Essential oils have been used for thousands of years for food, beauty, fragrance, and medicinal benefits
Egypt-long history of essential oil usage recorded in tombs and ancient documents
China-used aromatic plants for healing for centuries (even before the Egyptians)
Greece-widely used aromatic plants in every part of life and recognized the therapeutic value of essential oils
Rome-Roman culture use aromatics to perfume everything, to bathe with, to promote public health, and for use in military campaigns.
Palestine-The Old Testament, New Testament and the Torah all contain numerous references to the use of essential oils in biblical society
Arabia-progressed the idea of distillation of essential oils and traded widely in Aromatic plants, the Frankincense trail, which can still be seen from space, is credited to the distinct trade of Frankincense resin, which can still be purchased in local markets today
Europe-with the plagues, migration, and all sorts or ailments, European history tells of the use, distillation of and medical benefits of essential oils.
Aborigines in Australia-would use essential oils in indigenous herbs for their healing properties—these same herbs and oils are widely used throughout Australia today
Here are a few highlights.
Just to highlight a few here
Egypt
King Tutankhamen’s Tomb had contained 35 jars of precious essential oils, until they were robbed by thieves – who took the oils and left the other treasures
The Ebers Papyrus is one of the oldest documents in the world—it is a medical document containing many uses of essential oils such as Frankincense that we still use today
The leaves of the Melaleuca tree have been used by the Aborigines of Australia for centuries. They would crush the leaves and inhale the oil to promote feelings of clear breathing and apply the leaves directly to the skin for a cooling effect.
Bungawalbin Creek in Australia is surrounded by Australian tea trees and is held sacred by the Aborigines. As the sticky tea tree oil leaves fell into the creek, they created waters that natives still consider “magical healing waters” today.
There are many versions of the story of the robbers who robbed from the sick and dead during this time. The robbers were wearing a unique blend of botanicals (essential oils) that would protect them from the plague while they were robbing.
The legend says that once the French authorities captured the robbers, they recognized the value of such a protective blend. The robbers divulged their secret blend to the king. The exact formula varies with the different versions of the account, but seems to include Clove, Rosemary, Cinnamon, and a Citrus oil.
This blend is used today for it’s protective properties.
Just because ancient civilizations used something, it doesn’t mean that it was right or correct. In fact, there are many ancient practices we clearly see as backward and … well unintelligent.
The form of essential oils used by ancient civilizations were not as concentrated as what we have today and usually were used along with herbs they came from.
However with modern biochemistry, we are able to combine advance chemical knowledge today with simple natural applications that were naturally discovered in many ancient societies.
Attempts have been made in the past to extract ideas from nature without the full package. An example of this is the synthetic production of some compounds in nature. This attempt to replace nature, however, is inferior because it lacks the big picture—think of how much we didn’t know about the big picture of breast-feeding.
Modern essential oil production is the marriage of Science and Nature. Rather than replacing nature, we are now learning from it. Harvesting it rather than replicating or changing it.
The pendulum of knowledge has already began to swing. Soon, you will see that essential oils and other Natural Solutions, will be commonly used in EVERY HOME.
