Surrendering with Pulsatilla

For the flower that dares sprout first

The windy, harsh conditions are no match

She knows her softness is her strength

Her survival is in her surrender

Pulsatilla, the pasqueflower, teaches us the power through surrender. She is one of the first flowers to sprout in spring and will often be found standing tall on windy mountain sides. She survives not through force and rigidity but softness.

The “pasque” (French for Easter) flower reminds us of rebirth and new life, both in its eruption in spring around Easter and the fact that it grows under the conditions it does. From windy, rocky grasslands in Northern Europe (and other species of Pulsatilla like the crocus in the Canadian prairies), one might think such a delicate flower would have no chance of survival, no hope.

But there it stands, strongly rooted in its sandy soil, with a flexible stem that allows it to blow in the wind so she doesn’t break.

Ranunculaceae Family

Pulsatilla comes from the Ranunculaceae family. There are many species of the plant but Pulsatilla Nigricans or Anemone Pratensis is what’s most commonly used in Homeopathy.

The Ranunculaceae family feature issues with control or being controlled. They ask, how do I behave in this world? What are the rules for who to be and how to be?

In Wondrous Order (by Michal Yakir) they are described as focused on “acting in a right and proper way” rather than what comes naturally. This manifests a desire to control the situation and their response in order to survive and avoid rejection. This lack of trust leads to them second guessing their emotions, decisions, and the way their body functions. They can appear naive, lost, and changeable.

They are trying to control the uncontrollable and looking for someone or something to hold them up. Where does this desire come from? Usually a sense of abandonment, a time when they lacked support, protection or perhaps when their natural desires led to abandonment. They feel isolated and rejected.

The Pulsatilla plant itself thrives in moderate to dry conditions (thirstless) with well draining soil (issues with circulation). They like the sun, but only in the spring and early summer, fading away when it gets too hot (aversion heat). They have droopy flowers that face down away from the sun with a fuzzy layer that aids with protecting them from the windy conditions.

“My softness is my strength”

The more I’ve gotten to know Pulsatilla the more I’ve learned to admire her vulnerability. She is strong and soft, she’s resilient and expressive, she weeps and she laughs, sometimes all in one breath.

Most commonly, Pulsatilla is known to be a remedy for clingy babies and weepy, whiny women. When I was making my oracle deck, the question I was asking was: “what does the remedy do when given to a well indicated person?”

When we give Pulsatilla to a clingy baby, what does it do? When we give it to a weepy mom, what does it do? When we give Pulsatilla to a breech baby, what does it do?

Does it make them stronger, more independent, more in control? Does it relinquish them of their need for comfort and closeness? Is the beauty of Pulsatilla in its ability to transcend the feminine essence? Why should a baby be more independent? Why shouldn’t a hormonal mumma be emotional? Why do we need to rush a baby who’s not ready?

What I learned, is Pulsatilla is not a remedy that is here to erase the soft, vulnerable, surrendered feminine. It’s here to reinforce her trust.

Before we look at what a remedy can heal, we have to look at what needs to be healed.

And what needs to be healed in our Pulsatilla beauties is not their softness or their emotional depth. What needs healing is their disconnect.

An unhealthy Pulsatilla might be:

• Seeking to be controlled or control their natural flow in order to please or fit in

• Lacking trust in their supports

• Disconnected from their feminine energy, overly associated with the masculine

As a result, the weepiness feels unending because it’s not allowed to truly flow. The hormones and emotions are changeable and misguided because natural rhythms aren’t being trusted. The need for support is unfulfilled and relationships are co-dependent; there’s a hole at the bottom of the barrel.

Take hormonal birth control as an example. A masculine bandaid to a feminine issue - control, suppress, manage. Pulsatilla is one of our wonderful remedies for post-pill imbalances. After the cycle has been controlled in order to fit what we determine a cycle should be, the body welcomes Pulsatilla, not to act as a regulator but as a guide, bringing the body back to harmony so it can bleed and ovulate in the way that’s best for Her.

Pulsatilla strengthens our relationship to our feminine side and rather than forcing us to transcend it, it invites the weepy baby to trust mom will be there when they need her. It allows moms hormones to find their natural flow, and welcomes momma and breech baby to trust the process of birth to unfold as it needs to, ready to welcome any support required. With Pulsatilla, we embody the feminine process and trust it with all our heart.

Pregnancy & Postpartum

It’s nearly inevitable that in pregnancy and postpartum you’ll get to know this remedy well, at some point or another. Pulsatilla is the perfect support for any hormonal shifts and guides us beautifully through the vulnerable time of bringing a new human into this world.

One of my big Pulsatilla moments was later on in pregnancy. One of the things I found most challenging was accepting how much support I needed from others. Towards the end, it became abundantly clear that I’d need to get over that quirk as functioning on my own became increasingly difficult, especially around eating as I had appetite issues.

My husband, an angel of a human, who would do anything for me in spite of my ability to accept it, was eager to get or make me anything that sounded remotely good in order to quench my hunger. And I found this overwhelming. I missed my independence, I didn’t feel safe relying so heavily on another person, but I also had a part that knew, deep down, this is what I needed.

This inner conflict led to an ever weepy state. I was overwhelmed by his kindness, my own emotions, my fears, and hormones - I was having a very hard time surrendering to needing people.

I remember the exhale after that dose of Pulsatilla. I cried properly and felt a wall come down, it allowed me to lean on my supports when I needed them so I had more capacity for independence when I needed to be.

This may not be your exact expression of Pulsatilla, and there are other remedies that fit this picture, but here’s what does indicate Pulsatilla in pregnancy (full symptom overview at the end of the post):

• Weepy, whiny, desires consolation and company

• Loves touch and hugs and comfort

• Changeable moods

• Forsaken, will ask “do you love me?”

• Worse in stuffy rooms, better outside/fresh air

• Breech baby, or general malpresentation

• Delayed or unproductive labour

• Wandering pains in joints, better from motion

• Craves creamy, dairy based foods, cold foods

• Indigestion from fatty foods and potentially dairy

• Diarrhea alternating with constipation

• Nausea of pregnancy (when other generals fit)

• Postpartum: DMER reactions, support when milk comes in/hormones shift ~day 3 PP, insufficient or thin milk, postpartum depression/anxiety

Babies & Children

Fast forward to the baby - we see another beautiful expression of Pulsatilla. The weepy whiny Pulsatilla baby never wants to be put down, she’s happy in mommas arms, resting peacefully until she’s put down and screams awake.

Now contrary to modern beliefs, babies aren’t meant to be independent, they are in their most vulnerable state! But we do want baby to learn to feel secure enough that they can rest even if they aren’t in moms arms all the time.

I may not be in the baby’s head, but I think a dose of Pulsatilla allows them to fill up on the loving connection they are receiving and trust that it will be there when they need it.

Pulsatilla, in babies and older children, is also great for colds, ear and eye infections, separation anxiety, digestive complaints. Later on in puberty, it can help with the transition into the bleed where symptoms fit.

In baby and kids, indications for Pulsatilla might include (in addition to anything else listed in this post):

• Thick green/yellow discharges (nose, eyes)

• Sad and weepy, extreme desire for comfort

• May be inconsolable

• Shy and clingy to mom, wants lots of attention from her family

• Sensitive to fatty foods, may tend toward diarrhea or alternating between constipation and diarrhea

• Puberty: soft, sensitive young women who may have a hard time transitioning to womanhood, not wanting to separate from their childlike essence, clinging to the family. Weepy with menses (before/during), irregular, late bleeds.

Pulsatilla for all

While Pulsatilla is a primarily female remedy, we all have the feminine inside of us. I prescribe Pulsatilla for men often in practice so do not discount it there!

The Pulsatilla man can also be soft and gentle, very teddy bear like, they may have lacked nourishment from their mother. On the flip side, I often find men who need this remedy have their feminine energy suppressed or lack balance between their masculine and feminine. Their Pulsatilla state comes out when they are sick or unwell.

General symptoms to look for that indicate Pulsatilla:

• Weepy, whiny, desires consolation

• Forsaken, “do you love me?”

• Sympathetic, yielding, gentle, shy

• Warm blooded, worse in the sun and heat

  • “congestion” is a primary theme of Pulsatilla so anything that amplifies that congestion will make them worse

• Better fresh, cool, open air and cool applications

• Changeable symptoms (there is no pattern, symptoms come and go)

• Thick yellow/green discharges

• Thirstless

• Worse from fatty foods

• Aggravated by pregnancy, before and during menses, and at menopause

• Menstrual issues

  • Absent, delayed or irregular cycles with short bleeds

  • Headaches or mood changes before the bleed

Every time I engage with Pulsatilla I am reminded of the body’s wisdom and how my stuckness is usually because of my inability to surrender. I am reminded of the incredible miracle of pregnancy, how the body simply knows how to shift and change in order to grow an entire human being. I am reminded of the beauty of being held and supported and how good it feels to truly lean into the supports around me.

Pulsatilla is here to amplify the wisdom of women in a world determined to suppress it.

Her softness is her strength and her rebellion, trusting her process with such depth she is unbothered by the pressures of man. She knows it will come, no need to chase or hurry or grasp. She leans in, surrenders, and lets Mother Nature take the wheel.

If Pulsatilla resonates with you, grab your journal and play with these prompts:

• How can I lean into and accept what is right now? What would surrender look like in this situation?

• Where am I resisting the natural flow of life? Where am I trying to control rather than trust?

• Who or what is supporting me right now? Make a list. Are you leaning in or resisting?