Citronella

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Citronella

Latin Name: cymbopogon winterianus
Forms Available: essential oil

Citronella Oil is extracted from a resilient grass native to Sri Lanka and Java. It is a very aromatic perennial that grows approximately 1 meter (3 feet) in height.

With its slightly sweet, powerful and lemony scent, Citronella is often used in combination with Cedarwood to produce pleasant-smelling patio candles and torches.   Its most useful quality seems to be as an insect repellant and may also help pets get rid of fleas.  The University of Maryland Medical Center study on ‘Insect bites and stings’ talks about a study where “citronella candles reduced the number of female mosquitoes caught in traps by 35%; linalool candles reduced female mosquitoes by 65%; and geraniol candles reduced female mosquitoes by 82%”. Citronella essential oil has citronellal, linalool and geraniol content in it, thus making it the most effective insect repellent on earth.

Also known to clear the mind, it may be useful against headaches and migraines.  Its deodorant and stimulating properties always refresh sweaty tired feet, activating the whole body.  Blends well with citrus oils, cedarwood, eucalyptus, and peppermint.

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Citronella-broucher

Aromatherapy & Health Uses: Used as an insecticide and antidepressant. Also known to clear the mind so may be useful against headaches and migraines. Its deodorant and stimulating properties always refresh sweaty tired feet, activating the whole body.

Other Uses: Promotes eloquence and prosperity, drawing friends and business.

Thought for the day:

I’m thankful to be breathing, on this side of the grass. Whatever comes, comes. -Ron Perlman

Suggested Reading:

  1. Citronella by Eugene Raskin
  2. Citronella ; Cymbopogon Nardus – A Literature Survey From Information Services Centre, Industrial Technology Institute
  3. Ayurveda & Aromatherapy: The Earth Essential Guide to Ancient Wisdom and Modern Healing by Dr. Light Miller, Dr. Bryan Miller
  4. The Encyclopedia of Essential Oils: The Complete Guide to the Use of Aromatic Oils In Aromatherapy, Herbalism, Health, and Well Being by Julia Lawless
  5. The Naturally Clean Home: 100 Safe and Easy Herbal Formulas for Non-Toxic Cleansers by Karyn Siegel-Maier

Reference Links:

  1. Citronella Oil by Wikipedia
  2. Citronella Oil by Steve Ritter published in PUBS
  3. Health benefits of Citronella Essential Oil by Organic Facts
  4. A handbook on Lemongrass, Neem and Citronella by Janhit Foundation
  5. Plant-based insect repellents: a review of their efficacy, development and testing by Marta Ferreira Maia and Sarah J Moore published in PubMed
Your resource for quality Essential Oils. Every batch is GC tested to ensure purity and authenticity.

Cleavers


Cleavers


Latin Name: galium aparine
Alternative Name: goosegrass, bedstraw, barweed, goosebill, grip grass, sticky-willy, scratweed
Forms Available: ariel parts

Cleavers – galium aparine – This herb can be eaten. It is used as a coffee, a tea, and as a vegetable. Medicinally, it is used as both a diuretic and detoxifier. Applied as a poultice, it can relieve skin problems such as eczema, psoriasis and seborrheoa and even help heal wounds. It is also to fight infections such as glandular fever, tonsillitis, and cystitis.

Aromatherapy & Health Uses: Detoxifer and diuretic. Works on lymphatic system detoxifying the body. Treats skin problems from wounds to eczema and psoriasis.


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Clove


Clove


Latin Name: syzgium aromaticum

Forms Available: essential oil, ground, whole, leaf, flower, bud

Clove – syzgium aromaticum – Cloves are the sun-dried unopened flower buds of a dense evergreen tree, they have a strong spiciness that flavors foods and prevents nausea. The flowers are used to soothe aching eyes. Clove oil, from the distillation of leaves and flower buds, is an antiseptic numbing agent for toothache and indigestion. It is added to cosmetics, perfumes, and cigarettes. There are now Clove-based anesthetics.

Aromatherapy & Health Uses: Nausea; Flatulence; Asthma; Bronchitis; Arthritis; Rheumatism; Toothache; Diarrhea; Infections; as an Analgesic and Antiseptic; Insect Repellent. Key Qualities: Tonic; Stimulating; Revitalizing; Aphrodisiac; Warming; Comforting; Purifying; Active.

Other Uses: Use for: Divination; Love; Lust; Banishing; Releasing; Inspiration; Wisdom. Burn for Wealth; Purification; to ward negative thoughts; or to stop others from gossiping about you.


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Club Moss


Club Moss


Latin Name: lycopodium selago, clavatum, muscus terrestris repens
Alternative Name: selago, foxtail, lycopod, vegetable sulpher, wolf claw, stag’s horn moss, ground pine
Forms Available: Above-ground portions of the herb, spores

Club Moss – lycopodium selago or clavatum – Also called Selago, Foxtail, Lycopod, Vegetable Sulphur, Wolf Claw or Stag’s Horn Moss. This toxic, evergreen, mosslike herb has trailing stems, upright branches and developing cones encasing the ripe spores. The spores were once used for gastric and urinary disorders, as an antispasmodic sedative and to coat pills. Blackfoot Indians knew of the spores’ blood-stanching, wound-healing and moisture-absorbing properties and inhaled them for nosebleeds and dusted them on cuts. They are still used on wounds and eczema. The spores are explosive when set alight, and used to create theatrical lightening and added to fireworks. Magicians once used them to create “lightening flashes” and other pyrotechnics as needed. These effects were originally intended as a form of sympathetic magic -of evocation by emulation – not simply as stage effects.
The club mosses are found in North America, northern Europe, Asia, and the southern hemisphere. The plants are several inches in height and resemble moss. They creep by means of prostrate stems, which branch upward at intervals, with crowded, linear, simple leaves. Large two valved spore cases product the medicinally active spores.
While the whole plant was used by the ancients as a cathartic, the spores were used as a diuretic in edema, a drastic -a forceful agent of cure- in diarrhea and dysentery, a nervine for rabies and spasms, a mild laxative in cases of gout and scurvy, and a corroborant -strengthening agent- for rheumatism. The dose is ten to sixty grains of the spores.
The spores also make a dusting powder for skin diseases and diaper rash.
CAUTION: Selago can be an active narcotic poison when overused. For this reason it is probably better to use only the spores, which are non-toxic. The whole plant can be used externally, however, as a counter-irritant – made into a poultice, it will keep blisters open and kill lice.

Aromatherapy & Health Uses: A diuretic. Eases gout, gastritis. Antispasmodic, calms spasms and diarrhea.

Other Uses: When properly gathered, the herb becomes a charm of power and protection. Wear it, add it to incense, and use it to commune with the Gods and Goddesses.


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Cocoa Butter

Cocoa Butter

Latin Name: theobroma cacao
Forms Available: butter

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Cocoa butter is the fat which is obtained by hydraulic pressing of cocoa nib or cocoa mass obtained from the cocoa beans. It could be filtered or centrifuged. This is an all natural process and no solvents are used. It is used in balms lotions, creams, and soaps because of cocoa butter’s softening and skin-healing properties. Most lip balms and massage butters require cocoa butter for firmness. It’s the perfect oil for massaging daily into fast-growing pregnant bellies to prevent stretch marks from developing.

 

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In soapmaking, cocoa butter should be used along with more easily absorbed unsaturated oils such as olive, jojoba, castor, or avocado. A soap made with too high a percentage of cocoa butter will be hard and prone to cracking. Limit cocoa butter to around 15% of your total fats and oils. Use it to counterbalance the stickiness of certain fats such as shea butter.

Cocobutte-broucher
Visit AyurvedicOils.com for more information on the traditional ayurvedic and aromatherapeutic uses of Cocoa Butter.

Aromatherapy & Health Uses: The perfect oil for massaging daily into fast-growing pregnant bellies to prevent stretch marks from developing.

Thought for the day:

Seeds and nuts are indispensable for cardiovascular health. The protective properties of nuts against coronary heart disease were first recognized in the early 1990s, and a strong body of literature has followed, confirming these original findings.
-Joel Fuhrman.

Suggested Reading:

  1. The Miracle of Nuts, Seeds and Grains: The Scientific Facts about Nutritional Properties and Medicinal Values of Nuts, Seeds and Grains by Dr. Bahram Tadayyon
  2. Theobroma Cacao, Or Cocoa: Its Botany, Cultivation, Chemistry And Diseases by Herbert Wright
  3. Superfoods for Life, Cacao: – Improve Heart Health – Boost Your Brain Power – Decrease Stress Hormones and Chronic Fatigue – 75 Delicious Recipes – by Matthew Ruscigno
  4. The World and Africa: An Inquiry into the Part Which Africa Has Played in World by W. E. B Du Bois
  5. The Chocolate-Plant (Theobroma Cacao) and Its Products by Walter Baker and Company

Reference Links:

  1. Cocoa butter by Wikipedia
  2. Cocoa Bioactive Compounds: Significance and Potential for the Maintenance of Skin Health published in Nutrients and PubMed
  3. Theobroma Cacao: A Taste of the Fountain of Youth by Keoni Teta and Jillian Sarno Teta published in the online community of All Things Healing
  4. Physical and Chemical information on Cocoa beans, butter, mass and powder by the International Cocoa Organization
  5. Cocoa and chocolate flavonoids: implications for cardiovascular health by Steinberg FM, Bearden MM, Keen CL, Department of Nutrition, University of California, published in the Journal of American Dietetic Association

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Coconut Oil

Coconut Oil

Latin Name: cocos nucifera
Forms Available: oil

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Coconut oil is obtained from copra, the dried “meat” of coconut. Distillers separate the copra from the hull of the coconut. It is dried, crushed, and then expressed to remove the oil.

This coconut becomes liquid at 76 degrees.  When cold, it becomes solid or semi-solid.  This oil has a thick texture with no taste and no odor.  A percentage of coconut oil in cosmetics is moisturizing; too much of it can be drying.  Its saturated nature resists rancidity and makes a very hard soap, while at the same time producing a fluffy lather.

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Buy Coconut Oil – 25lb Pail – CLICK HERE

Soapmakers usually combine coconut oil with olive, palm, palm kernel or castor oils for an all-vegetable soap.  Some soapmakers use between 20% and 30% of a soap batch as coconut oil.

Coconut Oil contains beneficial lauric acid, which may be of particular benefit for immune-suppressed individuals.  It is more heat stable than other plant based oils and does not create trans fatty acids when cooked at higher temperatures.  Use for all higher heat applications, including stir frying – Maximum temperature of 375F or 190C.  Excellent for baking, can be substituted for butter in most recipes.  Use in blender drinks to add fuel and energy in the morning.

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Columbine


Columbine


Latin Name: aquilegia canadensis
Alternative Name: wild columbine
Forms Available: root, flower

Columbine – aquilegia canadensis – The flowers are edible but the root should be used with caution as it is both astringent and diuretic. The root has been used, as a weak tea, to treat stomach aches and diarrhoea. The root tea has also been used to treat uterine bleeding.

Aromatherapy & Health Uses: Root is astringent and diuretic, used in teas for treating stomach ache, diarrhoea and uterine bleeding.


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Combava Petitgrain


Combava Petitgrain


Latin Name: citrus hystrix
Alternative Name: petitgrain
Forms Available: essential oil, leaf

Combava Petitgrain – citrus hystrix – steam distilled leaf, Madagascar (organic). Its aroma is almost clove like. Its properties are anti-infectious, antiseptic, liver decongestant, very calming with hormone like properties. Indicated for liver congestion and insufficiencies of the ovaries and testicles. It is also a sedative indicated for anxiety, stress, agitation, and insomnia. Useful for skin inflammation, avoid on sensitive skin. Blends well with frankincense and lavender.

Aromatherapy & Health Uses: aroma is almost clove like. Its properties are anti-infectious, antiseptic, liver decongestant, very calming with hormone like properties. Indicated for liver congestion and insufficiencies of the ovaries and testicles.

Other Uses: Used to ease aguish and release emotional tension


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Comfrey


Comfrey


Latin Name: symphytum officinale
Alternative Name: slippery root, knitbone, backwort, assear, black wort, boneset, bruisewort, consolida, consound, gum plant, healing herb, knit back, yalluc -saxon, ass ear, miracle herb, wallwort
Forms Available: leaf, root powder, root

Comfrey – symphytum officinale – Also known as Slippery Root, Knitbone or Blackwort. Teas, tinctures and compresses of comfrey roots or leaves speed healing of cuts, rashes, and broken bones.


Other Uses: Root or leaves for healing. Carry for safe travel. To ensure the safety of your luggage while traveling, tuck a piece of the root into each of your bags.


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Copal


Copal


Latin Name: bursera odorata

Forms Available: resin

Copal – bursera odorata – Copal is a white, pale yellow or yellowish-orange gum resin. When smoldered on charcoal it produces a rich, delicious, piney-lemony fragrance. Copal is North America’s equivalent of Frankincense. While it lacks some of frankincense’s bittersweet odor, it is a fine substitute. When frankincense if left smoldering on charcoal for some time it eventually emits a very bitter scent. Copal, however, never varies as it burns. It is native to Mexico and Central America, and has been used as incense in religious and magical ceremonies for untold hundreds of years, beginning, perhaps, with the Mayans or even prior to then.
The finest copal is a pale to dark yellow color with an intense


Other Uses: Burn for protection; cleansing; purification; to promote spirituality; and to purify quartz crystals and other stones before use in magic. May be substituted for Frankincense. A piece of copal may be used as the heart in poppets.


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