"The rose, queen of all flowers! Its fragrant poetry brings joy to the heart. Rose, the flower of music, touches the most delicate strings."
Suzanne Fischer-Rizzi
Our relationship to the beautiful rose has been solidified in timeless myths and folk stories over the centuries. During the birth of the goddess of love, Aphrodite, the white rose is said to have sprung up and carpeted the area. The red rose was created when Aphrodite lost her lover, Adonis. His blood and her tears mixed together and her white roses turned red.
Aphrodite's rose remains the symbol of love. Lovers continue to send each other roses as symbols of love and desire. The extravagant visual beauty of the flowers and the heady, sensual fragrance have an emotional effect. Rose essential oil, with its phytochemical constituent, is absorbed into the body via the skin or the olfactory system. The sale of red roses soars around Valentine's Day.
Aromatherapists value the rose for her healing and soothing properties. Aromatherapists use rose essential oil for emotional balance, to improve the libido, to strengthen the inner being and to relieve rejection, sadness and grief. Physically, rose oil has been traditionally used for wound healing and to soothe inflamed skin. Rose oil is also know to be an aphrodisiac.
Rose oil's emotional and physical healing properties are due to its phytochemical composition. Although there has been much research of the complex photochemical constituents of the plant, these constituents are so numerous that research has barely scratched the surface (Mileva et al, 2021). The primary chemical family is monoterpenol, which has components of citronellol, nerol, linalool, geraniol, eugenol, and menthol. Citronellol has anti-spasmodic, anti-viral and antibacterial properties, nerol and linalool have sedative qualities, geraniol and eugenol have antiviral and antibacterial properties and menthol has analgesic properties.
Energetically, rose oil connects to the second chakra, the sacral chakra, the fourth chakra, the heart chakra and the seventh chakra, the crown chakra. The energy of rose oil provides a connection among sexuality, the heart and the spirit (Fulcher, 2020).
You can bring all of this to your loved one on Valentine's Day. A soothing lotion for their skin and some infused rose essence in their air is a beautiful way to develop the atmosphere for a loving evening. You can use the scent in a diffuser or mix a few drops of the essential oil in jojoba oil for massage.
How much essential oil should be used? In massage, for safety, never use essential oils directly on the skin, alway blend in a carrier oil. Use essential oils sparingly, as they are highly concentrated volatile oils, with numerous phytochemical constituents. A healthy balance is no more than 5 -6 drops for every ounce of carrier oil. For more sensitive people (and children),
1 - 3 drops per ounce is even safer. For a diffuser, 2 -4 drops is enough. Start with 1 or 2 drops. You'll see how the scent permeates the air, less is more.
Valentines Day Blends for the diffuser or to mix in with jojoba oil for massage.
Stimulate the libido and promote emotional connection:
2 drops Ylang Ylang, 1 drop Rose, 1 drop Sandalwood per ounce
Overcoming fear of rejection from a past love lost:
2 drops Cypress, 1 drop Frankincense, 1 drop Rose per ounce
References
Fischer-Rizzi, S. (1990). Complete aromatherapy handbook: Essential oils for radiant health. New York: Sterling Publishing.
Fulcher, L. (2020). Deep Dive With Liz: Rose Essential Oil. Class found on https://aromaticwisdominstitute.teachable.com/p/rose-essential-oil
Mohebitabar, S., Shirazi, M., Bioos, S., Rahimi, R., Malekshahi, F., & Nejatbakhsh, F. (2017). Therapeutic efficacy of rose oil: A comprehensive review of clinical evidence. Avicenna journal of phytomedicine, 7(3), 206–213. Retrieved January 25, 2022 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5511972/
Mileva, M., Ilieva, Y., Jovtchev, G., Gateva, S., Zaharieva, M. M., Georgieva, A., Dimitrova, L., Dobreva, A., Angelova, T., Vilhelmova-Ilieva, N., Valcheva, V., & Najdenski, H. (2021). Rose Flowers-A Delicate Perfume or a Natural Healer?. Biomolecules, 11(1), 127. Retrieved January 28, 2022 from https://doi.org/10.3390/biom11010127
Mojay, G. (1997). Aromatherapy for healing the spirit. Rochester, Vermont: Healing Arts Press.
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