A white rose has been seen as an important symbol throughout history in religion, poetry, alchemy, and mystic beliefs. There are those who believe receiving a white rose is a way to communicate your feelings, and others who believe that seeing a white rose is a sign from the spiritual realm.
So what is the meaning of a white rose? The most common belief is that a white rose represents purity, innocence, and youthfulness. In alchemy and mysticism, a white rose represents a partner in a sacred union of duality that creates our physical reality; it represents the feminine energy in our feminine/masculine dualistically charged world.
There are many other meanings of a white rose depending on the context in which you see or receive a white rose. This article will discuss the various meanings of a white rose, and the spiritual significance of seeing a white rose.
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History and Symbolism of a White Rose
The white rose has long been valued for its beauty and spiritual symbolism. It serves as a placeholder for both spiritual perfection and earthly chaos. It represents the great dualities that exist in life: life and death, time and eternity, masculine and feminine, fertility and virginity.
In the West, the white rose carries the same symbolism as the white lotus in Hinduism. It represents the spiritual center and the concept of primordial birth from the cosmic waters of creation.
Since the Early Bronze Age dating back to 3300 BC, the 8-petaled white rosette was discovered to represent the Goddess Inanna, which is the Babylonian equivalent of the Goddess Ishtar, representing Venus. Her feminine energy represented the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.
In alchemy, the white rose represented the dualistic nature of our reality. It appears often in conjunction with a red rose, representing the masculine and feminine energies that are necessary to create our world. White roses represented lunar, feminine, intuitive energy, and was often associated with the metal silver.
Throughout history and the broad symbology that has been assigned to the white rose, the repeated belief is that it represents the law of nature: nothing lasts forever, everything must die in order to be reborn again.
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What Is The Spiritual Meaning Of A White Rose?
Spiritually, a white rose holds a great deal of significance, which is why it has such a rich history of symbolism in various religions and cultures around the world.
On an energetic level, roses are said to have one of the highest vibrations of all living things in the plant kingdom – and are almost the same vibration that humans resonate with. In the eyes of energetics, roses represent perfection, balance, and harmony.
In many psychic and spiritual practices, visualizing a rose is an energy tool used to transform and move energy out of one’s energetic space. This is because it can pull any unbalanced energy into perfect harmony and send it back to universal consciousness.
Because the rose is such a has such a high vibration, it is a common physical object that Spirit likes to communicate with. This symbol, along with the vibration, can send a strong spiritual message.
So what is the spiritual meaning of a white rose? The spiritual meaning of a white rose represents change, transformation, spiritual growth, and evolution. In some cases, it can represent unconditional love and neutrality. It also represents the intuitive aspect of female energy and trusting your own intuition.
Depending on the context in which you see or receive a white rose, the meaning can carry a different significance for you.
If you keep finding white roses or keep seeing white roses, pay attention to what you are going through in your life at the moment. You can ask yourself the following questions:
Are you feeling stuck or stagnant in your life? Do you need a change? This rose most likely represents that you are going through a deep transformation that will slowly start to shift your reality. It is a change for the betterment of your spiritual and soul growth. However, it means that you will have to make difficult decisions and most likely have to walk away from things that aren’t serving you.
Are you feeling grief about leaving a partnership or feeling rejected? If you are seeing a white rose and having heavy grief in your heart, this may be a sign from Spirit that you are loved unconditionally. You are perfect just the way you are, and everything you need to feel whole and accepted is in your own heart.
Are you struggling with making a big life decision and you keep seeing a white rose? This might mean that Spirit is trying to tell you to trust your intuition. Sit still with yourself and try to tap into your core beliefs and your own truth. You will always know the right answer if you just sit still and listen. Try to get neutral on the issue, which means releasing the fear, anticipation or expectation of a certain result needing to work out in order for you to feel happy. Often there are bigger plans that are hard to see when up close. Trust that the universe has a plan and it will all work out.
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What Does It Mean to Dream of a White Rose?
Another way to receive a spiritual message of a white rose is in your dreams. If you dream of a white rose, it is most likely a way to communicate a certain message to you.
Dreaming of a white rose carries the same spiritual meaning of what was listed above: transformation, spiritual growth, unconditional love, neutrality and tapping into your intuition.
What does it mean to dream of receiving a white rose? To dream of receiving a white rose may mean that someone is going to be leaving your life, but it is a necessary spiritual step in order to grow. Often times the gift of a white rose represents “death,” but in the positive sense of something ending so that something else can begin. This is especially true if you were gifted a white rose that began wilting and dying.
What does it mean to dream of a wilting or dying white rose? This symbol represents change. Birth, death, and rebirth is the transformation that exists in the physical world and is the law of nature. Seeing this symbol is a reminder of having to abide by the laws of nature – a reminder that nothing lasts forever and to appreciate the different phases of life.
What does it mean to dream of a white rose bush or a bunch of white roses? To dream of an abundance of white roses, such as a white rose bush, means that there are endless opportunities ahead of you. You are in a season where you are ready to step into a new chapter, and many doors are unlocked waiting for you to walk through. It is a highly spiritual symbol, full of power. It is a sign that you have a strong intuitive sense, and are being guided by your intuition to make the next decisions in your life.
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What Does it Mean To Receive A White Rose?
The meaning of someone giving you a white rose may be different than seeing it at a spiritual sign or dreaming of a white rose. Often times, if someone is giving you a white rose, they are trying to communicate to you.
White roses as a gift represent pure intentions and unconditional love. It is a sign that someone would like to be loyal and committed to the relationship.
What does it mean to receive a white rose from someone in a relationship? To receive a white rose from someone you are in a relationship with means that they want to commit to the partnership. They view the relationship as a sacred unity and feel that the partnership that you two have established is true love.
What Is The Meaning Of A Single White Rose? To receive a single white rose carries the same intention, but shows the beginning phases of this feeling. It may mean that a partner is just starting to feel the feelings of “love” and wants to show that feeling in the form of a gift.
To give a single white rose may show some hesitance to go “all in,” mostly because they do not know if their partner feels the same way.
Receiving a single white rose may mean that you two need to work on communication so that you both know where each other stands. Clearly communicating your feelings to your partner may ease some insecurities that are preventing them from being confident in the relationship, which is necessary for the relationship to grow.
What Do 12 White Roses Mean? To receive 12 white roses is a sign that someone is fully committed to the relationship. A dozen white roses is often associated with marriage and life-long union.
Many couples choose to have white roses at their wedding to show the sacred union of the marriage.
If your romantic partner gives you 12 white roses, they are often showing that they have moved past the passionate romance of the relationship, and are connecting with you at the deeper levels. They see you at your “soul” level and accept you unconditionally for who you are.
Bringing in the spiritual symbology of a white rose, a white rose represents transitions in life. Receiving a white rose from a partner is a way that they communicate that they want to be with you for all of life’s transitions. As long as you both shall live.
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Does A White Rose Symbolize Death?
In many countries and cultures, white roses are given at funerals and are gifted to those who are grieving the loss of a loved one.
So, do white roses symbolize death? White roses do not represent the literal act of dying; rather, they convey the spiritual significance of what death represents. Seeing a white rose, or being gifted a white rose is not a bad omen. It does represent change, and for those who are resistant to change, it can be interpreted as a negative symbol.
In the Tarot, the Death card is depicted with death holding a flag with a white rose on it. This can confirm the idea of that a white rose represents death; however, that card shouldn’t be interpreted literally.
In the Tarot, the death card is actually a positive card, as it represents the end of something and the beginning of something else. In this way, the card represents change and evolution. You can see the sun rising in the horizon, representing new possibilities that exist when things end.
In this case, the white rose represents the law of nature: everything eventually dies to be reborn again. All experiences eventually pass away, leading to new opportunities and the birth of new ideas.
Giving a white rose for someone who is grieving is more symbolic of celebrating the life that they lived, and sharing the hope that they will step into something greater that is beyond the physical realm. This life is just one small stepping stone on a greater journey. Whatever they experienced in this lifetime will serve them in the lifetimes or eternal life ahead.
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Summary
In summary, the symbol of a white rose can be best described by a quote from Paulo Coelho:
“The rose is a rose from the time it is a seed to the time it dies. Within it, at all times, it contains its whole potential. It seems to be constantly in the process of change: Yet at each state, at each moment, it is perfectly all right as it is.”
White roses represent the limitless potential that exists between each moment that we are changing, and the law of nature is that we are constantly changing. It represents the dichotomy of our reality which exists in solid physical form, yet is always in flux, making its constantly changing nature not really here at all.
Like everything on this site and on the internet, use your intuition when deciding what symbolism works best with you. While this is one interpretation of the spiritual meaning of a white rose, everyone has their own intuitive language.
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