Bach Flower Remedies
Wild Oat

Avena sativa

Wild oat is a very tall grass with a few slender stalks that grow up to 1.5 m or more in height. The leaves are broad blades (15mm wide) which clasp the stems to form a sheaf which is very hairy. The flowering heads (panicles) are loose like the true oat. Although it is difficult to define a technical identification it should be possible to recognize wild oat as different from the other bromes. The important pointers are the height, the hairs and the appearance of the panicle.

Flowering Period

July and August, significantly later than most of the other flowering grasses.

Preparation

Wild oat is prepared by the sun method. When the flower is ready the bracts suddenly open to reveal the rusty brown pollen on the anthers. Pick the flowering ends of the spikelets from many different grasses and float them on to the water.

Uses

Lack of direction; unfulfilled ambitions.

People in the Wild Oat state of mind feel they have reached a crossroads in life. They yearn to do something worthwhile, but do not know which path to take. They may have tried several options but still feel dissatisfied with life or with their achievements. Wild Oat helps them to find direction and feel more fulfilled.

Animals may also reach the stage where they feel lost and without direction. This may happen to any animal that is suddenly uprooted from a situation in which it felt fulfilled and placed into one where its former reason for living no longer exists. Imagine for example a working dog who has been retired to a new home. He may be taken in by his owners family who do their best to make him welcome, but if his whole life has been built around his life on the farm he may feel that there is no purpose in his life any more, and feel dissatisfied and frustrated. Wild Oat is one remedy to consider, to help him rediscover a sense of purpose and fulfillment in his new home. In this situation it would probably be given along with Walnut.

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