Our ancestors learned – through trial and error, and through observing which plants sick animals ate – that eating certain roots, berries and leaves helped to alleviate the symptoms of different ailments. Other plants had little (if any) effect; and a few plants aggravated symptoms, caused vomiting and even occasionally death. This highly prized healing wisdom was passed down from one medicine man or woman to the next, together with new discoveries and innovations. This knowledge was eventually transmuted into the herbal medicine we know today.

Early civilizations also discovered that burning twigs and leaves from certain plants could produce interesting effects. Some of these smoky aromas made people drowsy, while others cured ailments; some stimulated the senses, and a few gave rise to mystical, religious experiences. The precious, magical nature of aromatic plants was honoured by burning them and offering the smoke to the gods of these early civilizations.

We can see this principle at work today in the temples of the East, where incense is still ritually burned on the altars of Hindu and Buddhist deities. The modern Catholic Church also continues its tradition of burning frankincense during church services.

Into The Modern Era

Now, in the modern world, a renewed interest in natural, plant-based healing led to the development of modern aromatherapy. In the 1920s a French chemist, Rene Gattefosse, experimented with essential oils and realized their great healing potential.

After burning his hand in a laboratory accident, he plunged his arm into some lavender essential oil. The miraculous effectiveness of lavender in healing his burn led him to further research essential oils, and to use the term aromatherapie for the first time in a scientific paper in 1928. This heralded the arrival of contemporary aromatherapy as we know it today.