Neglected Knowledge

The Hidden History Of Essential Oil

Essential oil has been distilled since pharaohs ruled ancient Egypt, yet a great deal of its modern history - a history including provocative clinical findings - has been ignored. Like many other fascinating areas of knowledge suffering similar neglect, essential oil’s action on the human mind and body carries profound implications for our understanding of and approach to holistic health. Serious research in this area was first undertaken by a group of professional chemists and perfumers in France before the turn of the Twentieth Century. Today, few have even heard of the vanguard work undertaken by the Gattefosse Group in Saint-Remy de Provence. Named for its founder and leading light Louis Gattefosse, the Group was determined to follow up on a series of reports published by the Pasteur Institute that had documented strong antibiotic properties of essential oil.

Essential Oil As Remedy

As World War I approached, administration of the Gattafosse Group passed into the hands of Louis’ son Rene-Maurice. When during the summer of 1910 a lab explosion and fire seared his hands and arms so badly that gangrene rapidly set in, the 29-year old scientist desperately decided to put some of the Group’s findings to a critical test. He later asserted that a single wash of lavender essential oil had not only stopped the potentially lethal condition in its tracks but also allowed rapid healing of his injured limbs. During the notorious influenza outbreak of 1918, Gattafosse claimed positive results for preventative gargles and eye/nose drops compounded with essential oils. Today, most medical practitioners are quick to summarily dismiss his observations, but actual double-blind experiments addressing the validity of his results are conspicuous only by their absence in the established clinical literature.

Traditional Essential Oil

In view of the above, I can only lament our generally short-sighted approach to potentially anomalous or upsetting scientific findings. As statesman and commentator Edmund Burke ruefully noted, “Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.” Of course, we at Lucky Six Farms make no health-related claims for our wildcrafted, certified organic White Sage essential oil, hydrosol, smudge bundles, cones, or whole leaves. However, it is a fact that Native Americans have made use of this aromatic plant since ancient times. We are proud to acknowledge our intimate connection with it.

By Alan Beck

  

An Elder Speaks

American Heritage

Our company and its employees revere our American homeland and all of its people. We recognize, too, that this heritage is immensely complex. It can never be reduced to bumper-sticker slogans or simplistic philosophies. But when our historical memory tends to be short, our enthusiasm readily fills in the blanks, whether factually or erroneously. It's a familiar trait that is only human. Too often, people speak of relatively recent practices as if they were firmly rooted in a venerable heritage. So I am sometimes accused of placing too much emphasis on the importance of White Sage in Native American ritual. Do indigenous cultures really respect White Sage smudging as an indispensable means for quickly dispelling undesirable psychic influences on special occasions? Is the purifying energy of White Sage really part of our incredible American heritage?

American Purity

To answer this question authoritatively I will take the liberty of citing a recent statement by Anthony R. Pico, tribal council chairman of the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians just prior to the singing of their famous, powerfully spiritual bird songs: “The smudging blessing is a cleansing ceremony that rids us of negative emotion and negative energy. From our perspective the joy and electricity it creates causes us to be in the frame of mind of goodness and forgiveness of one another.” The simple clarity and eloquence of his declaration requires no further elucidation.

American Products

Lucky Six Farms has been firmly committed to making the purifying current of White Sage available throughout the world. Our essential oils, hydrosols, smudge bundles, proprietary ultra pure smudge cones, and whole leaves testify to the wisdom of Native Americans who have recognized and sought out the benefits of this rare plant for thousands of years. When you employ our White Sage products, you can be confident that its legendary strength - undiluted, unpolluted, unmitigated - will always meet your highest expectations.

By Alan Beck