A woman may crave to be near water, or belly down, face in the earth. She might drive into the wind. She may have to plant something. She may need nights where the stars are like face powder on a black marble floor. She may feel she will die if she doesn’t dance naked in a thunderstorm, sit in perfect silence, return home ink-stained, paint-stained, tear-stained, moon-stained. – Clarissa Pinkola Estes.
Please see the important disclaimer at the bottom of this post before considering this post or using Goddess blend.
Goddess is a word that is everywhere these incense-scented, moon-tattooed, boho-
swathed days. The definition, associations, and embodiment of the word mean myriad things to women and men across many cultures. Ultimately, a goddess is a female deity. One who controls an aspect of the heavens, the earth, or underworld and the fate of her people, if she so chooses. Her qualities are so defined, her areas of influence so clearly mapped, she becomes a symbol, an archetype to direct our imagination and intentions for spiritual or personal growth, and in so doing, inspires our becoming. Goddess is also a word used to describe an alluring, charming, beautiful woman.
Both definitions and associations swirled in my mind when creating the Goddess blend, but ultimately, my heart and imagination were drawn to the awakening of a goddess after a long slumber. I imagined her emerging into a new creativity, more aware, more assured, more grounded in her foundation with her face turned toward the sun. She has survived battles and befriended shadows. She is both classically beautiful and humanly flawed. Maybe she is a misfit, maybe she fits right in. She is both mother and nurturer of something beautiful and sees beauty and purpose in all things – even what is painful. She is not an archetype; archetypes are immutable. Rather, she evolves with experience. She has formed her own constellation and now has the eyes to see it.
Can one bottle such an experience? Kind of a tall order to expect one to experience all that when wearing a blend. Well, just as we may look to the goddesses to focus our intentions, so might we experience essential oils to inspire a little more confidence in what the goddesses have already placed within us – imperfect perfection. And they smile when we honor this in ourselves. At least, that’s my interpretation.
Goddess is a blend intended to be worn as a fragrance and to be applied as a facial moisturizer. Let’s explore this blend of neroli, sandalwood, mandarin, grapefruit, and ylang ylang.
Neroli (Citrus aurantium var amara) comes from the delicate white blossoms of the bitter orange tree native to eastern Africa and parts of Asia, later brought to the Mediterranean, Florida, and California. Its constituents offer calming and uplifting emotional action as well as offering skin rejuvenating abilities. It also acts as a hypotensor, sedative, tonic, and aphrodisiac, among other actions.
Energetically, neroli is heart-centered. It helps us to move past hurt done to us and maybe the hurt we’ve created in others. It asks us to be open to our own emotional healing and offers its light into the shadowlands of the soul, all in the name of love. What a beautiful gift she offers, inspiring us to do the same with ourselves, with others.
Sandalwood (Santalum album) is sacred. This oil offers itself from the heartwood of the sandalwood tree native to India, from where it’s highly regulated to export. Most of the pure sandalwood we use in aromatherapy comes from Indonesia and sustainable groves found in Australia. It should be noted, the sandalwood tree must grow to maturity before the tree is cut and the oil’s extracted from the heartwood – that’s about 30 years, minimum. I chose this oil as a companion to neroli as it also offers skin-loving anti-inflammatory action. Though sandalwood is suitable for all skin types, you’ll find it commonly used to help soothe dry, acne-prone skin (Keville and Green, 1995). Emotionally, sandalwood is both deeply grounding and uplifting. It also acts as a calmative and tonic with antidepressant and antistress properties.
Energetically, sandalwood offers its wisdom. I love what veteran aromatherapist, Margaret Ann Worwood writes about sandalwood in Aromatherapy for the Soul, “A fragrance that stretches out to the universe, into the hallowed space between heaven and earth, to contact the divine presence.” Perhaps this is why sandalwood has been used for millennia in spiritual and religious rites and meditations.
Next, grapefruit (Citrus paradisi). The Latin binomial says it all…citrus paradisi…citrus of paradise. Grapefruit, like most citrus, offers joy and effervescence. It’s a tonic, a digestant, an antiseptic, and a stimulating restorative that also helps tone the skin. It wakes us up! Helps us focus. Grapefruit also helps our lymph systems move toxins through.
Energetically, grapefruit is joyful and is solar-plexus centered. It’s the great encourager! Our best cheerleader. It offers up its energy to help us move through life confidently with awareness and focus while leaving room for creative play.
Mandarin (Citrus reticulata), the first single note on which this blend is based, follows. Why mandarin? Mandarin is playful, youthful. I realize, youth is a loaded word when it comes to our associations with what is considered beautiful, thanks to ad and marketing agencies. Ignore that. Youthful, in this context means a sense of wonder, creativity, exploration, learning. Physical appearances and age have nothing to do with the word “youthful” in this context or blend.
You’ll most often find mandarin included in sleep or mood-boosting blends due to its antidepressant, antistress, calmative, revitalizing, and sedative therapeutic properties. It acts as a diuretic, like grapefruit, helping our lymph system flush out toxins from the body. It also has skin-loving emollient qualities.
Energetically, mandarin sparkles with a gentle sweetness. Margaret Ann Lembo suggests it aligns with the sacral, solar plexus, and heart chakras. “Like its citrus relatives,” she writes, “mandarin brings mental clarity and sharpness to the mind.” What do we learn through a state of wonder and discovery? Through play? What does the creative process offer us? And how might we shape something from our own creative pulse to offer the world?
Ylang ylang (Cananga odorata) is last. A little ylang ylang goes a long way, as you may come to realize when playing with this single note. Often included in love and mood-boosting blends, the fragrance from this exotic tropical blossom evokes euphoria and sensuality. It’s calming to the mind and rejuvenating to the skin while also helping to stimulate our circulatory system, among other beneficial physical and emotional actions.
Energetically, ylang ylang stirs our soul’s passions. It is a euphoriant, after all. Worwood puts in poetically, “It shields and guides the passion of love and true emotion, while allowing a tender awakening of that sensual part of our being and spirit that can embrace all things.” So be it.
A rose quartz crystal rollerball caps this blend. Rose quartz is said to awaken the heart to love in its many forms. Those who use this crystal in meditation or in energy healing often do so with the intent to restore or cultivate a stronger sense of self, to restore confidence, and to help balance the emotions. Plus, it’s just beautiful to look at!
The goddess’s journey is a multifaceted, artful, evolving one. One of awakening, discovery, and opening. And yes, pain. Every goddess reflects her journey, no matter how imperfect, through her movements, her perceptions, her reactions, her very skin. It’s those imperfections that create her becoming. There is beauty there.
Goddess is available at Prairie Star Botanicals, in Blair, Nebraska and the 180th and Pacific Street Hy-Vee, in Omaha, Nebraska. Contact Prairie Star Botanicals to inquire about other Omaha and Lincoln area retailers or to order wholesale.
DISCLAIMER: This post is written for educational and/or inspirational/metaphorical purposes only and is not to be substituted or conceived as medical and/or prescriptive advice. Please refer to your licensed healthcare professional for questions and concerns. Please refer to your licensed healthcare professional for chronic health and mental health issues. Never ingest essential oils, never place them in your mucus membranes, and always keep essential oils out of the reach of children and pets. Always practice essential oil safety best practices and always check each oil’s contraindications before use. Do not use if pregnant or breastfeeding. Do not use with children. Avoid or seek counsel from your physician if being treated for low blood pressure. The statements in this post have not been evaluated by the FDA. Goddess blend is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, illness, or imbalance.
Recent Comments