By Cat Gina Cole
This week in my herbal journal, I found a couple of oils to share with you. Since I have studied these and wrote the notes on them, I have made them and used them together in an oil for an irritable bowel or stomach with other ingredients. Sadly, I committed the sin of all herbalists and did not write down the recipe for it, but I will keep looking as it worked very well.
Basil oil:
This oil, as many, can be used in a steam or bath or diluted with a massage oil and massaged in or used in compress, burned or used in an infuser. Basil blends well with bergamot, chamomile, clary sage, geranium, lavender, lemongrass, marjoram, or rose. The main action is in the nervous system and it is used for a nerve tonic, balancing, reviving, strengthening and restoring. Basil relieves brain fatigue, nervousness, anxiety, depression, tension headaches, insomnia.
For menstrual cramps or intestinal infections, dilute into massage oil, meaning mix with a carrier oil such as jojoba or grape seed, and rub over afflicted area or use in a steam to ease a spasmodic cough and restore the sense of smell. It also can be used for gout, rheumatism, insect bites, or bug repellent.
Psychological aspects: If you are overworked, have high mental stress or have pushed self to exhaustion basil oil will help calm and strengthen you.
Magical Aspects: Planet- Mars, Element- fire, Conscious mind, happiness, money, and peace- used as a spray to induce buyers in a shop and bring good luck, sniff while clearing the mind and the correct path will come to you.
(Use in moderation and for only three weeks or less as there is a toxicity possibility and some folks are allergic)
Bergamot oil:
Bergamot is a cooling and refreshing oil. The main action is on the nervous system. It acts like a tonic and is not over stimulating. Bergamot blends well with coriander, cypress, geranium, juniper, lavender, melissa, neroli, pine, and rosemary. It is used for tension headaches or when stress makes you feel hot and sweaty, when you feel cross, irritable or overwrought, for indigestion, colic, gastric infections, fever, sore throat, mouth ulcers, bad breath (gargle). Bergamot heals the skin and is deodorizing and helps with eczema, herpes, acne, and seborrhea of the scalp.
Bergamot also increases photo sensitivity allowing the skin to tan more easily. It is an antiseptic to wounds and ulcers, eliminates scabies, and is a deodorizing room spray.
Psychological aspect: Use if you are determined to succeed at whatever cost.Bergamot cools and refreshes the cross, critical, exacting person who begins to suffer from digestive issues and/or skin problems whose nerves have become raw and edgy. Bergamot is commonly used in money and prosperity blends.
Cat Gina Cole is a Hereditary Witch and author of Psychic Skills for Magic and Witchcraft (Llewellyn, 2022). She is the founder of The Coven of the Rising Phoenix and Staff Coordinator for “Green Egg Magazine.” You can reach her at www.catginacole.com.