Coneflower

Echinacea

Pisces

Knowing, Healing

Coneflower is also called Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), a wildflower native to eastern and central North America that is used to treat bacterial infections. It also refers to Yellow Coneflower (Echinacea paradoxa) which also has a cone center surrounded by yellow droopy petals.  The "paradoxa" references the paradox of this plant having yellow flowers instead of purple. This paradox points out the uniqueness of people who work with Coneflower medicine - they make look like everyone else but have a better sense of knowing, both themselves and through all of their senses, including their connection to spirit.

Coneflower grows from 2 to 4 feet in height and likes full sun. The purple and pink flowers blooms in the summer and often into the fall.  It grows well in many types of well drained soil, including soil with clay. The plant is heat, drought and deer resistant. This suggests resilience and tolerance which are traits of people who know themselves, who know their own resilience and are tolerant of those conditions, places and people who are not like themselves.  This knowing extends to intuition or claircognizance, where people who are attracted to Coneflower were born with strong intuition to see into the dark: to know the truth of others, their true nature and motivations and their true personalities, which may or may not match with what they say. The concept of knowing may be seen in people with a strong sense of purpose, such as professional athletes, painters and others who have a passion for what they do.  To outsiders, these may look like extraordinary abilities.  To the individual, the unique ability feels very comfortable, and they likely see themselves as no different than anyone else. 

Coneflower attracts birds and butterflies which is symbolic of connection to higher realms of intuition and knowing. 

If the flowers are left on the stems, the plants will self seed.  The leaves and flower petals are edible. Roots are used to make echinacea tea. 

The plant was used historically by Native Americans as a medicinal herb. Extracts from the plant roots and leaves are used currently to treat colds and the flu and some have used it to treat other types of infections such as ear aches. It has also been used to reduce inflammation and has been explored for use as an antioxidant. 

Echinacea comes from the Greek word echinos meaning sea-urchin in reference to the spiny appearance of the center cone on the flowers.