Just got my new order of essential oils from Anatolian Treasures today, 8 new or replacement oils. One of the things that I love about Anatolian Treasures is there labeling: they put the common name, botanical name, how it was grown, how it was distilled, at lot number, the date it was distilled and what part of the world it is from. They do have GC / MS of all there oils that they can send you. The oils I get are: Lemon Myrtle (Backhousia citriodora, Australia), sweet lemon scent that is very antibacterial and antifungal and unlike others it keeps is antiseptic powers when defused. High Alt Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia, France), this is the classic lavender, soft, flowery, and powdery. Distilled Lime (Citrus aurantifolia, Mexico) sweet and candy like, this one is not just distilled from the peal but the whole fruit! Blue Tansy (Tanecetum annum Morocco) very deep blue, sweet apple like scent. Red Myrtle Leaf, high Cineole (Myrtus communis, Morocco), has a very light red tent, warm, little musty and moss like in its scent. Love this one for upper repertory issues. Spanish Sage (Salvia lavandulaefolia, Spain), sharp scent, cuts right into the sinuses and lungs. Cajeput (Melaleuca cajupuyii, Australia), much sweeter then tea tree with a slight citrus scent. Not near as antiseptic in its smell as other in the Melaleuca family. And last Yellow Mandarin (Citrus deliciosa, Italy) a very soft sweet citrus scent, lighter then the green or red Mandarin.
Anatolian Treasures has been one of the best essential oil companies I have had the privilege to work with. I recommend them to everyone.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
Elemi essential oil
ELEMI, Canarium luzonicum, you are an essential oil I just about never use. TODAY I am putting you to work. Flipping through one of my book I see that you are a antiseptic, balsamic, cicatisant, expectorant, stimulant, stomachic and a tonic. You are good to help catarrhal conditions, easing congestion and controls excess mucus. They say you help control coughs. So mixed you up to a 15% delusion and lightly massaging you into my neck. You better work.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
NEW HYDROSOLS JUST IN!!!!!
OMG! OMG! OMG! Just got the first half of the 2010 Hydrosols! All I can say it WOW! Let’s see. I now have organic Oregano: the scent is just like the fresh herb with a little more green. It has been shown to have antiseptic and antifungal properties. Good drink for overall digestive health. Next more White Sage: the most powerful clearing and cleansing water for the energies that I have ever seen. Coriander Seed: ok this one smells just like cilantro, don’t like it much at all. But it is very good for the digestion. Cilantro herb is very good to chelate heavy metals, and there is talk that they hydrosol can work the same. Elderberry: strong antiviral, a tbsp 3 times a day is said to keep colds and flu at bay. Comfrey: this one smells like day old socks!! But for skin care you cannot beat it. This is a new one so there is not much info about it, we will see. Lemon Balm (Melissa): sweet lemony with a touch of green. Calming to the body, a good prophylactic in flu and allergy season. Tulsi (Holy Basil) sweet, spicy with just a touch of a biter scent. This is a new hydrosol and not much is known about it. But on an energetic level it is one of my top 5. Used to banish negativity, bring in positive energy, and gives off portative energies. And last in this shipment, Lemon Thyme: sweet green lemon scent with a touch of the warm spicy thyme under it. Antibacterial, antiinfectious and antiviral.
I will be a post on each one of the Hydrosols later in the weeks to come with what I know about them and let you know when the next half of the order comes in.
I will be a post on each one of the Hydrosols later in the weeks to come with what I know about them and let you know when the next half of the order comes in.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Whole or shredded…leaves are good mulch
Autumn means falling leaves. Depending on your point of view, you might see them as a nuisance, or as a treasure. Perhaps they are both. Many gardeners dislike using whole leaves as mulch because they tend to mat and are slow to break down into soil.
Take a careful look at your garden situations. Do you want a long-lasting mulch for trees and shrubs? Leaves will serve. They will smother weeds in neglected corners and improve the ground in compacted shaded areas under trees where grass won't grow.
Leaves may take a year to break down. This slowness is an advantage. I pile at least a ½ foot, preferably more, of loose dry shredded leaves under shrubs and around small trees, they mat down quickly, and the appearance is acceptable.
Leaf mulch will rejuvenate depleted areas under tree shade where nothing, not even weeds, will grow. The accumulated leaf mold has improved the soil so much that soon I expect to put in some woodland plants there.
Leaf mulches also control weeds. This allows moisture to seep through to shrub and tree roots, yet smothers most weeds. A few minutes spent laying such a mulch in fall or early spring can keep the area neat and weed free all year, at no cost.
Leaves do tend to make the soil more acid. On the pH scale they register on the acid side. Some such as oak leaves are more acidic than others. Over a long period, a heavy leaf mulch could increase soil acidity, benefiting acid-loving shrubs such as azaleas and rhododendrons, and most woodland plants. On the other hand, plants preferring neutral to alkaline conditions, such as most vegetables, might be harmed unless lime is also added. An occasional soil test will tell you what to do.
My own experience with using leaf mulches on beds has shown them to be beneficial in both winter and summer. In spring, they can be a disadvantage, as they delay the warming of the soil. Whole leaves will mat down and hinder or cripple the emergence of spring growth, so I much prefer using chopped leaves for mulching. Chopped leaves don't mat, they stay put, and they break down into leaf mold much faster than whole leaves.
You can chop your own leaves with a shredder, or by running a lawn mower over them a few times. Chopped leaves are excellent erosion preventers on slopes and they insulate soil to reduce alternate freezing and thawing in winter. To prevent diseases from overwintering under a leaf mulch, clean the garden in autumn after first frosts have blackened tender vegetation. Leave ground bare until hard frosts arrive; then apply two inches of chopped leaves around but not over your perennials.
In spring you may find that the mulch has pretty much become integrated into the garden soil.
Take a careful look at your garden situations. Do you want a long-lasting mulch for trees and shrubs? Leaves will serve. They will smother weeds in neglected corners and improve the ground in compacted shaded areas under trees where grass won't grow.
Leaves may take a year to break down. This slowness is an advantage. I pile at least a ½ foot, preferably more, of loose dry shredded leaves under shrubs and around small trees, they mat down quickly, and the appearance is acceptable.
Leaf mulch will rejuvenate depleted areas under tree shade where nothing, not even weeds, will grow. The accumulated leaf mold has improved the soil so much that soon I expect to put in some woodland plants there.
Leaf mulches also control weeds. This allows moisture to seep through to shrub and tree roots, yet smothers most weeds. A few minutes spent laying such a mulch in fall or early spring can keep the area neat and weed free all year, at no cost.
Leaves do tend to make the soil more acid. On the pH scale they register on the acid side. Some such as oak leaves are more acidic than others. Over a long period, a heavy leaf mulch could increase soil acidity, benefiting acid-loving shrubs such as azaleas and rhododendrons, and most woodland plants. On the other hand, plants preferring neutral to alkaline conditions, such as most vegetables, might be harmed unless lime is also added. An occasional soil test will tell you what to do.
My own experience with using leaf mulches on beds has shown them to be beneficial in both winter and summer. In spring, they can be a disadvantage, as they delay the warming of the soil. Whole leaves will mat down and hinder or cripple the emergence of spring growth, so I much prefer using chopped leaves for mulching. Chopped leaves don't mat, they stay put, and they break down into leaf mold much faster than whole leaves.
You can chop your own leaves with a shredder, or by running a lawn mower over them a few times. Chopped leaves are excellent erosion preventers on slopes and they insulate soil to reduce alternate freezing and thawing in winter. To prevent diseases from overwintering under a leaf mulch, clean the garden in autumn after first frosts have blackened tender vegetation. Leave ground bare until hard frosts arrive; then apply two inches of chopped leaves around but not over your perennials.
In spring you may find that the mulch has pretty much become integrated into the garden soil.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Weekly Hydrosol for 9/06/10 Melissa (aka Lemon Balm)
First off, when buying Melissa hydrosol, look for one that is distilled in the US. You want to find a distiller that distills the herb just for the hydrosol and not for the oil. The reason for this is the extremely low yield of essential oil. Because of this, most distillers will often (more so then not) cohobate the water. Cohobate means that they reuse the water over and over to increase the extraction of essential oil. When this is done, the hydrosol loses most if not all of its therapeutic value.
This is one of the most stable of the hydrosols, and has been known to last upwards of two years. But to be on the safe side I would still keep in it the refrigerator and freeze what you will not be using within the next 3 or 4 months.
Like the herb, it is good for stress, soothing anger, antidepressant and just about all emotional crises. Melissa can be useful for helping to relieve insomnia. It is more calming to the mind than the body so it works best when the insomnia is caused by an overactive mind. Mix Melissa with Neroli (last week’s hydrosol) for childhood hysterics and work with ADHD.
During pregnancy it can be sipped (1/2 hydrosol 1/2 water) to help with morning sickness, stomach upset (mixed with peppermint hydrosol) and water retention. It is a very gentle and general digestive drink, it aides digestion, reduces spasms and cramps. Melissa has been shown to help with colitis and crohn’s disease. It can have a laxative affect on some, if the dose it to high. For babies, you can spray it topically for cradle cap and diaper rash and as a soothing mist at bed time, it’s even better with German chamomile and Yarrow.
For skin, Melissa is a good antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. It’s good on its own or in blends for irritations, eczema and other rashes. Use full strength ASAP on poison ivy and oak. Mix in lotions and creams or just spray right on the skin for antiaging and after-sun care. It works well as a compress for inflamed and tired eyes.
What Melissa stands out for its strong anti-viral powers of the uncohobated hydrosol. Apply undiluted to herpes sores every hour or so as soon as you feel it coming on as well as taking ½ tbsp every hour. It is a good prophylactic in the flu and allergy season, it has immune-stimulating and some infection fighting properties.
If you have questions or want to know more just let me know.
Love and Light
Dannie
Wolf’s Aromatics Massage and Bodywork
AromaTheraputics Medicinal Aromatherapy
This is one of the most stable of the hydrosols, and has been known to last upwards of two years. But to be on the safe side I would still keep in it the refrigerator and freeze what you will not be using within the next 3 or 4 months.
Like the herb, it is good for stress, soothing anger, antidepressant and just about all emotional crises. Melissa can be useful for helping to relieve insomnia. It is more calming to the mind than the body so it works best when the insomnia is caused by an overactive mind. Mix Melissa with Neroli (last week’s hydrosol) for childhood hysterics and work with ADHD.
During pregnancy it can be sipped (1/2 hydrosol 1/2 water) to help with morning sickness, stomach upset (mixed with peppermint hydrosol) and water retention. It is a very gentle and general digestive drink, it aides digestion, reduces spasms and cramps. Melissa has been shown to help with colitis and crohn’s disease. It can have a laxative affect on some, if the dose it to high. For babies, you can spray it topically for cradle cap and diaper rash and as a soothing mist at bed time, it’s even better with German chamomile and Yarrow.
For skin, Melissa is a good antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. It’s good on its own or in blends for irritations, eczema and other rashes. Use full strength ASAP on poison ivy and oak. Mix in lotions and creams or just spray right on the skin for antiaging and after-sun care. It works well as a compress for inflamed and tired eyes.
What Melissa stands out for its strong anti-viral powers of the uncohobated hydrosol. Apply undiluted to herpes sores every hour or so as soon as you feel it coming on as well as taking ½ tbsp every hour. It is a good prophylactic in the flu and allergy season, it has immune-stimulating and some infection fighting properties.
If you have questions or want to know more just let me know.
Love and Light
Dannie
Wolf’s Aromatics Massage and Bodywork
AromaTheraputics Medicinal Aromatherapy
Monday, August 30, 2010
Weekly Hydrosol, 8/30/2010 NEROLI (aka Orange Blossom)
Neroli hydrosol is distilled (mostly) in France from organic blossoms of the bitter orange tree.
The scent is extraordinary, floral and sweet, with a light green and citrus notes mixed in.
On the physical level it can help: calm anxiety, relieve depression and balance dry and oily skin. It is a major anti-stress and calming agent, with a mild sedative affect on the central nervous system, but without causing sleepiness. One of the things that I LOVE about this hydrosol and why EVERY Parent should have it…hysterics in children and babies. At a job I had in a health food store we would have a small child or two come in and just go off. I would walk up to them, ask the parent if I could try something and then give them a quick spray of Neroli hydrosol. In a minute or two the kid would be calm and smiling (This also works on adults). It has shown to be of some help with ADHD, when used both topically and internally. It is somewhat bitter so it helps with digestion, stimulating bile and helping with heartburn, reflux and spasms.
On an energetic level this is (as we have seen) extremely effective for emotional work. One of the best uses I have used it for is in cases of sudden emotional trauma. Once I used this on a woman who came in for a massage. During the massage I started to smell Neroli, so I got out the 10% Neroli essential oil and mixed some in when I was doing neck work. Next thing I knew she was crying. She told me that two days before, she had gotten home from a business trip and walked in on her house being robbed. The robbers pushed her down and ran. She told me that this was the first time she felt safe and could let out all the emotions that she had been holding in. Not only did she let out all the emotional pain she was holding in, but the neck and upper back pain went away as well when she let it all go.
You can use Neroli during detoxification to help you “let go” of things. Adding about 1 tbs to 16oz of water and drinking that through out the day. It is supportive to the physical as well as the emotional bodies. It can be sprayed in rooms to “sweeten” the mood as well as on yourself and others.
This is also one of the hydrosols that is very safe to use on animals, even birds!
If you have questions or want to know more just let me know.
Love and Light
Dannie
Wolf’s Aromatics Massage and Bodywork
AromaTheraputics Medicinal Aromatherapy
The scent is extraordinary, floral and sweet, with a light green and citrus notes mixed in.
On the physical level it can help: calm anxiety, relieve depression and balance dry and oily skin. It is a major anti-stress and calming agent, with a mild sedative affect on the central nervous system, but without causing sleepiness. One of the things that I LOVE about this hydrosol and why EVERY Parent should have it…hysterics in children and babies. At a job I had in a health food store we would have a small child or two come in and just go off. I would walk up to them, ask the parent if I could try something and then give them a quick spray of Neroli hydrosol. In a minute or two the kid would be calm and smiling (This also works on adults). It has shown to be of some help with ADHD, when used both topically and internally. It is somewhat bitter so it helps with digestion, stimulating bile and helping with heartburn, reflux and spasms.
On an energetic level this is (as we have seen) extremely effective for emotional work. One of the best uses I have used it for is in cases of sudden emotional trauma. Once I used this on a woman who came in for a massage. During the massage I started to smell Neroli, so I got out the 10% Neroli essential oil and mixed some in when I was doing neck work. Next thing I knew she was crying. She told me that two days before, she had gotten home from a business trip and walked in on her house being robbed. The robbers pushed her down and ran. She told me that this was the first time she felt safe and could let out all the emotions that she had been holding in. Not only did she let out all the emotional pain she was holding in, but the neck and upper back pain went away as well when she let it all go.
You can use Neroli during detoxification to help you “let go” of things. Adding about 1 tbs to 16oz of water and drinking that through out the day. It is supportive to the physical as well as the emotional bodies. It can be sprayed in rooms to “sweeten” the mood as well as on yourself and others.
This is also one of the hydrosols that is very safe to use on animals, even birds!
If you have questions or want to know more just let me know.
Love and Light
Dannie
Wolf’s Aromatics Massage and Bodywork
AromaTheraputics Medicinal Aromatherapy
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Purifying Basil Water
Want to know a fun and easy way to help remove negative energy from your home, self or other things? Try Basil water!!
There is a saying about Basil: Where Basil is no evil lives. This is a takeoff of an older folk belief about Basil that tells us: where Basil LIVES no evil is. It is thought that Basil will not grow where there are negative energies or “evil”, and that it can be used to remove the negative energy.
So, what is Basil water? This is not a hydrosol; this is more like a cold brew tea. It is very easy to make too. All you need is about a hand full of basil, I like to use the flowers, save the leaves for pesto, a cup or two of cold clean water (rain water works best) and a glass container with a tight fitting lid. Fill the container with the water, add the basil flowers (or leaves if you must) and cover. Put this in the sun for about 15 to 20 min(less if it is very hot out). Strain out the basil (or you can leave it) and I put it in a spray bottle. Then just spray it were you need it. Put the unused water in the refrigerator, it will keep for about a week. I like to use the purple basil, or the basils that have purple flowers, they turn the water a lovely orange / pink.
You can use this as a wash for crystals and other tools, to energetically clean floors and walls (if it is safe to use water on them) and even yourself. I spray it in my treatment room after each client, in my home daily to keep it fresh, and wipe down the door and window frames to help keep out negative energies. How many ways can you think of to use this purifying water?
Love and Light
Wolf's Aromatics Massage and Bodywork
AromaTheraputics Medicinal Aromatherapy
There is a saying about Basil: Where Basil is no evil lives. This is a takeoff of an older folk belief about Basil that tells us: where Basil LIVES no evil is. It is thought that Basil will not grow where there are negative energies or “evil”, and that it can be used to remove the negative energy.
So, what is Basil water? This is not a hydrosol; this is more like a cold brew tea. It is very easy to make too. All you need is about a hand full of basil, I like to use the flowers, save the leaves for pesto, a cup or two of cold clean water (rain water works best) and a glass container with a tight fitting lid. Fill the container with the water, add the basil flowers (or leaves if you must) and cover. Put this in the sun for about 15 to 20 min(less if it is very hot out). Strain out the basil (or you can leave it) and I put it in a spray bottle. Then just spray it were you need it. Put the unused water in the refrigerator, it will keep for about a week. I like to use the purple basil, or the basils that have purple flowers, they turn the water a lovely orange / pink.
You can use this as a wash for crystals and other tools, to energetically clean floors and walls (if it is safe to use water on them) and even yourself. I spray it in my treatment room after each client, in my home daily to keep it fresh, and wipe down the door and window frames to help keep out negative energies. How many ways can you think of to use this purifying water?
Love and Light
Wolf's Aromatics Massage and Bodywork
AromaTheraputics Medicinal Aromatherapy
Friday, August 20, 2010
Weekly Hydrosols, 8/20/2010 German Chamomile
This is the first post on the Hydrosols that I use most often, as well as some of the unusual ones that I have. This week I am talking about German Chamomile Hydrosol. Distilled in the US and Organic. Always look for organic and from some place close to you. I would not want a German chamomile from Germany. If you live in the US, look for hydrosols distilled in the US (or where ever you live).
Ok, this hydrosol can (at times) have a very light green tint but most times it will be clear like water, and the scent is definitely Chamomile. The taste is bitter, like an overly strong tea, but when it's deluded it tastes more like a well prepared tea with just a touch of green to it. I see it as a waste to use this one at a “tea”, only if there is an inflammatory issue that you are working with.
For external use there are dozens of uses:
Mist the face and neck when stressed and need emotional comforting. It is a very mild Antifungal spray or you can soak your feet in it. Good for skin inflammations and calms sensitive skin, psoriasis and eczema. It can be sprayed on troughout the day or applied as a compress. It can be used as a good sunburn spray when mixed with aloe juice and a good toner for skin with acne and when the skin is red. Pretty much, if it involves the skin and inflammation this would be one of the first hydrosols I would go for. It's also very good to use on babies bottoms for diaper rash.
Just like it brings down physical inflammation, it helps bring down inflamed emotions. Brings back scents of calm and quiet to the mind. Pretty much as with its physical powers, if it’s an inflamed emotional state this one helps. It is considered energetically powerful, but this has more to do with its powerful effect on the emotions. I would (and have) sprayed it in meeting rooms to help keep things calm and used it after an emotional event to clear the energy of a room.
If you have questions or want to know more just let me know.
Love and Light
Dannie
Wolf’s Aromatics massage and bodywork
AromaTheraputics Medicinal Aromatherapy
Ok, this hydrosol can (at times) have a very light green tint but most times it will be clear like water, and the scent is definitely Chamomile. The taste is bitter, like an overly strong tea, but when it's deluded it tastes more like a well prepared tea with just a touch of green to it. I see it as a waste to use this one at a “tea”, only if there is an inflammatory issue that you are working with.
For external use there are dozens of uses:
Mist the face and neck when stressed and need emotional comforting. It is a very mild Antifungal spray or you can soak your feet in it. Good for skin inflammations and calms sensitive skin, psoriasis and eczema. It can be sprayed on troughout the day or applied as a compress. It can be used as a good sunburn spray when mixed with aloe juice and a good toner for skin with acne and when the skin is red. Pretty much, if it involves the skin and inflammation this would be one of the first hydrosols I would go for. It's also very good to use on babies bottoms for diaper rash.
Just like it brings down physical inflammation, it helps bring down inflamed emotions. Brings back scents of calm and quiet to the mind. Pretty much as with its physical powers, if it’s an inflamed emotional state this one helps. It is considered energetically powerful, but this has more to do with its powerful effect on the emotions. I would (and have) sprayed it in meeting rooms to help keep things calm and used it after an emotional event to clear the energy of a room.
If you have questions or want to know more just let me know.
Love and Light
Dannie
Wolf’s Aromatics massage and bodywork
AromaTheraputics Medicinal Aromatherapy
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