Aromatherapy and Herbal Wines as a New Gown of Parties and Meetings

By Marjan Opsitarevic and Koviljka Aksentijevic

How to use Aromatherapy, Essential Oils and Herbal Wines, to make gathering healthier, fragrant, enjoyable and unforgetable. This book provides a detailed history of the use of Essential Oils and Carrier Oils for Aromatherapy and healing from ancient timesto the present. Also gives an overview of the properties of each Essential oil, herb and carrier oil and how they can be used. The book then describes how Essential Oils and Herbs can be combined to make drinks, potpourri, aromatic pillows and aromatic candles for parties and gatherings.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Marjan Opsitarevic
• Release date: Jan 14, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393221814

Book preview

CHAPTER 1: ESSENTIAL OILS

The History of Essential Oils

Essential oils are natural, aromatic compounds found in the leaves, seeds, bark, stems, roots, flowers, and other parts of plants. They are a group of chemical molecules in plants called terpenes, or hydrocarbons. They create a plant’s aroma and help plants to protect themselves from parasites. Each plant species has a unique combination of 100 or more terpenes, which make the scent of each species different from the scent of any other. They are 50-70 times more potent than plants.

The first use of essential oils in healing began in temples, churches, and monasteries with herbs, oils, and prayers. Some of the recipes were so famous, they’re still known today.

Aromatic plants and essential oils are an old form of remedy, dating to 3000 B.C., and were used in ancient Egypt, China, India, Greece, and the Roman Empire. They cultivated plants for their oils and used them extensively in their religious observances, ceremonies, cosmetics and beauty care, food preparation and preservation, spiritual and physical well-being, as well as for therapeutic and medicinal purposes. Aromatic essence and resins were used in the embalming and mummification process by Egyptians in their search for immortality. It was a common belief that burning incense in rituals provided a connection between the physical and spiritual, between the earthly world and the divine.

Egypt

Egyptian ruling families and temple priests used expensive aromatics and essential oils in everyday life. Egyptian priests were often physicians, healers, and perfumers. Pharaohs had their own special blends for payer, meditation, love, war, and so on. The Ebers Papyrus, dating to around 1500 B.C., is the oldest written record of Egyptian healing using herbs and aromatic oils. When the Hebrews left Egypt around 1240 B.C., they took their knowledge and practice of aromatics and essential oils to Israel. Cleopatra’s legendary beauty is ascribed to her extensive use of essential oils, honey, clays, and salts from the edge of the Dead Sea. When King Tutankhamun’s tomb was discovered and opened in 1922, archeologists found over 50 ancient alabaster jars—exquisite bottles containing essential oils.

Egyptians wore wax fragrance cones on top of their heads that likely held spiritual significance. The cones were made either from aromatic resin or Shea butter, in addition to wax with essential oils and flower petals. During the day these cones, slowly melting, released a sweet aroma.

India

Ayurveda literature dating back to 2000 B.C. records Indian doctors administering essential oils to their patients to help promote healing and well-being through both topical application and aromatherapy. Working with herbs was considered a sacred task in ancient India. This eventually evolved into Ayurveda medicine, the oldest system of healing from India, originally documented in Sanskrit. Derived from the words ayur, meaning life, and veda, meaning knowledge. The Vedas, India’s most sacred book (circa 1500 B.C.), mentions over 700 different herbs and aromatics used for religious and therapeutic