Spring appears to be on its way. The bulbs are pushing their heads up out of the ground and in the past couple of weeks I have seen beautiful herons quietly standing by the side of the road while majestic eagles soaring and swoop up into the sky and dancing their dance for one another. This morning the sun is shining and the world looks bright and it feels like now might be a good time to start to clear out some of the clutter that has been collected over the winter months.
I have an article on the website for Using Essential Oils Around the House.
For bathrooms and kitchens consider using essential oils with good antiviral, antiseptic, anti-fungal properties such as cinnamon, clove, eucalyptus, oregano, rosemary, spruce, tea tree and thyme. The citrus oils are wonderful for cutting through the grease so consider adding grapefruit, lemon, mandarin and orange to your blends.
Vinegar is great for cleaning windows and mirrors but you don't want your home to smell like it so to 1 cup of vinegar add 10 - 15 drops of one of your citrus oils. I personally like lemon or grapefruit but orange and mandarin work just as nicely.
For sinks, toilets, shower stalls and baths add 2 - 4 drops of essential oil or essential oil blend to 60 ml (2 oz)of a good degreasing dishwashing soap. Shake well before using and just use a few drops to cut through the grease and dirt on porceline and plastic fixtures then rinse.
For cleaning the floors and surfaces add 1/4 cup of vinegar to a bucket of warm to hot water. Add 10 - 20 drops of your essential oil or essential oil blend.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
Rose - Rosa damascena
Red Roses are the flowers most often associated with Valentine's Day, and as Valentine's Day is this week it seems appropriate to me to look at this essential oil.
There is so much information on the folklore and traditional uses of roses that it is unclear as to when or where the flower was first domesticated. In 3000 B.C. the Egyptians already had rose gardens and also sometimes buried roses in their tombs. Many of the ancient cultures mention the rose. In fact it seems universally agreed upon that the flower had a strong association with the gods. Originally the Greeks referred to the rose as "the king of flowers" but after Sappho referred to the rose as the "queen of flowers" in her Ode to the Rose, it has been known as this ever since. The Greeks believed that the rose first appeared with the birth of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty.
There is another myth that saya a beautiful maiden named Rhodanthe (rhodon in Greek means "rose") was tirelessly pursued by three suitors. To escape her pursuers, Rhodanthe fled to the temple of Artemis. Her attendants thought that she was even more beautiful than Artemis so they threw the statue of the goddess off its pedestal and demanded that a statue to Rhodanthe be put there instead. Apollo was so angry at the insult given to his twin sister, Artemis, that he turned Rhodanthe into a rose and her attendants into thorns. The three suitors who were chasing her where changed into the three courtiers of the rose: the bee, the worm, and the butterfly.
Another myth blames the god Eros, or Cupid, for the rose's thorny stem. Apparently he was enjoying the aroma of the thornless rose, when he was stung by a bee that had been lurking in its petals. To punish the flower he shot the stem full of arros. Ever since the rose has had arrowhead-shaped thorns.
You can find a mini profile of this oil on my website Rose
On a subtle level Rose is associated with unconditional love, as well as Divine Love. Rose brings in positive energy. It can gently fill in auric holes and seal the auric field after healing work. It promotes a sense of well-being. Rose is very healing for emotional wounds, especially grief. It promotes love, compassion, hope and patience. It also promotes a sense of spiritual connection. It can be helpful in healing work as it is thought to energetically connect the hand chakras to the heart. Rose can help one to forgive others as well as one’s self. Rose enhances one’s connection to all creativity, the arts, and beauty. Rose is used in blends designed to attract love, confer peace, stimulate sexual desires and enhance beauty.
Generally considered non-toxic, non-irritating, non-sensitizing and non-phototoxic.
There is so much information on the folklore and traditional uses of roses that it is unclear as to when or where the flower was first domesticated. In 3000 B.C. the Egyptians already had rose gardens and also sometimes buried roses in their tombs. Many of the ancient cultures mention the rose. In fact it seems universally agreed upon that the flower had a strong association with the gods. Originally the Greeks referred to the rose as "the king of flowers" but after Sappho referred to the rose as the "queen of flowers" in her Ode to the Rose, it has been known as this ever since. The Greeks believed that the rose first appeared with the birth of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty.
There is another myth that saya a beautiful maiden named Rhodanthe (rhodon in Greek means "rose") was tirelessly pursued by three suitors. To escape her pursuers, Rhodanthe fled to the temple of Artemis. Her attendants thought that she was even more beautiful than Artemis so they threw the statue of the goddess off its pedestal and demanded that a statue to Rhodanthe be put there instead. Apollo was so angry at the insult given to his twin sister, Artemis, that he turned Rhodanthe into a rose and her attendants into thorns. The three suitors who were chasing her where changed into the three courtiers of the rose: the bee, the worm, and the butterfly.
Another myth blames the god Eros, or Cupid, for the rose's thorny stem. Apparently he was enjoying the aroma of the thornless rose, when he was stung by a bee that had been lurking in its petals. To punish the flower he shot the stem full of arros. Ever since the rose has had arrowhead-shaped thorns.
You can find a mini profile of this oil on my website Rose
On a subtle level Rose is associated with unconditional love, as well as Divine Love. Rose brings in positive energy. It can gently fill in auric holes and seal the auric field after healing work. It promotes a sense of well-being. Rose is very healing for emotional wounds, especially grief. It promotes love, compassion, hope and patience. It also promotes a sense of spiritual connection. It can be helpful in healing work as it is thought to energetically connect the hand chakras to the heart. Rose can help one to forgive others as well as one’s self. Rose enhances one’s connection to all creativity, the arts, and beauty. Rose is used in blends designed to attract love, confer peace, stimulate sexual desires and enhance beauty.
Generally considered non-toxic, non-irritating, non-sensitizing and non-phototoxic.
Monday, February 04, 2008
Chinese New Year - Special Blends
The Chinese New Year takes place on February 7th this year - the Year of the Rat.
The Chinese New Year is celebrated over 15 days. It starts with the New Moon and ends on the Full Moon. The 15th day of the New Year is called the Lantern Festival and is celebrated at night with lantern displays.
The Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements. As the lunar cycle is about 29.5 days, every few years (seven years out of a nineteen year cycle) they insert an extra month. This is why the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year.
New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are family affairs. A time of reunion and thanksgiving. Traditionally the celebration was highlighted with a religious ceremony in honor of Heaven and Earth, the gods of the household and the family ancestors.
Departed relatives are remembered with great respect. They laid down the foundations for the family's fortune. The sacrifice to the ancestors is one of the most important rituals and unites the living members with those who have passed on. It is on New Year's Eve that the presence of the ancestors is acknowledged with a dinner arranged for them at the family table. This family communal feast is called "surrounding the stove" or weilu and it symbolizes family unity and honors the past and present generations.
Even if it is not our tradition to celebrate the Chinese New Year there is a lot that we can take out of this to incorporate into our own lives. What about taking a little time this week to think about our own ancestors and find a special way to honor them? What about creating an essential oil blend to represent our own family? Whether or not we choose to include our ancestors is up to the individual. An oil could be chosen for each person in the family and then a synergy could be created which would represent the family unit. This synergy could be shared with each member of the family and it may be a nice way to draw everyone closer together.
The articles on Creating a Perfume with Essential Oils and
Your Own Special Blend are good places to start for inspiration.
I'm going to working on my own synergy this week to share with my family over the weekend.
The Chinese New Year is celebrated over 15 days. It starts with the New Moon and ends on the Full Moon. The 15th day of the New Year is called the Lantern Festival and is celebrated at night with lantern displays.
The Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements. As the lunar cycle is about 29.5 days, every few years (seven years out of a nineteen year cycle) they insert an extra month. This is why the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year.
New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are family affairs. A time of reunion and thanksgiving. Traditionally the celebration was highlighted with a religious ceremony in honor of Heaven and Earth, the gods of the household and the family ancestors.
Departed relatives are remembered with great respect. They laid down the foundations for the family's fortune. The sacrifice to the ancestors is one of the most important rituals and unites the living members with those who have passed on. It is on New Year's Eve that the presence of the ancestors is acknowledged with a dinner arranged for them at the family table. This family communal feast is called "surrounding the stove" or weilu and it symbolizes family unity and honors the past and present generations.
Even if it is not our tradition to celebrate the Chinese New Year there is a lot that we can take out of this to incorporate into our own lives. What about taking a little time this week to think about our own ancestors and find a special way to honor them? What about creating an essential oil blend to represent our own family? Whether or not we choose to include our ancestors is up to the individual. An oil could be chosen for each person in the family and then a synergy could be created which would represent the family unit. This synergy could be shared with each member of the family and it may be a nice way to draw everyone closer together.
The articles on Creating a Perfume with Essential Oils and
Your Own Special Blend are good places to start for inspiration.
I'm going to working on my own synergy this week to share with my family over the weekend.
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