The O'Raven Chronicles!: The Historical Applications of Essential Oil's!

The Historical Applications of Essential Oil’s:

a brief synopsis on the use of plant based medicines throughout history; and the current health crises we face today.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth! The memory’s of most human beings alive today are seared with those famous words which begin the holy scriptures of the Judaic, Christian, and Islamic faiths! Since the dawn of man, people have believed that creation is infused with some remnant of the divinity of a creator; Some part of divine creative power that still exist within us, and the earth itself. Part of that power has to do with healing; at least in the mindset of ancient man. What is healing really? Well, in its most basic broken down state, it can best be described as any instrument used for maintaining quality and function of life; preventing any imbalance that might lead to a disruption in that quality; or a restoration of any balance due to a loss of quality to the life force of the whole make up of a living organism! Dis-ease and unrest can occur in the body, the mind, the proverbial heart, or the spirit of a person! It is the wounding of the spirit however that is most dangerous to the health of a human! It has long been thought that everything that happens on the physical molecular level of life first begins in some form as an event, or occurrence of the spiritual or energetic (metaphysical/ quantum physical) plain of existence!
From the time of the earliest historical records; to the pictograph paintings, or carvings on cavern walls, we know that people have used plants and intention to address and bring healing to the afflictions of their fellow man, and themselves! Some cultures believe that we learned this from the animals, or by trial and error, while still some say it was revealed to us by higher intelligence! Whatever you believe, it can’t be argued with that we knew about the healing benefits of plants and how to use them to prevent, and to cure illness. Many cultures in antiquity are famed for their use of herbs and oil’s. none so much as the Hebrews and their surrounding neighbors. The bible from beginning to end is filled with great medical knowledge if one knows how to find it within the holy writ, and how to pick it out! “Those that have ears to hear, let them hear and those that have the eye’s to see, let them see”! Many of the famous stories in the old and new testaments speak the word anointing. Anointing is applying essential oil’s to the body for a specific purpose, or blessing the body with the energy of prayer! In the old testament we see stories of prophets anointing kings; as in the story of Samuel anointing David to set him apart, and mark him as blessed; down to the book of Esther where the future queen receives healthful beauty treatments for a year before even being brought to the king! Now we can see in these examples three different functions for the oil’s. While David’s was mainly spiritual the oil used on him also helped to protect his health and guard against disease! Beauty was thought in a large part to come from good health and from the character of an individual! The king needed to be blessed, healthy, and beautiful in order to rule in the mindsets of the ancient peoples! In the story of Haddasa also called Esther, the queen had to be treated with oil’s to make sure she was free from disease before being brought to the king. They also functioned to make her beautiful as the oil’s were the cosmetics of her day, and indeed these oil’s were also thought to pass a divine grace to the queen, making her spiritually fit to rule next to the king. Most people in this country do not know that in the old testament, the very act of going to the temple to worship God provided the Hebrew people with inoculation against disease, illness, and plague! It could in fact heal those who were already sick! This is because of the anointing oil’s that God commanded the priest’s to prepare for his service, and the incense that they burned in the temple! Frankincense, myrrh, cedar wood, and many others were used. The herbal smoke kept illness out of the temple, and gave cleansing to the people who went to worship. The smoke actually helped their respiratory system; like our modern vix vapor rub in a way! The oil provided cleansing, better energy levels, mood elevation, and an immune boost.
In the apocrypha and many of the missing gospels (wrongly edited texts from the bible), we find many accounts of herbs being used! The most famous of all of these is the book of Ecclesiasticus where it was said, “God put medicines in the earth and a wise man shall not despise them”! In the new testament we are literally bombarded time and again with stories of Christ, the judeao-christian messiah being surrounded by essential oil’s! The very titles of Christos (Christ) and the Hebrew form of the word which is Hamashia (Messiah) translate as the appointed anointed one. The actual name of Christ in scripture is Yeshua (Hebrew), or Easus (Greek), which in the English tongue translates to Joshua. From the birth to the resurrection of Yeshua we have stories concerning aromatherapy. When the wise men from the east, who were pagan astrologers and kings, followed the star of Yacov (the Christmas dog star) to the place where Yoseph and Miriam were staying, and where she gave birth; they brought with them gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh! Many think the gold was currency or jewelry befitting the status of royalty; but there are other trains of thought. There was a powder made of pure gold that kings in the east used to paint themselves with during celebrations for beatification, social recognition, and protection from illness, which may have been carried to the festivities! Then again, it may have been an elixir (water infused with minerals) of gold and precious stones, meant to promote health! They also brought for the baby king and his mother essential oil’s of frankincense and myrrh! These oil’s had so many functions spiritually, medicinally, and cosmetically! For Miriam they would have provided a way to get rid of stretch-marks caused by giving birth, to protect against chapped lips and breasts, and by putting the oil’s on her breasts; a way to inoculate her child from illness. When the baby breast fed he could get nutrients through the milk and the myrrh to provide safe health. For the baby, besides giving him medicine, the oil’s were meant to anoint him for his death; which many believe the wise men saw in his star chart, as well as blessing the baby. Later on in Yeshua’s life we see many examples of this same thing occurring. He washed his disciples feet with water, and it was common practice when giving someone a foot baptism (cleansing/ washing), to dry their feet off and apply oil’s, and in some cases to give a slight foot massage to help circulate the oil’s through the body. In some other cases it was customary to put the oil’s directly in the water for the feet, to wash the feet, and then dry them off. We see that Christ was baptized and anointed by Yohn (john) who many believe was a blood relation of Christ. The scripture also tells us of a woman who anointed his feet with tears and oil, and dried them with her hair. We are told of yet another woman named Miriam (of Bethany) who anointed his hair with a costly perfume called spikenard (nard), which cost a year’s worth of wages. We are also told of when Miriam Magdalene along with two other women took aloes (sandalwood), and myrrh to anoint the dead body of Christ when she was met by angles with news of the Resurrection. While Christ was on the cross he was offered refreshment in two instances. The first was vinegar water with hyssop which he took gratefully because it helped to hydrate him. The second was wine mixed with gal (probably a mixture of the essential oil’s galbanum, onycha, and myrrh) which he refused; because it would have made him numb and slightly intoxicated to relieve some of the pain! He wanted to be fully aware and in control of his faculties, as well as suffering the full pain of the cross in order to accomplish his great redeeming work! It was spoken about Christ that there was a balm in Gilead! Christ in these passages is being compared to a common healing balm made then by blending several essential oils and herbs together. The base or carrier oil for most things at that time was olive oil; which not only had wonderful healing agents for the body but was abundant, easy to make, and extremely affordable, as well as being spiritually significant to the peoples in the middle east! Revelation the great book of the prophecy about the end of time’s, tells us that when the messiah comes back his robes will wreak with cassia oil. The oil of rose also plays an important role in the life of Christ as we are told that he is the Rose of Sharon! There is no doubt that through out his life essential oils those I have named and the many I have not, where indeed an essential and integral part of his story!

Let us not forget other cultures that also carried a terrifically abundant knowledge of oil’s which they shared with history and thereby us! The Kemetic peoples of Egypt, the Kushite peoples of the Hindu nations of India, the Babylonians with their famous hanging gardens of health and beauty; the Syrians and Asyrians, and all the cultures of the middle east shared with us! The cultures of Greece, Rome, and Celtia also gave us great understanding of how to heal with oil’s. From the garden of Eden, to the cave dwellers, all the way to our modern times we have used the healing gifts of nature to find a wholeness in mind and body; the way God and nature intended! We should not forget the French and Italian contributions to the use of oil’s! No country in the world has done more for the crafting of perfume than France who was inspired by the Persian’s; and no nation in the world has given us more understanding of cooking oil’s, cooking herbs, and an unsurpassed knowledge of our common cooking spices then the Italians in my humble opinion! The peoples of the orient, and the far east have mastered the art of tea making above all other races! In truth the people of china, and India have what many consider to be the oldest, and most advanced medical systems in the world! The pagan peoples of Egypt and Greece gave us such a rich understanding of health and wellness. Some of their texts still survive today, and are still having an affect on our medical system to some degree!
Hypocrites the father of modern medicine was well known for his teaching that to have an aromatic bath and scented massage each day was the path to good health! I have to wonder what he would say now about the skewed direction and absurd philosophies held by modern western so-called “physicians” today! I wonder what he would think about the wayward direction taken by the food and drug administration; or about the horrific “immunization” and “booster” shots given to so many unsuspecting children, who have no clue that their immune system is being systematically destroyed and that they may even become autistic and die at an earlier age! When did we decide that it was alright to arbitrarily kill our kids?
I wonder when the people that we entrusted with our lives, and our health forgot what is suppose to be their first and most sacred creed, “first do no harm”! I wonder when they chose to ignore that their first duty is to improve the quality of life for their patients! I wonder when things went so wrong for us.
We no longer have to take part in this genocide that the western neo so-called “medicine” industry is reaping on us! We have another option! Nature, is calling out to us to remember our sacred duty in preserving the earth and living in harmony with it! Mother earth calls to us to make use of her medicines, which bring true healing to us! It is clear that through the span of human history we have found healing through the use of oil’s! Now it seems, that this is the right time for us to begin using the oil’s again; because everyday this country sees more people converting to alternative, holistic, organic, and energetic medicines! The power of intention, prayer, words, thoughts, and attitude is now being proven by the very science that disregarded it for so long! The ancient pagan peoples called this majik! I use the word power, because of my personal religious beliefs. whatever name you put to it, it amounts to the same thing! The way to affect our world, our lives, and our health is within us, and within nature itself! I know it will offend many of my fellow christians to say this, but we who are christian owe a large debt of gratitude to the pagan peoples of the world; to the witches, to the shamans, to the medicine people in every culture, because it was they who kept the knowledge of oils and herbs alive passing them down through generations of their families, when science and the “christian” faiths belittled, condemned, and denounced the practice of using oil’s to create good health! I as a christian want to thank all of the pagan foremothers and forefathers who remembered for us when we chose to forget! Because of them European and eastern monks were among the first to once again take up the ancient task of healing by using what nature gives us. In other countries today, this is no joke; no laughing matter to the medical communities. They know and are exploring the healing benefits of nature based medicine. It is considered a real scientifically based, valid approach to health and not merely dangerous superstition as it is here in the United States of America! So serious they take the use of essential oil’s, herbs, and flower essences, that one needs a certificate and much official training to even practice this healing outside of the home! Here there is no such legal certification in any state! Times are changing though and these practices are becoming more mainstream everyday. I believe we will see over the next few years a dramatic change in the attitudes of western doctors towards these healing modalities. Speaking of this country; the native peoples of America did enjoy these medicines in a very, unique, spiritual, and rich way! Be it drinking herbal teas like the wise people of the orient, or smudging with herbal sacred incense smoke like the Hebrews in Israel, and the Hindu’s of India, they knew all to well the power contained within the plant world! For those not familiar with the word or practice, smudging is an ancient technique where you burn herbal incense to cleanse the body or ones environment. The native Americans used white sage, tobacco, sweet grass, cannabis, peyote, and pine amongst others to bring health to their people. In the temples of the east, be they Jewish, or of some other faith, they burned cedar wood, frankincense, myrrh, and others to bring about not only good health but, but a reverent attitude towards life, and the power that brought it about! The Celtic Druids used juniper, lavender, rosemary, and many others to cause a desired affect in health, mood, and consciousness. Even still to this day African villages safeguard their health with healing plants; and they are famous for their “organic dentistry” if you will. Many of us still remember the feeling of our grandmothers kitchens. Grandma’s potions that made us feel better when we were sick and the feeling of warmth and love that seemed to radiate even from her cooking and wrap us in abundant health. Our elders knew the importance of herbs. They cooked with them, made teas with them, and made poultices with them. In short they were part of the daily diet of our elders, for a great many reasons! It is sad what has happened here in the south west! The medicines of the tribal, the Latin, and the southern descendents of the Celtic immigrants have been ripped away from us. Our traditions are dying! Many of the native and Mexican women, and men who use to practice herbal healing have died, been pushed aside as antiquated, or gone into hiding for fear of persecution! Those of us from southern descent have been made to feel so much shame over the past; as if the civil war was the fault of anyone alive today; that even the good parts of our heritage have been swept away. Some of the music, the arts, the crafts, the hospitality that we are so famous for, and our way of healing! They have been all but forgotten to an alarming extent.

Now at this time of great shifting in our global society we are returning to the original, natural, and by far the best methods of maintaining a healthy lifestyle! Books abound with historical records, and pictures of hieroglyphs that speak of our predecessors treating all manner of illnesses with plant medicines! We see these records and look in wonder at how much they knew; how much we have forgotten; and how much we need and desire to remember. It has stirred within us a longing for the better parts of our common past as a species. I feel a change coming in the air! I believe we are on the threshold of new and wonderful discoveries in the realm of holistic healthcare; that is if we are not stopped by those ignorant people who fear change! In the future; as it was in the past, every culture, and religion will learn how to use and benefit from essential oil’s! It is I believe part of our shared destiny to relearn the ancient ways of healing, and to bring this healing back to our world! The great work of those of us who are healers has begun! May all those who read this be blessed, and may they come to feel as I do; as I have experienced; the awesome power of healing and transformation that God put into creation! I pray for you now, that you participate in a longer, healthier, enriched, beautiful, and deeply spiritual life!