Happy New Years everyone! I spent a few weeks talking about chakras on the Shaman's Fire and now I am onto Essential Oils. I have been working with essential oils for 16 years. They are the essence of plants that are powerful medicines, but natural and gentle in how they work with our physical bodies.

The oils are very strong so one doesn't want to get them around the eyes, lips or other sensitive places. They can really feel burning. One time I put lemon essential oil all over my solar plexus right after getting out of a hot bath. Bad idea. It burned until I cooled down. When cool, there is no burning feeling at all. 

Organic essential oils can be used for flavouring in cooking, too. Lemon, lime, orange, rosemary, thyme, hyssop, oregano, spearmint and peppermint are only a few of the oils we can cook with. They are such pure flavours.

Essential oils are in demand medicinally for both people and animals, for cosmetic, hair and beauty products, fragrances in perfumes and colognes (they are the base aromas), flavourings for food, preservatives, excellent for cleansing (lemon and orange oil and all the wonderful soaps) and air freshening materials, pest deterrents, fungicides and plant feeds.

In 1999 I was working in an old store dedicated to essential oils and related products where we had a line of ants constantly walking up one route on the tall windows. After we started spraying them with an oil mixed in water, they quit and never came back.

They are a big subject and I will talk about them on the show for a few Saturdays.