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Aromatherapy
Aromatic History & Lore
December 20, 20200Comments

Holiday Smells: Aromatic Traditions from Winters Past

Fresh cut Pine and Spruce trees, Cedar boughs, pots of evergreen needles steaming on the wood stove. Aromas of Cinnamon and Clove rising from the oven. Orange peel and Star
by NW School of Aromatic Medicine

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In Greek mythology, Rosemary was born from grief. In Greek mythology, Rosemary was born from grief. As told in Homer’s Iliad, the daughter of the King of Sparta fell in love with the Sun God. Enraged, the King condemned her to be buried alive. When the Sun God wept over her grave, Rosemary grew where his tears touched the earth. A plant born of love, loss & remembrance. The Sun governs the heart, courage & the journey through grief… and Rosemary has carried this symbolism ever since. Ancient Greeks & Romans planted Rosemary in nearly every garden, believing it offered spiritual protection. Medieval Europeans burned it to cleanse hospital air. Herbal physicians like Dioscorides praised it for its warming, life-giving qualities. Shakespeare echoed this wisdom in Hamlet: “There’s Rosemary, that’s for remembrance.” Across cultures, Rosemary has been used to honor the dead, comfort the grieving & ensure that those we love are never forgotten. Egyptian mummies were often found wrapped in Rosemary as a sign of reverence for the dead. In England & Wales, sprigs of Rosemary were worn at funerals or pinned to clothing to support the grieving process. In some traditions, Rosemary was placed on coffins before burial – a message to both the living & the spirits beyond that the departed would never be forgotten, and would continue to live on in memory. Many of these traditions still live on today. In modern aromatic medicine, Rosemary is called upon for memory support as well as soothing digestion, opening the lungs, boosting mental clarity, and offering balance across the physical, emotional & spiritual body. Rosemary is for the moments when your boots feel stuck in the mud, and you’ve forgotten why you ever started walking. 🌿 Want to go deeper into Rosemary’s magic & medicine? Comment ROSEMARY to receive our FREE full-length Rosemary feature inside the Aromatic Medicine Garden. ✨ 1-hour Rosemary plant talk video with clinical herbalist & aromatherapist Erika Galentin ✨ 21-page monograph PDF ✨ History & folklore wisdom ✨ Aromatherapy & herbal uses ✨ Physical, emotional, mental & spiritual benefits ✨ Cultivation tips ✨ Recipes for oil infusions, tinctures, glycerites, electuaries, herbal vinegar & more
THE AROMATIC CONNOISSEUR SERIES IS BACK 🌿 A few w THE AROMATIC CONNOISSEUR SERIES IS BACK 🌿 A few weeks ago, I launched a brand-new 3-part series for people who want to go much deeper into the aromatic materials they work with. Not just using them, but understanding where they come from, what makes one truly exceptional, and how we can help protect the plants behind them. Now all 3 classes are fully recorded and released, I’m incredibly happy with how they turned out, and we’ve gotten some great feedback from our first students. So to celebrate the release of all 3 lessons, I’m reopening the doors for 2 days at our original inaugural pricing. 🌎 SOURCE IT Find exceptional, high-quality, responsibly sourced aromatics—and suppliers worth trusting. 👃 KNOW IT Learn what makes an aromatic truly exceptional and develop your own ability to recognize quality. 🌿 PROTECT IT Explore sustainability, regeneration, threatened aromatics, harvesting pressure, and our role as ambassadors of the plants. All 3 classes are ready to watch immediately. Today + tomorrow only: $45/class or $117 for all 3. After that, the pricing increases. Learn more at the link in our bio. https://members.aromaticmedicineschool.com/the-aromatic-connoisseur/
🔥 DID YOU ENTER YET? Our sister company, Higher M 🔥 DID YOU ENTER YET? Our sister company, Higher Mind Incense, is giving away 5 complete Botanical Incense Crafting Kits! If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to make your own natural incense from real aromatic plants, woods, resins, herbs and spices, this is for you. 🌿 5 kits. 5 winners. 👉 To enter, head over to @highermindincense and find the original GIVEAWAY post from yesterday. Follow the instructions there to enter, and make sure you: Follow @highermindincense (following us here at NWSAM doesn’t count as an entry!) And leave your entry comment on the original @highermindincense giveaway post, not this one, so we don’t miss you. While you’re there, help us spread the word by sharing the giveaway post to your stories or sending it to a friend who would love to dive deeper into the world of incense. We’ll be choosing 5 winners soon! 🔥🌿 👉 Head over to @highermindincense to enter. Good luck! ;)
GIVEAWAY! 🌿🔥 Our sister company, Higher Mind Ince GIVEAWAY! 🌿🔥 Our sister company, Higher Mind Incense, is giving away 5 complete Incense Crafting Kits! If you’ve followed us here for a while, you know how much of our work at The Northwest School of Aromatic Medicine revolves around understanding aromatic plants more deeply—not just their uses, but their traditions, origins, and the many ways we can work with them. Higher Mind Incense is where we get to put much of that into practice through the actual aromatic plants, resins, woods, incense materials, and tools we work with. And we're ready to put some real energy into growing that community! Want to win one of 5 Incense Crafting Kits? To enter: 1. Follow @highermindincense ← This is important! Following NWSAM does not count as an entry. 2. Head over to @highermindincense, like the giveaway post + leave a comment. 3. Sign up for the new FREE 5-part Sacred Smoke Guide through the link in the @highermindincense bio. 4. In your comment, tell us what you’d most like to learn about incense—crafting your own, traditional medicinal uses, aromatic plants and materials, ancient incense traditions, or anything else. That’s it! We’ll randomly choose 5 people to receive a complete Botanical Incense Crafting Kit on Tuesday, September 29th. 👉 Head over to @highermindincense to enter! Good luck! 🌿🔥
“Heal yourself with the light of the sun and the r “Heal yourself with the light of the sun and the rays of the moon. With the sound of the river and the waterfall. With the swaying of the sea and the fluttering of birds. Heal yourself with mint, neem, and eucalyptus. Sweeten with lavender, rosemary, and chamomile. Hug yourself with the cocoa bean and a hint of cinnamon. Put love in tea instead of sugar and drink it looking at the stars. Heal yourself with the kisses that the wind gives you and the hugs of the rain. Stand strong with your bare feet on the ground and with everything that comes from it. Be smarter every day by listening to your intuition, looking at the world with your forehead. Jump, dance, sing, so that you live happier. Heal yourself, with beautiful love, and always remember ... you are the medicine.” 🌿 – María Sabina
Cooler weather means herbal bath season is upon us Cooler weather means herbal bath season is upon us! An easy and therapeutic way to receive aromatic medicine and practice self-care is with a fragrant herbal epsom salt bath. Try this basic recipe to help relax and relieve stress. If you don’t have a bath tub, you can still follow the recipe and place everything in a large bowl for a calming and grounding foot soak. Ingredients 2 cups epsom salt ½ cup dried Rose petals ½ cup Chamomile flowers ¼ cup dried Lavender flowers Instructions: 1. Boil 6 cups of water in a large pot, then turn off the heat. 2. Add all the ingredients and stir well. 3. Place the lid on the pot and allow it to sit for 10 minutes. 4. The lid will help trap the plant aromatics until you’re ready for your bath. While you wait, prepare your bath by filling the tub with warm or hot water. When you're ready to get in, ensure that all the salt in the pot has dissolved. If not, give it another stir. 5. Strain the herbs from your pot and add the tea to your tub or foot soak bowl. 6. Soak and enjoy! Important Note: Essential oils are not water-soluble. Adding them directly to bathwater will result in undiluted essential oils floating on the surface, which can potentially damage your skin and limit their healing benefits. If you want to incorporate essential oils into your bath, use a carrier oil such as Olive or Coconut oil, or even castile soap, to help disperse them. Mix 5-10 drops of essential oil with a tablespoon of oil or soap, mix thoroughly, and then add it to the bathwater. #herbalbathsoak #herbalbaths #aromaticbath #diyspa
When things cool down and the leaves turn brown, y When things cool down and the leaves turn brown, you may think your foraging options are limited, but that’s so far from the truth! Autumn holds a bounty for foragers. Fall is the season of roots, fruits, berries, nuts, and seeds! Roots are best harvested now because it’s the time of year that plants are preparing for Winter, so they send all of their energy into their roots. Roots also tend to have the most vitamins and minerals during the fall. Here’s a list of some of our Fall favorites: 🌿 Elderberries: Well-known for their immune-boosting properties, they’re great to stock up on for the Winter. You can make Elderberry syrup or tincture, try infusing them in raw honey, or you can dry them to make tea later. 🌿 Rose Hips: These are the red fruits after the Rose flower has bloomed. They’re also great for the immune system since they’re high in Vitamin C and antioxidants. Rose Hip jelly is my favorite, but you can also make them into a syrup, tincture, or dry them to use for tea. 🌿 Hawthorn Berries: There are many varieties, but some taste better than others. All varieties are safe to eat, but avoid the seeds since they’re slightly toxic. They’re high in pectin and make a great jam or jelly, you can also make them into a tincture or dry them for tea. 🌿 Acorns: The nuts of Oak trees! They require processing to make them edible, but once you finish, Acorn flour is super tasty and great for your health. 🌿 Chestnuts: Sweet Chestnuts are a classic Fall food and are a tasty treat when roasted. Also a great source of vitamins and minerals! 🌿 Dandelion Root: A highly abundant plant that’s often considered a weed, the roots are bitter and make a great bitter tincture to help stimulate the liver and support healthy digestion. To consider: 🍃 Always be 100% certain with plant identification before harvesting and especially before consumption. 🍃 Make sure to leave enough for wildlife in the Winter! They’ll likely need it more than you, and many animals depend on these plants for food. 🍃 When you harvest a plant’s roots, you’re risking killing the plant, so make sure to only harvest the roots of plants that are abundant and never endangered.
Eucalyptus leaves are much more than just koala fo Eucalyptus leaves are much more than just koala food! 🍃 For generations, this tree has been traditionally used to support wellness in countless ways, from herbal steams and leaf infusions to incense, essential oils, and topical preparations. Each method offers its own unique benefits. Best known for supporting the respiratory system, Eucalyptus can help ease cold and flu symptoms, soothe coughs, encourage easier breathing, support the immune system, and promote mental clarity. Curious how to use Eucalyptus beyond essential oils? We put together a complete guide exploring its history, therapeutic benefits, and the many ways to work with this amazing aromatic plant. Comment "BLOG" below, and we'll send the full Eucalyptus guide straight to your inbox! 🌿 --- #Eucalyptus #EssentialOils #Herbalism #AromaticPlants #RespiratoryHealth #PlantMedicine
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