Abstract
The therapeutic use of aromatic plants, and oils made from them, dates back to earliest times. In Egypt, for both spiritual and medicinal uses, infused oils and unguents were employed 5000 years ago. Even earlier civilizations burnt aromatic herbs and woods to drive out ‘evil spirits’, which we might now interpret as mental sickness. In many parts of the world fragrant plants have been, and still are, an integral part of the ritual in sorcery, healing and religious practices (Tisserand, 1977, 1988).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1988 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Tisserand, R. (1988). Essential oils as psychotherapeutic agents. In: Van Toller, S., Dodd, G.H. (eds) Perfumery. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2558-3_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2558-3_9
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-0-412-40720-8
Online ISBN: 978-94-017-2558-3
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive