Ancient Use Of Oils ** Cold-Pressed, Macerated and Distilled

[Guest guest]

Hi y'all,

 

There is no question that many folks like to embellish and extrapolate

the historical glory of essential oils .. because they either need to

publish something or sell something. Problem in this industry is that

some folks haven't yet figured out how to separate the ingested grain

from the bovine excrement. Why? Because they believe everything they

read. Why? Cause it makes them feel good .. lots of nice warm fuzzy

feelings when thinking they are sharing esoteric use of oils with those

of ancient Egypt and Arabia .. and maybe even Jesus Christ Himself.

 

In fact .. they are. The art of distillation is far older than the more

sophisticated forms practiced by those who live in lands that are now

called Arab lands. Many thousands of years older in fact. When I have

time I will try to find something I wrote on it a few hundred years ago.

 

Another problem is use of a word modern folks have problems coming to an

agreement on defining .. that of Aromatherapy. We know who coined it

but that is not when it began.

 

IF we want to agree that Aromatherapy is the intake of violate molecules

of oils through the human olfactory system .. distilled, hydrodistilled,

hydrodiffused, macerated or cold pressed .. then we gotta accept that we

are sorta new at this game. Perfumers understand that but aromatherapy

followers sometimes trip all over the smoke and mirrors and get lost in

the cow pastures.

 

IF we accept that odors .. be they volatile NATURAL molecules or not ..

and in fact even cow manure in some cases .. can be VERY therapeutic in

either a physiological, psychological or emotional manner .. then we

gotta accept that the Cro-Magnum and Neanderthals and such enjoyed the

odors of the pine forests .. and wild roses that grew on the hillsides.

And even the smell of half-cooked possum gizzards over an open fire

fueled by buffalo dung. I'll bet a purty that they gained all kinds of

therapeutic value from the intake of those odors.

 

And I'm gonna leave it there. ;-p

 

Y'all keep smiling, Butch http://www.AV-AT.com

[Guest guest]

Butch wrote on 3 July 2003 16:05 :

 

>The art of distillation is far older than the more

sophisticated forms practiced by those who live in lands that are now

called Arab lands. Many thousands of years older in fact. <

 

Yep, Guenther quotes Herodotus (484-425 BC) as mentioning oil of

turpentine, and methods of producing it.

 

Dennis Archer

 

Toona Essential Oils Pty Ltd. ACN 41 010 204 216

PO Box 129, Sutton, NSW, 2620, Australia