Aromatherapy and the Mind. Julia Lawless
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said this, the very act of trying to isolate ‘mind’ from ‘body’ is based on false premises – in reality, the two are not separate entities, but rather interrelated aspects of a whole.
Medical attitudes regarding the relationship between the body and mind have also changed with the course of time. Theories concerning medical treatment have depended upon which aspect has been given pre-eminence within the cultural ethos of the society. Different cultures have at various times emphasized all aspects of the human condition – physical, emotional and spiritual – and have developed in diverse ways. In general, however, especially in the West, the evolution of ideas concerning the psyche-soma interaction can be seen to fall into three main epochs:
1) In the first, disease was thought to arise from causes external to the patient, never from ‘natural causes’ within the person. According to primitive belief, an illness was either caused by a malevolent spirit, sorcery on the part of an enemy or the evil influence of a deity. Sickness invoked by the transgression of some moral or religious law could only be remedied by a return to the correct mental or spiritual attitude. To be skilled in the practice of medicine in a primitive society therefore required an extensive knowledge of spells, charms and rituals – what we now call magic. The part played by psychological elements in this type of healing process was consequently of paramount importance.
2) In the second epoch, disease was regarded as the manifestation of an essentially physical or chemical imbalance, with secondary effects on the mind. The initial departure from the ancient magico-religious type of thinking can be traced to Hippocrates, known as the ‘Father of Medicine’. He was the first to separate the practice of medicine from all religious or philosophical theory by focusing on the physical manifestation of the symptoms themselves. In establishing the method of ‘clinical observation’, he provided the foundation for the scientific approach that has dominated the medical field up to the present era.
3) In the third period, during which the term ‘psychosomatic’ has been introduced, an individual’s well-being or ill-health are seen as ‘anthropological’ or involving the whole person. According to this view, the basis of all disease is a lack of wholeness. The cure is itself already implied by the words ‘whole’, holy’, ‘heal’ and ‘healthy’, where health is not simply seen as an absence of illness but as a state of unity. This is the principle on which all ‘holistic’ therapies are based, including aromatherapy, where the overall aim is to bring the body and the mind into harmony through attention to the physical, emotional and spiritual needs.
MAGIC AND PRIMITIVE BELIEF
The sense of smell is the most important factor in the laying of spells on people: magic, in order to achieve the greatest potency, must enter through the nose.1
Psyche-soma interactions have preoccupied the human imagination since the dawn of civilization. The idea of a relationship between mankind and divinity, between matter and spirit, was one of the earliest forms of human conception. All primitive people embraced their own specific world-view, in which the role of man and woman in relation to their environment was expressed in terms of individual myths, legends or stories. Yet all these indigenous people shared a common understanding or belief: that we, as humans, are dependent upon maintaining a harmonious relationship between an external and an internal reality; between the seen and the unseen; between the body and the mind.
Life was understood as being dependent on a force which transcended the visible world, which was honoured by expression through specific rites and rituals. When an individual fell ill, it not only reflected an inner discord but also signified disharmony between that person and their environment with its governing forces. Fundamentally, disease was the manifestation of a state of disunity between the human realm and its supernatural agents. Consequently, in its earliest form, the art of healing was bound up with an ability to appease the spirit world, please the gods and combat curses.
Incense and aromatics played a significant role in such practices, since fragrant odours were thought to be favoured by the gods and many herbs were considered to have magical properties. Aromatics, medicine and magic consequently were very much interrelated in early cultures and the first physicians were invariably also priests, priestesses or shamans. As occult powers were thought to be sensitive to fragrant smoke or scents, a common way to cure a person sickened by the evil eye was to burn incense in the room. Among the Slavs, fumigation with aromatic plants was still being used until quite recently as a protection against epidemic fever, sorcery, witch bite or demonic charms. Amongst the herbs used for such purposes were sunflower, rue, pine, inula and garlic. The Australian aborigines still burn eucalyptus as a form of purification ritual to fumigate against sickness – ‘heat went out of sick man and into fire’. Likewise, the Native Americans have preserved the ancient practice of burning aromatic plants like sage or cedarwood to produce a purifying smoke, which they call ‘smudging’.
In North Africa, a newborn baby is protected from djinns or evil spirits by scented fumigations and with a balm made from saffron oil and henna. Similarly, before a marriage ceremony in North Africa can take place, the bride, who is particularly vulnerable to any jealous djinn, must undergo a whole series of purifications and perfumings. She also protects herself with incense and scented jewellery, especially a necklace made from tiny balls of saffron, orris, musk and benjamin.
The use of perfumed ornaments to appease the spirits is widespread in black Africa and throughout Asia. In India, the basil plant or tulsi is held to be holy, and its roots are made into sacred beads and rosaries. In Tibet, dry incense is worn as a talisman to ward off evil spirits and in Mexico a clove of garlic is still hung around the neck of a newborn as a protection. Amulets are commonly used in magical rites in all cultures and are often composed of, or include, aromatic materials.
Some herbs, such as rosemary, mugwort or St John’s wort, have long been associated with magic or clairvoyant powers, and used as charms against evil. In Europe, a sprig of rosemary placed beneath the pillow was thought to protect the sleeper from nightmares, while a bunch of mugwort brought vivid dreams. A girdle of mugwort was also said to have been worn by John the Baptist in the wilderness, for it was used to ward off danger when travelling.
The odour of St John’s wort was thought to drive away evil spirits, and it became a common custom to hang sprays of it above the doors of houses and churches on the eve of St John’s Day, 24 June – the Summer Solstice, an ancient pagan festival.
The possessed or insane were also obliged to inhale the odour of the crushed leaves and flowers, or drink a potion of it, in an effort to rid them of their madness.2
The origin of such measures was probably based on the inherent healing properties of the substance itself – St John’s wort is recognized for its sedative and analgesic properties, and valued for combating hysterical conditions and menopausal neurosis’3 for example, while garlic is now well known for its bactericidal and anti-infectious qualities. Many aromatic plants were ascribed special powers in this way based on direct experimentation, observation about the manner in which they grew, their healing potential and the effect of their fragrance. In Scandinavia, for instance, it was common until very recently to carry a lump of crude camphor as a protective measure during times of infectious illness, based on knowledge of its prophylactic powers.
However, the overall effectiveness of this type of ritual practice depends largely on the power of suggestion and the positive psychological attitude of the participants. One of the main premises underlying the magic art is the ‘law of sympathy’, i.e. the relationship between intention and manifestation, mind and matter. In this type of healing system, actions performed on a symbolic level in a ritual context are then brought about in actuality through a sympathetic response. Success is thus largely due to what in modern terminology is called the ‘placebo effect’.
In so far as these magic arts produce physiological and remedial effects, which they undoubtedly do,