It strikes me as odd that essential oils are so popular in the wellness community— when their production and usage is anything but holistic.
What does holistic truly mean? Does it just mean "natural"?
It's so much more than that. Holism and its holistic practices are characterized by the belief that all systems possess interconnected parts that can be explained only in reference to the whole.
For example, we use the term holistic in regards to health when referring to the treatment of the whole person, taking into account not only physical symptoms, but also mental, emotional, social, and even spiritual factors.
By "spiritual factors" I don't necessarily mean religion... Spirituality can mean a great many things for many different people. For the sake of this post, when I refer to spirituality I'm referring to a person's search for meaning and purpose in life— a sense of connection to something greater than themselves.
I'm not here today to talk about the "medicinal" reasons to swap out essential oils— I go in depth on that topic in my Free Mini-Series: Moving Away from Essential Oil Hype. This post is going to be about their role in emotional, spiritual, and energy work.
Historically, most of the plants we are familiar with today have been worked with through countless indigenous cultures for their medicinal and spiritual properties. Throughout this history, many plants have become associated with specific energetic correspondences.
Because of this, many who work with the elements of nature in their spiritual practices incorporate essential oils in order to invite these energetic properties from the plants.
For example, lavender is associated with peace, love, protection, clarity, the Air element, and more. Mugwort is associated with lucid dreams, intuition, the moon, and the Fire element, just to name a few.
But why should we should ditch essential oils in this kind of work?
1. Essential oils are not sustainable.
Countless acres of soil depleting monocrops are grown and natural habitats are wiped clean due to the fact that it takes up to 10,000 pounds of raw material to produce one pound of essential oil.
2. Essential oils don't contain most of the plant's properties
On top of their wasteful production, they are by definition a stripped-down isolate of a plant's complex synergistic system.
Synergy means that all the different chemical constituents of a plant somehow work together to produce an effect greater than one would expect based by adding up the individual parts on their own.
When you strip out the essential oil constituent from this system— the potential for this synergy is lost.
Now, many believe that the essential oil contains the spirit of the plant. In fact, use of the name "essential oil" to refer to these extracts doesn't come from the idea that they are "essential" to our health— but rather, that they are the essence of the plant.
Botanically speaking, however, these compounds (chemically referred to as volatile oils, rather than essential oils) are much more akin to the plant's immune system— rather than its spirit. Think of the most commonly touted benefits of them: antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, insect repelling... the compounds in the plant's volatile oils are how the plant physically defends itself from pathogen and insect attack.
(*The production of essential oils should also be resulting in plant hydrosols as a biproduct. Some companies put their hydrosols to use and some do not. Hydrosols are a much safer and more holistic alternative to essential oils, plus they smell just as good (albeit less intense) while maintaining more of the plant's integrity. I talk more about hydrosols and how to make your own in the Free Mini-Series: Moving Away from Essential Oil Hype.)
3. Essential oils are not necessarily safe just because they're natural
They should never be used undiluted and, in my professional opinion, should never be smoked in a vape pen or used internally (sidenote: nothing dilutes oil besides more oil, not even an entire tub of bath water).
Essential oils are being marketed to be used in these ways by MLMs and their untrained representatives who claim that it's safe to do this with their brand because theirs are "therapeutic grade".
Purity means little when a "pure" oil can cause serious chemical burns just as much as an "impure" oil can.
Even just diffusing them or misting them on furniture because they smell good can be extremely dangerous for pets, children, and people who are pregnant or nursing.
What can we use instead of Essential Oils in spiritual practices, then?
Allow me to introduce you to flower essences!
If you haven't already met: Flower essences are liquid extracts of flower vibrational energy that are used to address emotional imbalances and mind-body well-being. They're like crystals and plants combined, and no, they're not a replacement for your medications. They are however, dilute herbal infusions prepared from pristine garden blossoms. In fact they're so dilute that I'll come right out and tell you— if you had them tested in a lab they probably wouldn't detect any physical evidence of the plant at all. So basically— the opposite of extremely concentrated essential oils. And yet somehow, people have been reporting good experiences with them since the 1930's.
You might know, my background is in the hard sciences and research. My degree is in biology. I'm a skeptic and I want evidence. But at the same time— to pretend that modern science can understand everything in our universe is a bit self-righteous and disrespectful to nature, in my opinion.
That said, to make flower essences, the fresh, dew-filled blossoms are gathered in the early morning and infused by the warmth and light of the sun.
This process creates an imprint of the unique energy pattern of the flowers into the water, which then embodies the healing archetype of that particular plant.
This is combined with the intuition of the crafter, who connects with the plant as the essence is being made. Very small doses are taken orally over a period of about a month, and they can also be used topically in creams and sprays.
Putting the flowers in water is easy, but personally, it took *several years* of working with plants for me to feel connected enough to begin this energy work.
There are as many different types of flower essences as there are flowers, and one could spend a lifetime working with different ones. For this reason, I won't attempt to list every single flower essence here, but I will share a few of my favorites:
Bluebell
Bluebells remind us to be confident in speaking our truth.
Positive qualities: Openness, Communication, Self-expression
Patterns of imbalance: Shyness, Fear, Panic Attacks, Stumbling over words, Social discomfort, Public speaking
Borage
Borage invites lightness to a heavy heart
Positive qualities: Cheerful heart forces, buoyant courage, and optimism
Patterns of imbalance: Heavy-heartedness or grief, lack of confidence in facing difficult circumstances, negative outlook, tendency toward depression, fear of life changes and transitions.
Calendula
Calendula supports us in letting down overly guarded walls
Positive qualities: Recognizing or understanding our fears around taking steps forward in intimate relationships. Confidence and security in relationships. Warm and receptive communication with others.
Patterns of imbalance: Distance in personal relationships, anxiety in intimate moments, sexual anxiety, fear of becoming too soft, too yielding, or too emotionally vulnerable; fear of not being strong enough to handle the end of a relationship, argumentative as a defense mechanism.
Dandelion
Dandelion reminds us to stay in tune with our inner child
Positive qualities: Dynamic physical energy and expressive life force; inner ease in work and play, connection to inner child.
Patterns of imbalance: Tense, rigid or stiff, especially in the musculature of the body; over-striving and hard-driving
Forsythia
Forsythia is a harbinger of Spring. Her bold yellow blossoms remind us we possess the strength and resilience to let go and move forward.
Postitive qualities: Motivation, Transformation, Transitions, Willpower, Commitment
Patterns of Imbalance: Addictions, Habits, Hate, Obsessions, Self-loathing, Darkness, Repeating negative patterns
Rosemary
Rosemary is known as the “herb of remembrance” and it calls you to remember every aspect of yourself.
Positive qualities: For connecting to the memory of one's self or ancestors. For being more mindful, aware, and present. For reconnecting with one's body after trauma.
Patterns of imbalance: Inattentive or spending too much time daydreaming. Not feeling in tune with one's body. Feeling disconnected from self based on the perception of others.
Yarrow
Yarrow is powerfully protective plant
Positive qualities: Boundaries, Energetic protection, Compassionate & inclusive sensitivity,
Patterns of imbalance: Extreme vulnerability to others and to the environment; easily depleted, overly absorbent of negative influences
If you'd like to learn more about incorporating magical plants into your life in ways that strike a balance between science and tradition:
Explore my Green Witch Herbalism program that's part of my Rootcraft Seasonal Herbalism Intensive
-Jovie
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