BoomerGirl Diary

In our first Aromatic Blessings column I introduced you to my personal philosophy and how I wanted to share with you the power, magic and alchemy of aromatherapy, plant spirit medicine and woman’s organic and spiritual connection to the earth — its rhythms, seasonal shifts and changes.

We left off with the question — what is aromatherapy? Aromatherapy is the skilled use of natural aromatic plant oils to assist with emotional, physical and aesthetic well-being.

The skill of the aromatherapist is to understand how these plant spirit essences can nurture, pamper, heal and tend the body, mind and spirit, as well as to know the chemical make-up of each plant and the effects it can have on them — so they can be used and applied with safety and caution to produce the desired results.

What are essential oils?

Essential oils are the concentrated essences of the plant. They are extracted from different parts of the plants— root, seed, bark, leaf, fruit, flower, etc.

Since many essential oils come from common plants and flowers that most of us grow in our gardens we may feel when we begin to incorporate the use of essential oils in our daily lives that we are familiar with them. After all, they have graced our tables and added beauty to our environments, we have cooked with them, adorned our bodies with their scents and used them to clean our homes with.

We have a kinship with them and therefore have not had to pay much attention to the side of them that can be harmful if not used with caution, wisdom and care.

When aromatic plants are distilled their chemical make up is altered and they become medicines with very active and potent chemical constituents (the chemistry is altered when they change form— from raw material into essential oils). Essential oils are much more powerful than herbs and are not taken internally. Harm can be done if skill is not practiced in the application and use of essential oils.

The distillation process that the plants go through to become essential oils is similar to the self-distillation process we go through when our lives are not working for us any more or when an event takes place and changes our lives overnight. We enter a dark night of the soul experience and the raw unhealed, wounded parts of our personalities come forth. We surrender, forgive, awaken and through this process of transformation we are changed — spiritualized with a new awareness of our own inner strength, power and ability to transcend. We are rebirthed and connected with a much deeper part of our authentic essence. We are changed from the inside out.

Now we have a “new spirit” that only that inner walk-through-the-fire could have awakened in us. We have had an alchemical transformation and we have something new to share and with which to anoint the world.

The plants go through this same process as they are distilled so as to be used as deeper healing tools. The aromatic plants are gathered and then placed in a large vat of water— the temperature is raised and the steam moves through them. The stress on them allows what is inside of them to come forth and this is how they produce those beautiful droplets of their most essential oils. From the stress that is placed on them from the outside conditions of heat and pressure— alchemy inside of them is activated, they change form and the raw material is transformed.

The distillation process has changed the plant from raw material into a liquid essence. Some of us in the aromatherapy industry identify this new form as the spirit of the plant and feel that because of what the plant has gone through and what has taken place within the distillation process that the plant has become more than the sum of its parts. The plant has released a new part of its essence that now can be used as a tool to support the human spirit as well as to nurture and help assist in encouraging the body’s natural healing system to come more to the fore.

The aromatic plant — distilled to its essential oil — not only has a new form, but a new and powerful chemistry which must be respected, used with care, caution and awareness.

This is the alchemy that this alternative healing modality— the art and science of aromatherapy and plant spirit medicine— can offer those of us in the 21st century who are seeking natural ways to become more balanced, whole and self-aware of the body/mind/spirit presence within and without.

The aromatic garden is filled with plant spirit essences that would love to nurture you when you are feeling stressed, (lavender, chamomile, marjoram) calm you when you feel overwhelmed,(valerian, neroli, rosewood) support you when you need some extra energy (peppermint, fir, eucalyptus) inspire you when you need some inspiration (rose, jasmine, bergamot).

Nature has a way of taking us home to a part of ourselves. It allows us to breathe and see things in a different way.

Essential oils offer us the opportunity to bring the healing power of plants and nature into our lives each day. They invite us to embark on an aromatic lifestyle that works in harmony and balance with our own inner and outer alchemy.

I am excited to begin our journey with the individual plant spirit essences and look forward to sharing with you the gifts that these beautiful essences of nature have to offer us— one flower, one plant at a time. It’s going to be an amazing adventure!