Mixing Essential Oils for Magic: Aromatic Alchemy for Personal Blends (3 page)

perfume comes from the Latin
per
meaning through, and
fume
meaning smoke.8 It was a common belief that contact with the divine could be achieved through the smoke of incense.

The ancient Egyptians believed that deities were embodied in the smoke and fra-

grance of temple incense. In addition, aromatics were used to deepen meditation and purify the spirit as well as to add subtlety to their sophisticated system of magic. Dating to approximately 1500 BCE, the Ebers papyrus is the oldest written record of Egyptian 7. Chevallier,
Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants
, 16

8. Wilson,
Aromatherapy
, 11

11

12 Scent in History and Modern Magic

use of medicinal plants. Along with the physical details of plants, the manuscript contains related spells and incantations. It also mentions fine oils for perfumery and incense. Made from healing herbs, many of the perfumed oils doubled as medicines. Likewise, Egyptian priests often doubled as physicians and perfumers. Those who specialized in embalming the dead also used their expertise for the living by creating mixtures to beautify skin and protect it from the harsh, damaging desert climate.

Always a valuable commodity, frankincense was considered the perfume of the gods

and was used in temple rites as well as a base for perfumes. Because perfumed oils were highly prized, the use of them remained in the province of royalty and the upper classes.

These oils were often kept in exquisite bottles made of alabaster, jade, and other precious materials that were functional as well as beautiful. Some of these flasks retained scent until they were opened by archaeologists thousands of years after being sealed.

When the Hebrews left Egypt around 1240 BCE, they took the knowledge and prac-

tice of perfumery with them to Israel. Their temples contained two types of altars, one for burnt offerings and the other for incense. The Babylonians also employed the use of aromatic plants and became a major supplier of plant materials to other countries. Both the Babylonians and Sumerians prized cedarwood, cypress, myrtle, and pine for their deities. The Assyrians were fond of aromatics for religious rituals as well as personal use, and the Mesopotamians used ceremonies and special incantations when gathering herbs. In

13th century BCE the Mycenaeans used scented oils to honor deities as well as for grave goods. Throughout the ancient world information flowed from one culture to another

and by the 2nd century BCE there was a thriving trade in herbs, spices, and oils among Europe, the Middle East, India, and Asia.

Some of the earliest writings from India known as the Vedas (circa 1500 BCE) contain praises to the natural world along with information about aromatics including cinnamon, coriander, ginger, myrrh, sandalwood, and spikenard. Working with herbs was, and still is to a certain degree, considered a sacred task in India. This eventually evolved into Ayurvedic medicine, which is believed to be the oldest system of healing. Its name comes from the sacred Sanskrit language with
ayur
, meaning “life,” and
veda
, “knowledge.”9 Written by the physician Charaka in 700 BCE, the
Charaka Samhita
details approximately 350 plants and is still widely consulted today. In addition to healing, oils play an important role in the religious rites of India. Anointing with perfumed oils is used to purge worshippers of spir-9. Chevallier,
Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants
, 34

Scent in History and Modern Magic 13

itual impurities. In preparation for the funeral pyre, bodies are cleansed with sandalwood and turmeric. Although the 10th century Middle Eastern physician Avicenna (980–1037) is often credited with discovering the distillation process, archaeological evidence from the Indus Valley in northern India indicates that distilling aromatic plants into oils was achieved there around 3000 BCE.10

Herbs are also integral to Traditional Chinese Medicine, which dates to approximately 200 BCE in a text called the
Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine
. This system of healing is separate from Chinese folk medicine, which included the use of aromatics in religious rituals. Herbs were also important for maintaining beauty and hygiene. Chinese herbalists influenced the practices of Japan and Korea as 5th century Buddhist monks transported spiritual and medicinal information with them on their travels. There was also movement westward as Phoenician merchants traded scented oils around the Mediterranean region bringing aromatic treasures from the East to Europe—most notably to the

Greeks and Romans.

Greek historian Herodotus (circa 484–425 BCE) and Pythagorean philosopher

Democrates (born circa 460 BCE) visited Egypt and then distributed the wisdom of

perfumery they found there to a wider world. As the popularity of perfumes increased among the Greeks, the medicinal properties of herbs and oils became common knowledge. Unlike Egyptians, Greeks at all levels of society used perfumed oils. The Greeks used aromatics to honor deities at feasts and used perfumed oils on themselves to please the gods because they believed that anything extracted from plants held spiritual qualities.

Greek physician and botanist Pedanius Dioscorides (circa 40–90 CE) compiled the first herbal manuscript in Europe,
De Materia Medica
, which served as a major reference well into the 17th century. The ancient Romans carried on the Greek use of botanicals for medicinal and perfumery purposes. In addition, they scented their entire surroundings from their bodies, clothes, and homes to public baths and fountains.

Elsewhere in the world, the aboriginal people of Australia closely integrated their culture with their medicine and developed a sophisticated understanding of native plants.

Their eucalyptus and tea tree remedies are now used worldwide. In South and Central

America the ancient Maya, Inca, and Aztec had herbal traditions that were intertwined with religious rites. Some of the practices from the Aztec, Mayan, and Spanish cultures evolved into modern Mexican herbal medicine. North of the Rio Grande, plants were also 10. Lawless,
Encyclopedia of Essential Oils
, 18

14 Scent in History and Modern Magic

employed for both healing and ritual by the Native American tribes. European settlers in the New World adapted some of these herbal practices into theirs, and eventually African slaves brought their herbal and religious traditions, adding to the mélange. The influence of the Yoruba from West Africa created a rich Afro-Caribbean culture and herbal medicine that still maintains a separate identity.

After the fall of the Roman Empire the use of perfumery waned as Europe was

plunged backwards into the Dark Ages. To escape the upheaval, many physicians and

other learned people relocated to Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey today) and along with them went a storehouse of knowledge. As European civilization foundered, the works of Hippocrates, Dioscorides and others were translated and widely distributed in the Middle East. Experimentation with plants continued and the 10th century physician Avicenna extracted plant essence producing
otto
(or
attar
), the oil of flowers—in this case roses. As European culture slowly recovered, the practice of perfumery was spread by the Moors from the Middle East into Spain where it became popular. After the crusades the perfumes of Arabia were in great demand throughout the Continent and by the 13th century a boom-ing trade between the Middle East and Europe had been established once again.

By the mid-16th century perfumery had made a strong comeback in Europe. In France

fragrance was used as in ancient Roman: on the person, in the home, and in public fountains. Experimenting with local plants, Europeans began distilling lavender, rosemary, and sage oils. While essential oil blends were popular for masking body odor, they were also used medicinally. Juniper, laurel, and pine were widely used for combating illness including the plague. In England, physician and master herbalist Nicholas Culpeper (1616–54) published his great herbal treatise
The English Physitian
. An edition of this book was the first herbal published in the American colonies in 1700.

For a time the use of herbs and perfumery were stifled with a double whammy: Uni-

versities and the emerging medical establishment fought to take herbs out of the hands of the so-called uneducated, and the Christian church steered people away from personal adornment in their bid to hold power over people’s lives. As a result, the use of aromatics, even possessing oils and unguents, became a way to identify witches, and culture again took a backward step. Under England’s King George III (1738–1820) a woman’s use of

scents or potions was equated with seduction and betrayal and was met with “the same penalties in force against witchcraft.”11

11. Sell,
The Chemistry of Fragrances
, 16

Scent in History and Modern Magic 15

Eventually herbal practices and perfumery made a comeback as attitudes shifted, but

by the mid-19th century essential oils were being replaced by chemicals in medicine. By the 20th century perfumes and cosmetics contained mostly synthetic fragrance which was cheaper and easier to produce. Ironically, a French chemist, René Maurice Gattefossé, was responsible for resurrecting the use of essential oils during the 1920s. After burning his hand in his laboratory he grabbed the nearest bottle of liquid, which turned out to be lavender oil. Intrigued by the rapid healing effect of the oil, he devoted the remainder of his career to studying essential oils and named his discovery aromatherapy.

Modern Magical Uses of Essential Oils

Just like the plants from which they come, essential oils have a wide range of applications for ritual and magic work. Before getting into how to blend, let’s look at the ways essential oils can be used in Pagan and Wiccan practices. First, however, before using a blend I like to charge it energetically with my intention. Standing in front of my altar with my hands cupped around the bottle and my eyes closed, I think about what I want to accomplish and visualize it coming to fruition. I then say something like this:

“By water, earth, air, and fire; may this blend bring my desire.

By north, south, east, and west; may my purpose by you be blessed.

Power of these plants work for me; so mote this vision come to be.”

While these words are general in nature, other times I like to include something specific about the purpose of the blend. Sometimes when I make blends for general ritual applications I like to charge them by chanting while I stand in front of my altar and allow my energy to flow from my heart center into the bottle of oil. When charging a “grounding” blend that I use after rituals, I visualize my energy flowing into the bottle of oil and back to me, and then down to Mother Earth. No matter what method I use to impart my

energy and intention to the oil, I leave the bottle on my altar for at least a day to absorb the energy of my ritual space.

Essential oils are popular for blessings and consecrations, but because they can damage varnish, paint, plastic, and other surfaces it is important to use them well diluted especially on altars, magical tools, and divination objects. Since my altar is a wooden table, I dab the oil underneath the table top and visualize plant energy giving it magical support.

In addition, you might consider creating special blends for sabbats or full moons and include a consecration with them as part of your altar preparation. If you do use oil on ob-16 Scent in History and Modern Magic

jects, the ones that you hold for any length of time during ritual will release fragrance as your body heat activates the scent.

As an alternative to putting oil directly on magic or divination tools, try a few drops of your blend on a small cotton ball and place it where you store these items. This will allow them to slowly absorb the vibrational energy of the oil without causing damage. The same can be done for spell work items on which you do not want to put oil. Also, in the lead up to actually doing a spell, use a cotton ball with your special oil blend and store it with the things you will use for the spell. This will give them time to steep in the scent as well as your intention.

If bathing before ritual or magic work is part of your practice, adding essential oil to the water is a good way to amplify purification as well as initiate intention. However, you will need to dilute essential oils with a carrier oil before adding it to your bath because oils can irritate the skin and mucus membranes. Essential oils are not water soluble and they will float on the water rather than disperse throughout it. A 2 to 3% dilution ratio with a carrier oil works well for bath applications.

In place of a carrier oil, consider mixing your essential oils in milk. The fatty lipids in milk act the same as carriers because essential oils are lipid soluble, which means they dissolve in oil. Be sure to mix it well before adding it to the water. In addition, the milk bath was said to have been a beauty secret of first century BCE queen of Egypt Cleopatra.

Modern research corroborates its effectiveness. Because of milk’s high levels of lactic acid dead skin cells are removed leaving behind a wonderful complexion—all over.

Because hydrosols are water-based and can be added directly to water, they are an alternative to using essential oils in the bath. As with altar preparation, you might consider a sabbat, full moon, or other special blend of oils or hydrosols for your bath, too. We will go into dilution ratios and hydrosols in the next chapter.

Scenting an area before and during ritual, magic, or psychic work is another way to

harness the vibrational energy of essential oils. This is easily done with a diffuser. While electronic diffusers, nebulizers, and all sorts of gadgets are available in a range of sizes and prices, the low-tech tea light candle lamp does the job nicely. Besides, candles enhance the ambiance of ritual and craft work. In addition to oils, hydrosols can be used to scent an area using a spray bottle and misting the air. The fragrance doesn’t last as long as oil in a diffuser, however, it is a simple, quick way to purify and consecrate an area especially if you are doing ritual in a public place.