Tag Archives: focus

Lemon Essential Oil (Citrus limonum)

lemon-header

When fate hands you a lemon, make lemonade.
Dale Carnegie

Family: Rutaceae

Synonyms: C. limon

Aroma: Fresh, sharp, sweet citrus

Colour: Pale yellow

lemons-6Plant: Small evergreen tree with fragrant white and pink flowers and long stiff spiky thorns.

Main Growing Areas: Southern Europe, Florida, California

Major Constituents: limonene, beta-pinene, citral, nonanal, heptenal

Interesting snippets: Lemons were issued to sailors to counteract the effects of scurvy in the British Navy.

Lemons were used by ancient Egyptians as an antidote to food poisoning and to cure epidemics of fever.

Part of Plant used/Extraction: Peel by cold pressing or steam distillation

Therapeutic actions: Varicose veins, cuts, boils, greasy skin, tension headaches, cold and flu, neutralises unpleasant body odours from cancer

Emotional and Spiritual: Refreshing and cooling when feeling hot and bothered.

Robbi Zeck writes that you may need to develop new and innovative behaviours that will enhance the way you learn, execute tasks and deal with stress. Take a step back and examine what you are dealing with. The vibrant warmth of Lemon enhances rational, logical thinking and any intellectual pursuits.

Aromatherapy Insight Card:
RATIONALITY
Uplifts you emotionally, mentally and spiritually.
Release emotional, irrational outbursts from your life. When feeling out of your depth and irrational, lemon clears your head and enables you to focus on the task at hand. Rescue your mind and release self-doubt. Don’t get bogged down in life, cool the environment, so that you can respond in a rational manner and achieve a positive result.

lemon insight card

Fragrant Change Healing Card: I focus on what needs to be done and how to do it.

lemon FCHC

Contemplations for the Soul:

Lemon CFTS Card

Are you feeling confused, overwhelmed or out of your depth?
Do you feel there are too many decisions to be made or too much responsibility for you to handle?
Do you sometimes lash out at people because of stress, fear or a lack of trust in yourself to make the right decision?
Take a few slow deep breaths to clear your head so you can calmly focus on what needs to be done and how to do it.
Try looking at the situation from a different angle.
Ask for more clarification about the situation if you’re feeling confused.
If you’re feeling out of your depth ask for support. Make a decision and trust that it’s the right one.

Safety: Non-irritating, non-sensitising, non-toxic, photosensitive if cold pressed.

Sources:
Battaglia S, The Complete Guide To Aromatherapy. The Perfect Potion, Australia (1995)
Bowles E.J, The A to Z of Essential Oils. New Burlington Books (2003)
Hodges C. Contemplations for the Soul (2016)
Hodges C, Fragrant Change Healing Cards (2015)
Jefferies J, Osborn. K, Aromatherapy Insight Cards. Living Energy, Aust. (2nd Ed. 2005)
Price L, The Aromatherapist Vol 4 No. 3 (1997)
Zeck R, The Blossoming Heart. Aroma Tours (2004)

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)

rosemary header

There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance; pray you, love remember.
And there is pansies, that’s for thoughts.
William Shakespeare

Family: Lamiaceae

Synonyms: R. coronarium

Aroma: Penetrating, refreshing, herbaceous.

Colour: Clear to pale yellow.

Rosemary flowers and leavesPlant: An evergreen shrub that grows up to 2 metres high with silvery grey needle shaped leaves and pale blue flowers. As the plant ages the leaves lose part of their oil and the plant becomes progressively odourless.

Main Growing Areas: Tunisia, Spain, Morocco, France.

Major Constituents: There are 3 chemotypes, 1,8 cineole, camphor and verbenone. The amount of each constituent varies with the chemotype but all include 1.8 cineole, alpha-pinene, camphor, alpha-pinene, borneol, borynl acetate.

Interesting snippets: Rosemary essential oil was first distilled in the 13th century.
The Ancient Egyptians used Rosemary as a ritual incense in the tombs of the Pharaohs to assist them to recall their former life.

The Greeks and Romans regarded Rosemary as sacred, a symbol of remembrance, loyalty, and scholarly learning. Throughout the ages, Rosemary garlands and headdresses were worn at all important occasions as a symbol of trust.

The herb was used in former times to delay the putrefaction in uncooked meat.

The French used it as a disinfectant in hospital wards during epidemics.

Part of Plant used / Extraction: Leaves and flowering tops by steam distillation. A complete distillation takes around one and a half hours.

Therapeutic actions: Colds and flu, catarrh, sinusitis, muscular aches and pains, arthritis, rheumatism.

Emotional and Spiritual: Clears and refreshes a tired mind and improves concentration. Helps clear mental confusion in the elderly. Can renew enthusiasm and improve self-confidence.

Robbi Zeck writes that when familiar patterns, conditions, habits and beliefs keep resurfacing and manifesting in your life, rosemary moves you onward freeing you from restriction, sluggishness and mental fatigue.

Gabriel Mojay writes that as a Herb of Remembrance, it helps us not only to recall loved ones, but to remember our own true path.

Aromatherapy Insight Card:
CREATIVITY
Rosemary gladdens the spirit, invoking confidence to command creative energy into action. Believe in yourself, you can manifest anything if you believe in it. Explore your creative side and free yourself from life’s restrictions. Rosemary allows you to explore outside your everyday world. Find your own personal expression of creativity and paint your life the colours that you want.

RosemaryCourtesy of J. Jefferies & K. Osborn.

Fragrant Change Healing Card: I am a creative person who finds creative solutions to my problems

rosemary Fragrant Change Healing card

Contemplations for the Soul:

Rosemary CFTS card

Have you forgotten your creativity or even that you are a creative being?
Are you feeling mentally fatigued and apathetic?
Have you forgotten who you truly are and what you can accomplish?
Have you forgotten your path and purpose in life?
We think of rosemary for remembrance but she is also a creative force.
Stop today and think of all the ways you are creative in your life.
People may comment on your creativity in a certain area but you may not see it because it seems so natural to you.
Slow down and remember the creative person you are and acknowledge your worth.

Safety: Non-irritating, non-sensitising, non-toxic

Sources: Battaglia S, The Complete Guide To Aromatherapy. The Perfect Potion, Australia (1995)
Bowles E.J, The A to Z of Essential Oils. New Burlington Books (2003)
Hodges C, Contemplations for the Soul (2016)
Hodges C, Fragrant Change Healing Cards (2015)
Jefferies J, Osborn K, Aromatherapy Insight Cards. Living Energy, Aust. (2nd Ed. 2005)
Kerr J, Rosemary Essential Oil Profile. Aromatherapy Today, Vol.24 (2002)
Mojay G, Aromatherapy for Healing the Spirit. Hodder and Stoughton (1996)
Zeck R, The Blossoming Heart. Aroma Tours (2004)