Whenever I smell Patchouli essential oil, it carries me back to the sixties with the flared jeans and miniskirts, the paisley prints and sideburns. It has that luscious earthy tone which sits us firmly and squarely in our body, reminding us to enjoy the pleasures that life is offering us at every twist and turn.
It’s an oil of spontaneity and naughtiness – one that encourages us to celebrate our unique and gorgeous self, in all its quirkiness….and to be proud of it!
The last few days, I’ve been drawn to Patchouli as a fragrance. You know how it is - essential oils call out to us! I find I’ll go on a roll with one oil, and it will be my favourite for months and months…and then another oil raises its head and calls out, and suddenly I’ve switched passions for this new oil. Why? Because it’s the right oil for this moment.
Never question that instinct within you that guides you to an oil. That’s intuition in action.
Just as animals in a shelter or pet store will call out to their new owner, so too do essential oils call out to us. We just need to be quiet enough to listen to their voices.
So given that Miss Patchouli has demanded my attention, I wanted to do a bit of exploration and research into why that might be…apart from the obvious reason that she helps me feel the lusciousness and sensuality that dwells within.
Patchouli is a shrub that grows to a metre in height, and which is found on the islands of Sumatra and Java in Indonesia, as well as China, Malaysia and India. Rather than being a lowland plant, she’s a high altitude plant, growing between 900 and 1,800 metres in altitude.
The nature of a plant tells us a lot about how the essential oil will impact us…so we can deduce that Patchouli oil will carry us into higher realms of consciousness, allowing us to gain a more spiritual and detached perspective on our life’s problems. So true!
Her strong scented leaves are harvested in the wet season (that’s when the best quality of oil is achieved), and they are dried for 3 days before being distilled.
Patchouli was used in the 19th Century to scent Indian fabrics, including shawls and saris. Even the French garment manufacturers chose to infuse their fabrics with Patchouli to ensure their saleability.
Hmmm….that’s interesting. So that tells us that Pachouli has a quality of “attraction”, much like Orange oil. No wonder Patchouli and Orange oil are two of the main ingredients in Young Living’s Abundance oil!
And did you know that Patchouli is like a great wine? Her aroma improves with age. How fascinating!
In perfumery, Patchouli is considered a “base” note. That means she has a heavier tone (ie. more viscous and deeper in aroma), and is therefore used in synergy with the lighter citrus and florally tones (such as Orange oil) to “fix” them.
On their own, these lighter notes evaporate very quickly. But when they are combined with a base note like Patchouli, they will linger for much longer before they dissipate.
In addition to being one of the most seductive scents in a perfume, Patchouli oil is also renowned for skin care, being calming, stimulating and uplifting. She helps to rejuvenate the skin, and can be applied to the legs in combination with Cypress and Geranium oil in order to reduce the visibility of those close-to-the-surface veins.
And she has a really wide range of physical uses - make sure you google Patchouli or look up a good reference book to find out more.
Yet apart from her plethora of physical and cosmetic uses, Patchouli oil is also recommended for people with a deficiency of Chi energy. Could that be you? If you’re overworking and feeling fatigued, it very well could be!
Rich and musky in her aroma, she’s the most wonderful aphrodisiac, and will help you to get in touch with your body and your sensuality.
If you are feeling anxious about “performing in the bedroom”, she will help to carry you out of your mind and into your body, so that you can surrender to the pleasures that are all around you.
But even beyond the bedroom, Miss Patchouli will uplift you, and help awaken your creativity, so that you can give birth to new ideas and embrace exciting new directions in your life.
But even beyond the bedroom, Miss Patchouli will uplift you, and help awaken your creativity, so that you can give birth to new ideas and embrace exciting new directions in your life.
And if you’re spending too much time in your mind with lots of mental activity and worries, then it’s definitely time to call Miss Patchouli out of the cupboard, and into your daily oil application.
