Deborah Drummond-Baker shares lectures notes with Metropolitan Aromatherapy representatives. Elaine, of Beautiful Things Naturally, is a rep, so she can share these notes with her customer - being you!
Repeated use of the chemicals in products we buy to apply to our bodies may not seem dangerous because we use only small amounts, but over time, toxins do accumulate. Natural products and natural remedies are an excellent alternative option. Read on to learn how to use ESSENTIAL OILS to prevent putting your good health in jeopardy, and to improve your environmental footprint all at the same time.
AROMATHERAPY - History & Myth of Essential Oils
- by Deborah Drummond-Baker
The oils have three primary functions
Benzoin - highly prized and valued, in 1461 the Sultan of Egypt sent the head of Venice a gift: 2 Persian carpets and 177 pounds of benzoin.
Cedarwood - these trees are very long-lived, which is why they are grown in churchyards. An enormous grove of cedars of Lebanon, from which King Soloman was said to have built his temple, still exists on the slopes of Mount Lebanon. The first cedar tree planted in Britain in 1646 in the Thames Valley, is still there, alive and healthy. Cedars are the trees most mentioned in the Bible, symbolizing everything fertile and abundant. The Ancient Egyptians used it in embalming.
Celery – Romans would wreath the leaves of the celery plant around their heads for a way to get rid of hangovers.
Chamomile – Sacred to the Egyptians, Hippocrates dedicated it to the sun for its properties. Under its old name, ‘maythen’, it was one of the 9 sacred herbs believed to be effective against the ‘flying venoms’ carried by the wind and blamed by ancient Europeans as the cause of disease. An old gardening tradition claims that chamomile scattered in the garden will keep all the plants there healthy. Stories say that if you use chamomile before bedtime, you will have sweet dreams. Mexican tradition says that if you bathe in the flowers of the chamomile plant, you will have a more beautiful body.
Cinnamon - This spice is mentioned in the bible under the name ‘quesiah’. Egyptians used it to keep away plagues, and in embalming. It is an oil of love, increasing romantic gestures and enhancing the sexual act. Cinnamon will also bring good fortune and wealth. It is known as ‘the oil of more’.
Clove – the tree originated in the Moluccas. On the ‘Spice Islands’, in the middle of the humid rainy season, the fragrance of the clove trees is dispersed throughout the islands. When the Dutch, in the early 17th century, destroyed the clove trees, many island inhabitants died. During the Renaissance, pomanders were made frorn cloves to keep the plague away. This oil is known to warm the heart. Courtiers at the Han court in China in the 2nd century would suck cloves to sweeten their breath when appearing before the Emperor.
Coriander – is possibly one of the oldest flavorings in the world. The seeds were used in religious ceremonies. In biblical times, the seeds were eaten at Passover. In India, coriander is used to make magic incantations to the gods. It is also known as an aphrodisiac. Renaissance doctors believed that a few seeds at the top of a woman’s thigh while she was in labor would facilitate birth and ease pain. It was also thought that a woman eating the seeds could stop menstruating and become pregnant.
Cypress - Ancient Greeks dedicated the cypress tree to Pluto, god of the Underworld; hence the frequency of these trees in cemeteries.
Elemi - J.J. Wecker, an early 17th century doctor, found this oil to be helpful with the head injuries and other wounds suffered by soldiers. Elemi speeded the healing process of wounds inflicted by deep swords.
Fennell - Hippocrates and Dioscorides said that fennel promoted the flow of breast milk. The Greek word for fennel was ‘'marathro’, meaning ‘to grow thin’'. In the middle ages, fennel was used as an appetite suppressant during lent and days of fasting. A garden with a corner full of feathery licorice smelling leaves for children evokes feelings of being in a fairy forest. Fennel is another of the 9 sacred herbs used for protection against witchcraft.
Frankincense - Frankincense was used since ancient times in religious ritual and is a highly prized gift to receive, stemming from the fact is was a gift from the Wise Men to the Baby Jesus. It is an oil to protect and support you, deepening spiritual thought and belief, altering perceptions of truth and promoting clairvoyance. It was used to embalm the pharaohs.
Geranium - Geranium is an oil sought out by women to enhance their beauty. Distillation of geranium only began in 1817.
Caraway - Fossilized caraway seeds have been found in Switzerland. The ancient Egyptians used the spice in religious ritual.
Cardamom - used a lot in Ayurveda. Christ mentions it under the name ‘Ela’. Ancient Egyptians used it in religious ceremonies and in perfumes. Poets sang praises about its exquisite aroma.
1. Physical-Chemical reactions
2. Emotional-Physiological and Chemical Reactions
3. Spiritual Reaction - based on oral and written knowledge, handed down information, folklore, rituals and stories .
In this lecture, we will be approaching our subject from a spiritual perspective. We will draw from ancient teachings and stories – which are the root of what aromatherapy practitioners have used in creating their recipes and healing treatments.
History
As the Roman legions advanced over Europe, soldiers took seeds of the plants they could not live without along on their travels, to cultivate in the countries they came to occupy.
The scientific approach to medicine started to increase by the end of the 18th century. Even though essential oils were still widely used in medicine, chemistry started to flourish and plant cures could be synthesized in the laboratory. Cures were stronger and faster. Aromatherapy lost its place in pharmacies, and the subject began to lose value.
Records dating bock to 4500 BC tell of perfumed oils, scented barks, resins, spices, aromatic vinegars, wines and beers all being used in ceremony, medicine, astrology and embalming. When Tutankhaman’s tomb was opened in 1922, many pots were found with frankincense and myrrh in them. Priests burnt essential oils to raise the spirits of their congregation, or to promote a state of tranquility. Embalmers were amongst the earliest aromatherapists. When mummies were examined under microscopes, actual fragments of intestine, embalmed in essential oils, were found still intact.
Egyptians had an amazing knowledge of the culinary value of aromatic substances. They would add caraway, coriander and aniseed to bread to make them easier to digest. In India, the woman in the family was the doctor of the household. She would add different spices and oils into the food she prepared for her family, based on their medicinal needs.
Dr. J. Valnet continued this work. Until WW2, these oils were used as natural disinfectants and antiseptics to fumigate hospital wards, and to sterilize instruments used in surgery and dentistry. Doctors used the oils to prevent gangrene, to treat burns and to heal wounds in record time. Today the oils are used by doctors, alternative practitioners, food and drug companies, and perfumeries, in pharmaceutical products and in people's work and home environments.
A French chemist, Dr. R. M. Gatlefosse , rekindled the interest in aromatherapy. He was in the lab, burnt his hand, and revived an age old cure – he stuck his hand in a vat of lavender oil. He was amazed at the reduction of pain and scarring and so, decided to explore the oils seriously. He wrote many books on aromatherapy and he used World War I soldiers as subjects. He used thyme, clove, lemon and chamomile essential oils on the sick in hospitals with astoundingly good results.
In biblical times, many oils were used for anointment. Hyssop is mentioneed in warding off spiritual attacks. Frankincense and myrrh were prized gifts to the Baby Jesus.
Hippocrates, famously quoted for his philosophy of his day, said, 'that a daily aromatic bath and a scented massage are the way to health.' Hippocrates was aware of the antibacterial properties of certain plants, and when an epidemic broke oat in Athens, he urged people to burn aromatic plants at the street corners to protect themselves and to prevent the spread of disease. A Greek surgeon, Dioscorides, recorded a comprehensive textbook that documented that the plant itself was more powerful when harvested at different times of the day or night, or during different seasons, depending upon howthe plant was responding to its atmosphere (e.g. Jasmine)
The Black Death, the Plague, hit Europe in the early 14th Century, killing between one third and one half of the population. The doctors could only recommend that people carry aromatic herbal pomanders, and burn aromatics in their homes and on street corners.
Since the beginning of time, woman and animals have relied upon the plant world to cure disease. According to archeologists, paintings on the walls of the Lascaux caves France, dating back to 18,000 BC, tell of plants used in medicine. An emperor, Shan Hung, who lived sometime between 1000 -- 700 BC, compiled a written text, an herbal text, in which he listed over 350 medicinal plants. Aromatic substances played an important part in the medicinal practices of Hebrew, Arabic and Indian civilizations. For ancient Egyptians, aromatherapy was a way of life, involving both religion and medicine. |
