaning of black roses is ever-changing. Every combination of roses can also represent even more meaning if you wanted to add layers to your gift!

The number of roses you gift also adds another layer of meaning. One rose means either thank you or love at first sight. Two roses mean shared love like a partnership. Three roses mean I love you especially special on anniversaries. Four and five groups of roses mean nothing significant. Six roses can be I love you, I miss you or I want to be yours. Seven roses show infatuations and eight roses are symbols of support for friends and family. Nine roses symbolize eternal love but ten roses display perfection. A dozen roses are the most common group and they convey perfect love. So when thinking of using these beautiful flowers as a gift for someone keep in mind both the color you choose and the number could be conveying a different message to your recipient! Whatever you’d like to say to whomever you’d like to say, you can say it with a beautiful bouquet of roses!

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