Dandelion Symbolism: Manifestation
Dandelion symbolism is a study in opposites. On one hand, it’s an extremely tenacious plant, able to thrive within the crack of a sidewalk. Its deep taproot helps dandelion hold onto life in the face of adversity; you can mow it down or pull it up, but if even a small piece of root remains in the ground, the plant will grow back. In this way, dandelion is a symbol of strength and resilience.
Then we have dandelion’s softer side; its sunny blooms add abundant cheer to the landscape before giving way to puffballs of feathery seeds destined for flight. Dandelion’s seeds are effortlessly carried away by the whims of the wind, onward to new lands where they will take root and thrive. In this way, dandelion symbolism includes trust in the universe, trust in a natural order that knows what it’s doing and can take care of things on its own.
In this way, dandelion symbolizes the balance between tenacity and ease, between striving and allowing. Dandelion’s abundant success as a plant is evident; it grows on every continent in the world, even Antarctica (CABI, n.d.). The plant is so common that many think of it as a weed and spend huge amounts of energy trying to eradicate it. And yet it still thrives, generously offering humanity its gifts as a medicinal and edible plant—as well as its magical and spiritual properties.
Dandelion’s Magical Uses & Medicine
Think of a child making a wish and blowing dandelion’s fluffy seeds into the wind. This is one of the simplest and sweetest manifestation rituals—and one that many of us learn in childhood. Although sources struggle to pin down the origin of this practice, it’s no accident that people wish upon dandelions.
Various magical traditions associate dandelion with wish-granting, including Voodoo and hoodoo traditions (Alvarado, 2011). Seventeenth-century English herbalist and astrologer Nicholas Culpeper (1653) placed dandelion under the sign of Jupiter, planet of expansion, abundance, and good fortune.
Dandelion’s sunny, yellow flowers carry the energy of the solar plexus, the center of our self-worth and personal power. This chakra helps us feel confident and grounded; it also plays a big role in helping us manifest our intentions into physical reality. Dandelion reminds us that hard work alone is not always enough to achieve our most heartfelt wishes—we also have to believe in ourselves. For some us, this is the hardest work of all!
We can bend over backwards getting things done on the physical realm—and doing intention work until we’re blue in the face—but if deep down, we’re carrying a belief that we don’t deserve success on some level, we often end up thwarting our own efforts. As a plant spirit, dandelion can help strengthen the solar plexus and remind us of our own inherent worth. It helps us get back to that childlike innocence and joy when we made wishes and really believed they could come true!
Interestingly, dandelion also boosts the physical organs and functions associated with the solar plexus: the liver, gallbladder, and digestive system. Dandelion root is used to support the liver and aid the body’s ability to remove metabolic waste, toxins, and excess hormones; this property makes it useful for everything from skin eruptions to PMS. Its bitter properties support the digestive system by promoting the production of bile and aiding in the digestion of fat. Plus, dandelion root contains inulin, a prebiotic that feeds the beneficial bacteria of the gut.
This connection to the gut brings us to another of dandelion’s magical uses: to enhance psychic abilities and intuition (Alvarado; 2011; Murphy-Hiscock, 2017). The solar plexus is like our personal truth-o-meter; it provides “gut feelings” and helps us discern the value and veracity of all that we encounter in the world. Dandelion strengthens these functions of solar plexus, opening up our inner senses in a grounded and embodied way.
Dandelion is also seen in some magical traditions as a spiritual and emotional cleanser (Murphy-Hiscock, 2017), which also tries into its physical uses in herbal medicine. Dandelion is known in the herbalism world for cleansing and getting things moving in the body, from the liver and gallbladder to the digestive system to the urinary tract. Culpeper (1653) wrote that the plant possesses opening and cleansing qualities; it has long been used for obstructions of the liver, gallbladder, and spleen, and as a diuretic for the urinary system. I like to think this as another way that dandelion opens up our perception—by clearing out any physical and/or psychic “gunk” that might be clouding our vision.
Dandelion & Manifestation
Dandelion reminds us of the power of pure intention. Even the greatest feats begin as an idea. Our thoughts and wishes have power of their own, which is often overlooked in a society that is far more focused on simple cause-and-effect results. While rushing around trying to achieve our goals in the physical world, we might lose sight of how our thoughts and emotional state also attract experiences to us.
The flower essence of dandelion is used for hard-working overachievers who become too tense to allow life to flow through them. As Patricia Kaminski and Richard Katz (1996) write in The Flower Essence Repertory:
Such individuals are compulsive ‘doers’ who enter with great zeal and zest into many activities. Unfortunately, they can over-plan and over-form their lives beyond the natural capacity of the body to sustain such intensity…The Dandelion flower teaches these individuals how to listen more closely to emotional messages and bodily needs. As tension is released the soul feels more inner ease and balance, allowing spiritual forces to flow through the body in a dynamic, effortless way (pp. 308-309).
Thus, dandelion reminds us to balance action with intention—to pause long enough in our human doings to recall that we are human beings, after all. This is at the crux of the divinatory meaning of Dandelion in The Herbal Healing Deck. Here’s a excerpt from the guidebook:
Do not remain so overly driven and focused on your work that you shut yourself off from unforeseen opportunities…Manifesting our goals is a balancing act between action and intention; knowing how to use both without strain is the key…Dandelion is here to give you encouragement and affirm your value. When your actions are aligned with your intentions in a joyful way, you will manifest exactly what you desire.
FREE Dandelion Meditation
Ready to work with dandelion for manifesting? I’ve created a Dandelion Meditation for Manifestation that works with the plant spirit of dandelion to help magnify our intentions and joyfully send them out into the world. As with all of my plant spirit meditations, I created this because I wanted to use it myself! (Spoiler alert: it works!)
I’m also sharing this meditation for FREE with the signup of my newsletter—just scroll down to the bottom of this page to sign up, and you’ll receive a download link, no strings attached.
This meditation was inspired by Arielle Taylor of the Starseed Radio Academy and her presentation called How to Manifest Prosperity. Arielle’s techniques really helped me take my manifestation practice to the next level. For me, it was all about learning how to manifest joyfully without allowing myself to get discouraged when things didn’t happen immediately (another dandelion lesson!).
The ironic thing is that if you can train yourself to see apparent “failures” as a step in right direction, things begin to manifest much more easily. Above all, don’t get discouraged! Have fun with it: I suggest doing this quick, 15-minute meditation whenever it feels good—maybe once a day, once a week, or once a month on the new moon. If it ever begins to feel like a chore, take a break and pick it back up later.
Over the years, I’ve been astounded by the power of our thoughts and emotions in shaping reality. Manifestation works whether or not we practice it consciously! So, we might as well harness the power of our intentions by working with them in a conscious way.
Happy manifesting!
References
Alvarado, D. (2011). The Voodoo hoodoo spellbook. Red Wheel/Weiser.
CABI. (n.d.). Taraxacum officinale complex (dandelion). CABI Invasive Species Compendium. Retrieved from https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/52773#toDistributionMaps
Culpeper, N. (1653). Culpeper’s complete herbal. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/cu31924001353279
Kiminski, P., & Katz, R. (1996). The flower essence repertory (4th ed.). The Flower Essence Society.
Murphy-Hiscock, A. (2017). The green witch: Your complete guide to the natural magic of herbs, flowers, essential oils, and more. Adams Media.