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Introduction to Aromatherapy and Essential Oils

How many times have you smelled a particular aroma, or blend of aromas and instantly have a flood of memories wash over you because it triggered a long forgotten time in your life? Who amongst us hasn't smelled chocolate chip cookies baking and not been transported back in time to a place in our childhood when life was sweet and simple, and our only worry of the day was if that cute little curly haired boy in our class liked us?

The power of aroma is something that cannot be denied, but a lot of the time it is something that many of us seem to not take notice of during the course of our busy lives. We're so wrapped up in all the worries and necessities of daily life that we quite literally forget to stop along the way and smell the roses. If we only knew the soothing properties that actually comes from the scent of a rose, perhaps we wouldn't walk past them in such a hurry.

Whether you are aware of it or not, or even if you just plain ol' don't believe, I want to help you see that certain smells have the ability to promote healing of our body, mind and spirit and also to help improve the general well being of our mental outlook on life. Not only do the scents themselves help promote healing of our minds, but certain oils applied to our skin have the powers to heal and improve it's appearance. Think about it... what did our ancestors use before all of these chemical based products came onto the market? They used plants and trees. They used the leaves, bark, pulp and the oils that came from them. Why reach for a spray can of chemicals to soothe that sunburn when all natural lavender oil and aloe gel can do a better job? The lavender oil and aloe will actually HEAL the sunburn, and be honest, wouldn't the wonderful aroma of the lavender make you feel better while it's healing? In this case it serves a double purpose, because it heals the skin and relaxes our mind at the same time.

I would like to share with you some of the many wonderful properties I have learned about the wonderful art of aromatherapy. I will give you a basic working knowledge of which oils blend well with others, and which ones clash and cause an upheaval in our senses. I will share some of my own personal "recipes" for several blends of oils that can help in a myriad of daily uses, from anything such as deterring and banishing pesky head lice (yuck!) to other things like soothing a burn; uplifting depression; skin care; home environment and also a sexy blend of my own favorite "love potion". I'll give you a list of "must haves" that you should have on hand at all times for your own home emergency kit.

Aromatherapy has long been a passion of mine, and I am never without my trusty tried and true oils. I'm sure that at times I must sound like a broken record when someone asks me "What should I use for _______ ?" (fill in the blank) because a lot of the time my answer is "Lavender oil". I was pleasantly surprised that lavender has so many healing properties, not to mention that it just smells heavenly. Of course I absolutely love patchouli oil too, and a lot of people don't like the smell of it, so as with anything, it's all a matter of personal likes and dislikes. However, I hope that you won't avoid a certain oil just because you don't like the scent of it, because to do so would be to deny yourself something that can actually heal your body. If you are looking for scents that simply are pleasing to the nose, then of course stay away from the ones you find offensive. But, be informed, there is a big difference in essential oils and fragrance oils. Essential oils are made from the flowers, leaves, bark and resins of plants and trees. Fragrance oils usually contain little to no essential oils at all and won't give you the same medicinal benefits as pure essential oils. Rest assured though that any fragrance oils you purchase from The Celtic Connection Wicca Store are of the highest quality, and the same goes for our essential oils.

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