The Fragrant Pharmacy

WHEN YOU ENTER the fragrant pharmacy a whole world of possibility is waiting for you. There you will find nature in one of its most powerful forms-aromatic liquid substances known as "essential oils" which are extracted from certain species of flowers, grasses, fruits, leaves, roots, and trees. These concentrated liquids are indispensable to medicine, and to the food and cosmetic industries. There are at present about three hundred of the essential oils, which between them constitute an extremely effective medical system. Many of these are the active ingredient in drugs prescribed by the orthodox Western system of medicine, or the inspiration for chemical copies. In food and drink essential oils are used to give natural flavor and aroma, and as preservatives. Manufacturers of cosmetics appreciate their cell-rejuvenating and beautifying properties, while the fragrance industry is more concerned with their delightful aroma and their mood and emotion-enhancing capacities.

Each single oil is sued for many diverse purposes. For example, peppermint oil is an antiinflammatory used to treat rheumatism and arthritis; and it is prescribed by doctors for the relief of discomfort in the digestive system, under the trade name "Colperin." It is well known that peppermint is used by confectioners; and less well known that it is also an ingredient in aftershave lotions. It is across this wide spectrum that this book extends, explaining fully and for the first time the many uses to which essential oils can be put in the home. We shall see peppermint oil used for all the purposes mentioned above and many more besides, form a headache cure to a method of clearing an ant's nest or deterring mice from spending the winter in your roof.

Impressive though the medicinal qualities of essential oils are, The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy is not just a book in which to look up an illness and find the appropriate treatment. This is the household manual of the future and it provides answers to a very wide range of problems. These natural plant oils can be used to treat your child's flu, or called upon when you want to create a delicious and exciting new dish when the boss is invited to dinner. They will get rid of the fleas from your dog's coat as easily as the aphids from your garden plants. They will help you at work or play-at the same time as helping your tomatoes to grow. With the essential oils you can take control of your life and environment, secure in the knowledge that your well-being will be improved. You can use them for all the same purposes that the medical professions and the food and beauty industries do ... and more!

All who know the pure product and use it with understanding come to respect the essential oils. One cannot but admire their ability to operate effectively not only on the cellular, physical level, but in the emotional, intellectual, spiritual, and aesthetic areas of our lives also. If anything in this world is holistic, it is essential oils. However, it is not only because the essential oils treat a human being as a whole that they could be the materia medica of the future. They provide a system of medicine which is not only in total biochemical harmony with the human body, but also noninvasive to it in terms of heat and electromagnetism. In addition, their delivery system is so efficient that chemical drugs are made to look crude by comparison. The usual way of taking chemical drugs-orally-is the least effective method of taking essential oils because it involves passing the substance through the digestive system where it comes into contact with food and bacteria with which it could chemically interact. Essential oils, on the other hand, can be applied through the skin-in massage oils or by osmosis in the bath-or by inhalation in a variety of methods.

The extraordinary versatility of nature's essential oils is made possible by the fact that they come in a most convenient form. A few drops of pure lavender oil wiped on a burn effects the most remarkable cure as the skin returns to normal within days, whereas without it there would be a blistering patch and, eventually, a scar. You can return to the same little bottle when you have a headache-just one drop rubbed on the temples will bring relief. Because lavender is a natural deterrent of mosquitoes and moths, among other insects, it can as easily be dabbed on a ribbon and hung at the window to deter the former, or put on a cotton-wool ball and placed in the wardrobe to deter the latter. The natural antibiotic and antiseptic qualities of lavender oil make it not only a highly effective wash for cuts and grazes-on you or your pet-but also for tables, tiles, and fridges. The fact that it smells divine means that it's a delight to use anywhere and any time, and makes it a useful oil when creating an air freshener.

Essential oils are one of the great untapped resources of the world. Here we have a system of natural help that is far more than a system of medicine that can prevent illness and alleviate symptoms. These extremely complex precious liquids are extracted from very specific species of plant life and are in harmony with people and planet alike. By taking essential oils into our lives we find a way to provide our family and home with the protection and pleasure they need without polluting ourselves or our environment with chemicals.

These days the medicines and household goods we use are mostly chemical-based, and the food we eat and the air we breathe contain more chemicals than we would like. The cumulative effect of these, and the unknown effects as they react together within us, cannot be good for us, any more than chemical overload is good for the planet. Sooner or later we are going to have to find some alternatives and, for some of our problems, the alternative is literally right under our noses, drawing us to them with their sweet-smelling aroma-precious miracles and delights of creation, nature's essential oils.

Excerpted from The Complete Book of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy by Valerie Ann Worwood Copyright © 1991 by Valerie Ann Worwood
Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.