A proving of Gaillardia aristata; blanket flower, Indian blanket

Magnoliopsida
Asteridae
Asterales
Asteraceae
Gaillardia Foug.
Gaillardia aristata Pursh - blanket flower

Gaillardia aristata, also known as the blanket flower or Indian blanket, is a perennial wildflower that thrives in northern and western North America, growing in many habitats. It reaches a maximum height of 20–70 centimetres (7.9 to 28 inches). Its lance-shaped leaves are clustered near the base and several erect, naked stems bear the flowers. The flower has in the centre a disk of brownish-reddish florets and a fringe of ray florets about 1–3 cm long, yellow to reddish on a darker base.

According to Jan Scholten's plant systematics:

1: C1 Vision of natives, perhaps in Africa; they sit around a wood fire and talk about everyday things. Some joke. “How was your day? What did you do today?” Conversations at the end of the day about the day's events in a village gathering.
3: C3 This plant is not as light and airy as I thought. There is a lot of suffering in it (see the book about Frida Kahlo). I'm not religious, but what is revealed to me is to drink from the chalice (of the Eucharist) of blood, to bring God or the source – or whatever – into you. To drink from the blood of life. Blood is the source of life, and God, Christ, is your spiritual source.

1: C3 Having the resources to sustain life ... The inner fire. That means accessing inner resources: the healing fire. It is soul healing on a deeper level.

3: C2 Although a sense of heaviness is present, it is not a dark medium or a dark substance. I feel a very deep sensation ... depression would be too strong a word. I'm not sure it's sadness, rather a deep sad longing. It is not a need like sexual desire or a lack of anything, but the longing for something that is lost.
It is a sad longing that involves either something having been lost, or that you cannot find something you have sought. The longing for a lost love or waiting for a love that never came.
It is not necessarily bad – there is no crying. It is a sad expression, a longing. That is a good expression for it. It is a longing that has weight, but is not quite grief. A lost love that has not died but has been carried far away so that the lovers cannot be together. It is more a soul-connection that has not come to us, or that we cannot find.
Jan: C2 (continues with Frida Kahlo's story) ... She married Diego Rivera in 1929. She was 20 years younger than him. His many affairs, including an affair with her sister Cristina, made her sad. In response to this betrayal Kahlo cut off her long dark hair. She suffered several miscarriages, which caused additional sorrow. She and Rivera experienced times of separation. She also had affairs with men and women.
1: C3 The problem was that she (Frida) loved him (Diego), and he neither recognised it nor returned her love. He did not know how much he loved her until she had died.
2: C3 A broken heart ... Look at the painting “Without Hope” where she lies in bed vomiting and spewing out all that stuff. That is sad longing. A sigh, something missing that one could not reach although one desperately wanted it. It is a deep red feeling that has depth and substance.

Structures / Destroyed structures / Broken bones

3: C2 Something about structure. I make these lines on the bottom of the bowl while I triturate and scratch, and a grid forms. Having strength means having structure, I think…; perhaps this refers to the bones and joints. Broken structures. It is also about inner strength and inner structure, about having structure in one's life.
Jan: C2 She (Frida Kahlo) had polio at age 6. At 18 she had a dreadful accident when the bus she was in collided with a tram. She broke her spine, her collarbone, several ribs and her pelvis, and had multiple fractures in the right leg; her right foot was crushed, and an iron handrail pierced her abdomen and her uterus.
3: C3 I now turn my attention to the yellow in the flower – the circle, the community around the flame. The red in the centre is the fire that surrounds the heart, the inner structure. If you lose your inner structure, you receive one from outside, from the community. The fire that you see, the blood and the structure are closely connected.

Lost identity / Fear / Dark foreboding / Indecision

3: C1 Dryness from the upper chest up to the jaw and mouth. Feeling of constriction.
3: C1 This is not as much fun as it should be. I feel weak, not like I'm going to faint, not really tired; it's more like a physical weakening of energy. Don't feel like moving at all. But I know everything is cold.
2: C2 A lot of bone-stuff for me.
3: C2 Much yawning.

Note:
During the C1 and C2 triturations all provers felt dehydrated and had to drink water constantly.

References:
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=GAAR

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaillardia_aristata

[1] Hunn, Eugene S. (1990). Nch'i-Wana, “The Big River”: Middle Columbia Indians and Their Land. University of Washington Press. p. 353. ISBN 0-295-97119-3.

Category: Provings
Keywords: Gaillardia aristata, blanket flower, Frida Kahlo, survival, strength, inner fire, blood, birth, nourishing source, sad longing, broken heart, shattered structures, broken bones, lost identity.
Remedy: Gaillardia aristata