What an excitement to come back home after a hard day of labor and immerse yourself in a hot bath infuse with essential oil of exotic scents. Surround the room with scented candle or some fragrant melting wax and for an hour or two release all the tension, frustration, and stress of life. Be carried away in a universe of sensuousness and feel the spirit appeased. For some of us this is the perfect idea of relaxation.
Scents and smell can raise in us emotions and feelings we couldn’t suspect. But how far can they lead?
After our encounter with J. and his wife (Rf. Witchcraft in the church) I wanted to know more about aromatherapy, so I did some research, and found out that aroma therapy is an alternative to traditional medicine. It generally uses plant extracts, especially odoriferous plants, to treat medical and psychological conditions.
Essential oils are a core component of aromatherapy and can be used solely or blended in massages, local skin treatments, respiratory relievers, or infection cures. Many oils have well known properties. For example tea tree oil is a proven anti-bacterial, peppermint oil is commonly used to relieve for muscles pain and cold, grape seed oil is used in cosmetics for hair strength and growth, etc.
The use of aromatic plant based oil can be traced far back to ancient times (Asian, Egyptian, Greek and Roman civilizations), and is even mentioned several times in the Bible. In Exodus 30:22-26 about the anointing oil prescribed by the Lord we read: “Also take for yourself quality spices—five hundred shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much sweet-smelling cinnamon (two hundred and fifty shekels), two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet-smelling cane, five hundred shekels of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil. And you shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil.”
In Exodus 30:34-36 about the incense we read: ” And the Lord said to Moses: “Take sweet spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, and pure frankincense with these sweet spices; there shall be equal amounts of each. You shall make of these an incense, a compound according to the art of the perfumer, salted, pure, and holy. And you shall beat some of it very fine, and put some of it before the Testimony in the tabernacle of meeting where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you”.
Also in Matthew 2:11 it is written “And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”
We can also read in John 12:3 ” Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil”.
Although it has always been around, the recourse to aroma therapy gained in popularity with the “new age” movement. What I found interesting though is this quote retrieved from “Spiritual spells.com” stating : “Spiritual Oils, whether they be hand-crafted herbal oils, ritual oils, condition oils, aromatherapy oils, or just pretty-smelling essential oils, are one of the largest and most varied of the ceremonial tools used in Witchcraft and Paganism… Spiritual Oils are associated with the hidden fifth element of Spirit and help us reach out into the unseen ether and summon from it the forces we wish to communicate with or use in our rites and rituals.”(1)
In other words, oils are used to cast spells, attract evil spirits, communicate with the unseen world.
Personally I think there is nothing wrong with the oil itself, however the provenance (who made it) and how we use it can be highly hazardous. Anything that comes across the world of spirits, or put an accent on “positive energy”, “vital force”, “meridian”, “innate intelligence”, “inner harmony”, etc. should raise a red flag. In the same way I would recommend to avoid using the oils on the soles and top of the feet, or on the ankles to treat other parts of the body (this method is called vita flex technique). Though it is commonly done this method is originated from acupuncture which is nothing but evil. As Christians wives We don’t resort to oil to heal depression, stress or anxiety. We find our rescue in the Lord through prayers.
Use some essential oils in your shampoo to treat your shedding hair, help with baby’s cold or get rid of a stubborn pimple is perfectly fine. But play the sorcerer’s apprentice by using methods we don’t even understand can open doors and invite evil spirits in our lives. So let’s be careful.
(1) http://www.spiritualspells.com/oils-book.html