Rose flower meanings, symbolism, history and mythology

Rose petal meanings include love, passion, romance, beauty, discretion, elegance, luxury, and sensuality. While we love roses today, they are actually ancient flowers. In fact, paleontologists discovered rose fossils that are 35 million years old. And early gardeners began cultivating roses about 5,000 years ago. Since then these exquisite flowers have enjoyed a loyal following of enthusiasts, artists and gardeners. In this post, you will learn more about the meaning and symbols of roses, including the meaning of rose colors, as well as the history, mythology, and spiritual significance of the rose.

What does a rose symbolize?

Shakespeare famously wrote in Romeo and Juliet, “A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet…“ No doubt this quote has stood the test of time because the rose is such an exquisite flower. We humans have a history with this flower. And this story is full of meaning, experiences and emotions. Here are just some of the important meanings of the rose in our lives:

Love dedication romance beauty discretion elegance luxury sensuality

Rose color meaning

Roses have been cultivated in a range of beautiful shades, and each color has a special meaning.

White rose meaning

Photo: Sabina Bajcharya.

White rose meanings include pure beauty, elegance, faith, love and reverence.

White roses are the perfect symbol for life-defining occasions, from births and christenings to weddings, memorials, and other important events that require special recognition. A symbol of elegance, white roses also look beautiful in gardens and floral arrangements, making the home a sanctuary.

Ivory Rose meaning

Ivory roses symbolize elegance, grace, luxury and discretion. With their classic, creamy hue, ivory roses are beautiful when paired with white or other colored roses. They always add a level of classic elegance. Ivory roses make beautiful understated gifts for loved ones who prefer elegance to the flashy.

Yellow rose meaning

“Oh, the yellow rose of Texas is the only girl I love… Her heart is as big as Texas and wherever I go I will always remember her because I love her so much.”
– Elvis Presley, The Eyes of Texas

If any flower could embody the outspoken friendliness of the people of Texas, it would be the yellow rose. Yellow roses symbolize friendship, generosity, hospitality, optimism and gratitude. They make wonderful thank you gifts, as well as gifts for friends and family, or anyone whose spirit you want to lift.

Pink rose meaning

Pink rose meanings include love, especially platonic love, beauty, admiration, tenderness, and caring.

Light pink roses are wonderful gifts for female relatives, boyfriends and girls or for men who love the color pink.

Pink roses convey the same meaning as pale pink roses, but they can also mean romantic love. They are perfect for occasions like bridal showers, bachelorette parties, and other fun occasions. Additionally, bright pink roses make beautiful gifts for the people in your life who have vibrant personalities.

Many wild roses, including desert roses, have shades of pink ranging from pale pink to fuchsia. So wild roses make a wonderful addition to gardens or as gifts for the people in your life who are nature lovers or have a wild side.

Red rose meaning

Red roses are the epitome of passionate, romantic love. In fact, they are such a powerful symbol of romantic love that giving them to anyone for any reason other than being in love with them is practically illegal. When diluted in a bouquet with other types of flowers, you might get away with gifting them to someone other than your heartthrob!

Red roses symbolize romance, passion, sensuality and love. They are perfect for Valentine’s Day, birthdays or any other occasion where you want to convey your romantic feelings for someone else. In addition, red roses in the garden are lucky symbols for love and prosperity in the house.

Orange Rose meaning

Orange roses come in a range of hues, from light peach to yellow-orange to fiery orange.

Peach colored roses symbolize platonic love, admiration and caring. Since orange is the color of health and vitality, peach roses make lovely gifts for someone going through a health challenge. They are also beautiful in bridal bouquets, for baby and bridal showers and similar occasions.

The meaning of the bright orange rose includes health, vitality, self-confidence and offbeat love affairs. Orange roses make perfect gifts, whether in bouquets or gardens, for the people in your life who march to the beat of their own drum, who love to laugh and enjoy flair.

Green rose meaning

Believe it or not, although uncommon, green roses exist. In fact, gardeners began cultivating green roses in the 17th century. Green roses symbolize freedom, fertility, new beginnings and renewal.

Green roses are symbols of freedom and new beginnings, because in the 18th century Quaker abolitionists planted them in their gardens to indicate they were part of the Underground Railroad. In 19th-century America, the Underground Railroad was a network of safe houses and secret routes that enslaved people could use when escaping slavery.

Green is also the color of spring. This is another reason why green roses symbolize new beginnings, fertility and renewal.

Green roses make beautiful additions to gardens as well as gifts for occasions such as baby showers, Easter and St. Patrick’s Day.

Blue rose meaning

Blue roses do not occur naturally in nature, but they can be made with blue dyes or bioengineered. On the biotech front, scientists have discovered a way to turn white roses blue by introducing blue pigment-producing enzymes from bacteria into the petals.

Blue roses symbolize trust, loyalty, honor and friendship – as in a “true blue friend”. As such, they make special gifts for close friends, co-workers, and other people you trust and respect.

Purple rose meaning

Purple roses come in a range of shades, from lavender to royal purple. The color purple symbolizes peace, royalty and spiritual enlightenment.

In addition, lavender roses symbolize romance, beauty, elegance and luxury. They are versatile flowers that are suitable for a range of occasions, from birthdays to graduations, weddings and thank you’s. Special people appreciate the color purple, so it’s good to know who those people in your life are!

Dark purple roses combine the warmth of red with the coolness of blue. They symbolize majesty, elegance, sensuality, fun and harmony. Giving away purple roses or growing them in your garden will be appreciated by the special people in the world who love the color purple.

Purple is also a color that symbolizes finding harmony with others and striving for spiritual enlightenment. So, lavender or purple roses are ideal for meditation or peace gardens.

Black rose meaning

Black roses do not occur naturally in nature. However, there are some shades of dark red roses, including dark burgundy and magenta, that are so dark they almost look black. Also, some florists dye white roses black.

Black rose meaning encompasses elegance, formality, luxury, discretion, mystery and rebellion. So they make fun gifts this Halloween and for the people in your life who are rebellious, mysterious or just love black clothes!

Multicolored Rose Meanings

For those who love color, roses also come in a number of multicolored variations. Multicolored roses signify the importance of their color combinations. They also stand for joy, fun and variety. They are ideal for any occasion worth celebrating.

Rose Spiritual Meanings

On a spiritual level, like a lotus flower, a rose in full bloom represents the attainment of spiritual enlightenment. In addition, the thorns on the stem of the rose symbolize the struggles we go through on the physical plane that help our soul to learn and evolve.

goddess flowers

A number of ancient cultures associated roses with their goddesses. The Greeks, for example, associated the rose with their goddess of love, Aphrodite. While the Egyptians associated the rose with Isis. Also, Christians associate roses with Mary.

Islam, Christianity and the Crusades

Madonna in the Rose Garden by Martin Schongauer. Source: St Marin, Colmar.

The Persians, Turks and other peoples of the Middle East cultivated roses for centuries before the Crusades of the 11th and 12th centuries. Contrary to the bloody battles that ensued, some European knights saw fit to bring home some of the beautiful roses they had seen in the Middle East.

For Muslims, roses had a special spiritual meaning: they believed that roses sprout from drops of Muhammad’s sweat when they fall on the ground.

Roses also acquired spiritual meanings for Christians as they associated them with both the blood of Jesus and the Virgin Mary.

Rose Garden and the Garden of Eden

Both early Muslims and Christian monks planted rose gardens on the grounds of their mosques and monasteries to represent the Garden of Eden. Also, they planted a tree in the middle of the garden to represent the tree or life or the tree of knowledge.

The rose in Sufism

Hazrat Inayat Khan plays a veena. Circa 1910. Photo: Unknown.

The famous Sufi philosopher and teacher Hazrat Inayat Khan likened the rose to the soul. He said that a rose blossoming from a bud to a full flower is like the soul opening to God. And both the rose and the sun have the same needs: fertile soil, bright sun, clean water, clean air and space to grow.

“The soul becomes like a rose and begins to show the quality of the rose. Just as the rose consists of many petals held together, so the man who attains the unfoldment of the soul begins to show many different qualities. These qualities exude fragrance in the form of a spiritual personality.

The rose has a beautiful structure and the personality, which shows the unfolding of the soul, has a fine structure: in dealing, in dealing with others, in speaking, in acting. The atmosphere of the spiritual being…