Jericho Flowers (Selaginella lepidophylla), 6 Pack

Place it in a bowl of water. Within hours, what looked like a curled, desiccated brown ball begins to unfurl — slowly, almost imperceptibly at first, then with gathering intention — until it opens into a living, green, fully realized plant. Let the water evaporate, and it closes again. Dry and dormant, waiting. Add water, and it blooms again.

This is Selaginella lepidophylla — the plant commonly known as the Jericho Flower, the Rose of Jericho, the Resurrection Plant. It is a spikemoss native to the Chihuahuan Desert of Mexico and the southwestern United States, a lineage so ancient it predates flowering plants by millions of years. Its biological ability to lose up to 95% of its water content and then return fully to life when rehydrated is not a metaphor. It is real, documented biology — which is precisely why spiritual traditions across cultures, for centuries, have understood this plant as a living embodiment of renewal, resilience, and rebirth.

This 6-pack gives you a working supply — one plant to keep in a bowl for ongoing ritual use, others to give as gifts, use in separate workings, or hold in reserve for moments when renewal is most needed.

Key Features

Living ritual tool that embodies what it represents. Most spiritual ingredients are symbolic — they stand for something. Jericho Flowers are what they stand for. The cycle of dormancy, revival, re-dormancy, and revival again is not an abstraction but something you watch happen in your own bowl. Working with this plant means working with the literal biological fact of resurrection.

Versatile across traditions — Hoodoo, Santería, Espiritismo, folk Catholicism, and eclectic practice. The Jericho Flower's use in spiritual practice spans multiple living traditions. In Hoodoo, its revival water is used for prosperity, cleansing, and protection. In Santería and Espiritismo, it appears in offerings and preparations. In folk Catholicism, particularly in Mexico, it is used as a blessing and protection for the home and in childbirth. Eclectic practitioners use it for renewal, new beginnings, and heart work. Few plants travel this well across paths.

Six plants — one to work with now, others to share or keep in reserve. A single Jericho Flower can be revived and returned to dormancy many times over the course of years. Six gives you generosity: plants to gift to people in your life who need the energy of renewal, backups for workings that call for multiple flowers, and the simple abundance of a working supply that isn't rationed.

Product Details

• Contents: 6 dried Selaginella lepidophylla (Jericho Flower / Rose of Jericho) plants
• Species: Selaginella lepidophylla (the rootless, water-revival variety standard in spiritual practice)
• Origin: Chihuahuan Desert region
• Form: Dried, dormant — will revive when placed in water
• Size: Approximately 2–4 inches diameter when fully open
• Note: This is Selaginella lepidophylla, not Anastatica hierochuntica (the true Rose of Jericho, native to the Middle East). Both are sold as "Rose of Jericho"; they are different plants with different behaviors. S. lepidophylla is the rootless variety used in Hoodoo, Santería, and most spiritual practice because it revives repeatedly without soil.

The Spiritual Significance

In Hoodoo rootwork, the Jericho Flower's revival water is one of its most prized products. Practitioners place the plant in a bowl of clean water — often spring or rain water, though tap water works — and allow it to bloom over several days. This charged water is then used for prosperity work: sprinkled on a business counter or cash register to draw customers, added to floor washes for good fortune, used to wash protective amulets and charms, or applied to the front door threshold to invite abundance and block misfortune. Traditional practice adds five coins to the water, the coins becoming carriers of the plant's drawing energy. You can use this water throughout the week, then let the plant dry and rest before beginning a new revival cycle.

In folk Catholic and Mexican folk practice, the Jericho Flower carries the energy of blessing, protection, and renewal for the home and the people within it. A blooming plant placed near the front door is understood to invite peace, harmony, and protection. Some practitioners use the revival water to bless newborns, to support mothers during and after childbirth, or to bring healing energy to someone in recovery or transition. The plant's symbolic resonance with resurrection means it is also used at thresholds — beginnings of new phases, recoveries from loss, entries into new chapters — to anchor the energy of starting over without losing what came before.

How To Use

1. Revive the plant. Place the dried, curled Jericho Flower in a shallow bowl. Add room-temperature water — spring water, rain water, or filtered tap water — until the roots are submerged but the entire plant isn't fully underwater. Within a few hours, it will begin to open. Full revival may take 12–24 hours.
2. Set your intention as it opens. The period of revival is a natural point for intention-setting. Hold your hands over the plant as it opens, speak your desire or prayer aloud, and allow the plant's return to life to anchor your intention in the physical world.
3. Work with the water. Change the water every 24–48 hours to prevent stagnation and mold. Do not discard it — collect the old water in a jar. This charged revival water can be used to wash your front door and threshold, sprinkle in the corners of your space, add to a floor wash for prosperity, rinse protective jewelry or charms, or anoint a petition candle.
4. For Hoodoo prosperity work: Add five coins to the bowl. Allow the plant to bloom while the coins sit in the water. Remove the coins after 7 days and add them to your wallet or cash drawer — they carry the drawing energy of the plant with them.
5. Return it to dormancy. Remove the plant from water and place it in a dry, well-ventilated spot. Allow it to fully dry — this takes 1–2 weeks. Do not rush this step. The dormancy cycle is what keeps the plant healthy for repeated revival. A plant that is never allowed to dry will eventually rot.
6. Repeat. A well-cared-for Jericho Flower can be revived many times over years. Each revival cycle is a fresh beginning.

There is no wrong way to work with this plant if you approach it with presence and intention.

Pairs Well With

• Florida Water Cologne — Add a splash of Florida Water to your Jericho Flower's revival bowl for a prosperity and cleansing preparation that draws on both ingredients' drawing and purifying traditions.
• Dead Sea Salt, 2 Pounds — Use the charged Jericho Flower water combined with Dead Sea salt as a floor wash base for a deeply mineral, spiritually potent cleansing preparation.
• Purification Bath Kit — Pair a Jericho Flower revival working with a purification bath ritual to fully clear old energy before welcoming in the renewal the plant embodies.
• Enhance Your Love Life Ritual Kit — The Jericho Flower's energy of emotional renewal and new beginnings in love makes it a natural complement to a dedicated love working; set the plant to revive as you perform your love ritual.
• Love Travel Altar — The plant's symbolism of love returning and hearts opening after periods of closure makes it a natural partner for the Love Travel Altar's portable love-magic toolkit.

History & Occult Background

Selaginella lepidophylla is a member of the Selaginellaceae family, a lineage of spikemosses that emerged roughly 300 million years ago — older than flowering plants by a vast margin. It is native to the Chihuahuan Desert, spanning northern Mexico and the southwestern United States, where it grows in arid conditions and survives periodic complete desiccation. Botanists classify it as poikilohydric, meaning it has no cellular mechanism for resisting drought — it simply surrenders completely to dehydration, curling inward through differential lignification across its cell walls, and waits. The trehalose compounds in its tissues prevent cellular damage during this dormancy, allowing full metabolic resumption when water returns.

Spanish missionaries traveling through the Chihuahuan Desert encountered the plant and reportedly used it to demonstrate spiritual rebirth to Indigenous peoples, a crossroads of Indigenous knowledge and Catholic symbolism that helped carry the plant into the folk magic traditions of the American South and Caribbean. From there, it entered Hoodoo, Santería, Espiritismo, and Brujería, where practitioners recognized in its biology exactly what their traditions had always understood about spiritual life: that dormancy is not death, that periods of apparent lifelessness carry seeds of return, and that the act of placing something in water and waiting for it to bloom is a form of faith made visible.

The name "Rose of Jericho" reflects the plant's association with the ancient city of Jericho, a city famously destroyed and rebuilt multiple times in the biblical record — a symbol of resilience and rebirth. The plant is distinct from Anastatica hierochuntica, the true botanical Rose of Jericho native to the Middle East, which requires rooted soil to revive and behaves quite differently. The Selaginella sold in spiritual shops — and in this listing — is the rootless, desert-dwelling spikemoss, which can be revived in a shallow bowl indefinitely, without soil, which is why it became the standard in spiritual practice.

In Santería, the plant has associations with Shangó, the Orisha of thunder and fire, whose own mythological narrative includes a form of death and divine rebirth. It appears in some preparations and offerings made in his honor, and the plant's energy of renewal and strength through difficulty aligns with his domain.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between this plant and the "true" Rose of Jericho? There are two plants sold under the name "Rose of Jericho." Selaginella lepidophylla (what you're buying here) is native to the Chihuahuan Desert of Mexico and the US Southwest. It is rootless — it can revive in a shallow bowl of water with no soil, repeatedly, for years. Anastatica hierochuntica is the true botanical Rose of Jericho, native to the Middle East and North Africa. It requires soil to survive and behaves differently. S. lepidophylla is the standard in Hoodoo, Santería, Espiritismo, and most folk spiritual practice because of its reliable rootless revival.

How long does revival take, and how do I know if the plant is healthy? A healthy plant begins opening within a few hours of being placed in water and reaches full bloom within 12–24 hours. The fronds turn green as they hydrate. If your plant takes longer, give it time — plants that have been dormant for extended periods may take up to 48 hours. If the plant fails to green up or develops a sour smell in the water, it may have sustained damage during storage; contact Plentiful Earth.

How do I prevent mold? Change the water every 24–48 hours. Do not allow the plant to sit in stagnant water. Between revival cycles, allow the plant to dry completely — this typically takes 1–2 weeks in a well-ventilated space. Mold most commonly occurs when practitioners don't allow sufficient drying time before the next revival.

How many times can this plant be revived? A well-cared-for Selaginella lepidophylla can be revived hundreds of times over the course of many years. The plant has no biological limit to its revival cycles as long as it is allowed to fully dry between soakings and is not exposed to contaminants.

What should I do with the revival water? In Hoodoo tradition, the water charged by a blooming Jericho Flower is considered spiritually potent. Common uses include washing the front door threshold for protection and prosperity, sprinkling in the corners of a room, adding to floor washes, rinsing protective charms and jewelry, and anointing petitions or candle work. The water from a plant working toward a specific intention — love, prosperity, healing — carries the resonance of that intention.

Is this plant safe around pets? Selaginella lepidophylla is not generally classified as toxic to cats or dogs, but as with any botanical material, ingestion in quantity is not recommended. Keep the revival bowl in a location where curious pets cannot drink from it or disturb it.