October 18th marks the celebration of a special plant medicine community member. On this day, we celebrate the birth of Nicholas Culpeper, in 1616. Revered as the People’s Herbalist and sometimes The Master Herbalist, Culpeper was a tour de force in botany, herbalism, astrology, and medicine. Nicholas was raised by his mother and her family in the British countryside. His grandfather was a local minister and imparted much of his wisdom —- from the distaste for royalty to their steadfast religious beliefs. When he was sixteen years old, it was decided that Nicholas would attend Cambridge to READ MORE
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Essential Oils and The Bath: Part I
Intellect versus Experience: The importance of balance There is a growing sense from reading different aromatherapy posts on social media, that research is where it's at. From opinions based solely on research to individuals sharing about personal experiences with essential oils and yet when they get to what essential oils worked for them they revert to quoting research papers about the potential benefits for ‘given’ condition instead of sharing what worked for them. Note: Research can be incredibly valuable so please understand, I am not discounting research in the least. I personally love READ MORE
Essential Oil Allies: Copaiba
Copaiba essential oil is distilled from the balsam (aka: oleo-resin) of an evergreen tree in the Fabaceae (legume) family. Several species of Copaiba (Copaifera officinalis, Copaifera reticulata, C. langsdorffii) are found in South America and considered inter-changeable regarding their medicinal properties. However, trees of the Brazilian rainforest are most often tapped for their healing oleo-resin. Copaiba essential oil is a gentle, balsamic, un-sung hero of aromatic medicine. Its powers are many and a sustainable choice when looking for qualities a resin-bearing tree often provides. A READ MORE
Aromatic Self-Care Rituals for October’s Full Harvest Moon
Written by: Leigh Winters Thursday October 5th brings the full, Harvest Moon. Traditionally, the October full moon is called the Hunter's Moon recognizing this as the time of year when animals fill up on food to prepare for a long, cold winter. Interestingly, this year gets the Harvest Moon appellation because it’s the full moon that occurs closest to the autumn equinox, which happened on September 22. The next Hunter's Moon will make an appearance in October 2018. Some also refer to the October full moon as the blood moon, which refers to the gaming season. This week’s Harvest Moon READ MORE
How to make an aromatic salve – The art of formulation
What is a salve? A salve is the combination of two basic ingredients: an oil and a wax. You can use any one vegetable oil, or combine 2 vegetables oils, or combine a vegetable oil with a nutrient-rich specialty oil (e.g. Rosehip seed oil), combine herbal oils or use one herbal oil. There are so many incredible combinations to create therapeutic salves with! The choice of oil is often based upon it’s purpose. If you are making a skin care salve, you might choose to use a combination of calendula herbal oil, lavender herbal oil, and jojoba. If you are making a muscular aches and pain salve, READ MORE
Essential Oil Allies: Patchouli
Patchouli essential oil is distilled from the dried and lightly fermented leaves of Pogostemon cablin, a member of the mint (Lamiacae) family. It is grown and distilled in Indonesia, India, China, and Brazil. It also grows in locations that may surprise you, like NYC. Like a fine wine, patchouli gets better with age. It mellows out, deepens and gets thicker as it sits and waits for you to use it to support your body, mind and even home. You may find many different types of patchouli once you start looking: Dark (the distillation is in iron), Light (the distillation is in stainless steel READ MORE
Is Jojoba an Oil or a Wax?
One of the more common questions we have been asked over the past couple of years has been: Is Jojoba an oil or a wax? And when one of our editors for the Botanical Body Care Products course asked me "Why don't you include Jojoba in the wax palette?", I knew I needed to research this! I must admit, I have always thought it a bit peculiar to call jojoba oil: jojoba wax, but it seemed to be a recent trend. I have also noticed a few companies that use the term 'jojoba wax' for their jojoba oil. And all of this seems to have made some people insecure as to what to call it, so they just READ MORE
The Best Time to Sleep
Contributed by: Robert Sachs In most cultures, we are familiar with the increments and movement of time - the seconds, minutes, hours, days, and years. We may be familiar with the concepts of centuries or millennium, but for the most part, it is in the seconds, minutes, hours, days, and years where most of us are focused. We create markers of significance in various decades – turning, twenty (We can now do whatever we want!), thirty (Oh no. Why can’t I be “forever twenty-one?” And how many twenty-ninth birthdays can I have before someone notices?), fifty (This is really getting embarrassing – READ MORE
Healing the Heart: Exploring Heart Rate Variability and Trauma
Written by: Jon Keyes, Licensed Professional Counselor and Herbalist At the top of the heart, a small bundle of cells known as the sinoatrial node regularly send out an electrical impulse. The signal causes the walls of the heart to contract, sending blood into the ventricles and then out to circulate through the body. For some of us the rhythm of the heart is quite irregular and that arrhythmia can be dangerous. But small variations in heart rhythm are actually very healthy. Imagine someone who’s heart beats at 60 beats a minute, or once a second. That rate is actually not READ MORE
Essential Oil Allies: Cedarwood
Cedarwood syn. Atlas Cedar Cedrus atlantica Cedrus atlantica is one of the true cedars and is a native of the Atlas Mountains in Algeria and Morocco. Cedarwood is a member of the Pinaceae family, which includes fir, hemlock, spruce, and pine species. The essential oil of Atlas Cedarwood is distilled from the wood or saw shavings/sawdust. Cedarwood essential oil has an affinity to: the skin, the musculoskeletal system, the respiratory system, the urinary system, and, of course, the mind/emotions. Cedarwood essential oil is also one of my go-to essential oils for mosquito repellents and READ MORE