Essential Oils

What are essential oils?

Essential oils are a gift of nature; many refer to an essential oil as the lifeblood of the plant. The most common essential oils come from the flowers and stalks of the plants, however, there are oils made from twigs, bark and fruit skins. There are also several methods of extraction, or ways to make an essential oil. The frequently used techniques include steam distillation, pressing, water diffusion, and carbon dioxide processing.

Essential oils have been around for thousands of years. They have been found in the tombs of Egypt; and have been referenced in the Bible. Nomadic Arabs and ancient Phoenicians were among the first to travel the spice trade routes into India, Africa and China. Pepper and cinnamon, as well as other spices, were symbols of the wealthy. Ancient cultures have used essential oils in a multitude of ways-religious ceremonies, baths, cosmetics, massages, embalming, flavoring or preserving foods, and diffusion, as well as medicinally. Today, many of these techniques are still used as wells as scientists spending hours in the laboratory breaking down the essential oil constituents into some of their major chemical properties-aldehydes, ketones, terpenes and phenols-to create a healing compound, perfume, lotion or incense.

When using essential oils for a topical or internal application, the extraction process can be extremely important. To determine the wisdom or energetic imprint of an oil, as in the work presented in the book Essential Oil Wisdom, the chemical constituents and extraction methodology are not important.