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When you begin building up your collection of essential oils, there is no better place to start than with lavender. Its dreamy fragrance has made it a popular perfume for centuries, but this gentle herb also has powerful harmonising properties. The Healing Herb The valuable therapeutic oil produced by lavender flowers can be used to … Read moreAromatherapy: Healing with Lavender
Soothing Hand Lotion 50ml unperfumed lotion (available at chemists, health stores and supermarkets) or a base body lotion. 10 drops diluted lavender oil 5 drops pure palmarosa essesntial oil Stir well to blend in the oils and store in a small cosmetic pot. Use a small amount after doing housework, washing up or gardening, or … Read moreAromatherapy: Lavender for Beauty and Home
Lavender can take much of the credit for the revival and interest in aromatherapy today. At different stages in history lavender has been valued for its impressive healing powers and it is these healing properties that make it one of the most important essential oils. Not only is it a natural antibiotic, antiseptic, anti-depressant, sedative … Read moreAromatherapy: The Magic of Lavender
The most important concern when using aromatherapy and essential oils with babies and children is safety. Choose only suitably gentle oils to use in low concentrations. Babies and children have immature body systems and organs, which means they could have difficulty in eliminating the more powerful oils. They also tend to be far more responsive … Read moreAromatherapy for Babies and Children
There are millions of species of plants living on the planet, with a diversity of characteristics. Fortunately, botanists have completed the difficult task of correctly identifying one plant from another by setting up a system of classification and assigning species according to their common characteristics. These might be similarities in germination, growth, shape or chemistry. … Read moreAromatherapy: Understanding Plant Families
The chemist might describe essential oils as chemical compounds generally made up of hydrogen, carbon and oxygen derived from a single botanical species. The manufacturer might say they are volatile materials extracted from plants by means of physical processing. Both definitions are correct, but neither explain the origin of essential oils. The purest form Essential … Read moreAromatherapy: Understanding Plant Essences
The term ‘aromatherapy’ – or French ‘aromathérapie’ – was coined in 1928 by French chemist Rene-Maurice Gattefosse. His interest in all essential oils was sparked following an accidental laboratory explosion in which he burned his hand. To soothe the burn he immersed his hand in the nearest liquid, which, quite by chance, was neat lavender … Read moreAromatherapy History: A Renaissance
Much of Greek medicine was founded on Egyptian healing, but the Greeks can take credit for greatly developing these systems. Medicine began to separate itself from religion and aromatics went into private use during the times of the Ancient Greeks and Romans – more so than at any previous time. Both the Greeks and the … Read moreAromatherapy History and the Fall of Rome
Medicine was once magic and in indigenous societies around the world this is still seen as the case. Shamans are held in great esteem in hunter-gatherer societies. They are needed to contact the spirit world to seek guidance regarding the weather, crops, childbirth and illnesses. They work their magic by burning herbs that give off … Read moreAromatherapy: Its History with Magic and Ritual
When fortune telling, be it with Tarot, runes, I Ching or tasseography, you will obviously want the person you are reading for to be as receptive and honest as possible. To that end, using essential oils can help you to set the mood and produce an environment in which a person feels relaxed and able … Read moreAromatherapy: Using Oils for Divination