The Unknown Land

“Petit Déjeuner” March 19th, 2021

Carrot Seed + Cypress

 

Daucus carota L. - Carrot Seed

Origin: France

Plant part: Seeds

Source: Wild-crafted

Method: Steam-distilled 

 

Description

The aroma of archaic memories. It smells of old wood and old leather, of old dwellings and the subtle musk of human habitation. It welcomes us to the ground. It helps us sense the hearth in the darkness, hidden roots, the comfort of belonging. Its subtle sweetness lingers in its aroma of embodiment.

We chose to sell this oil because of its ability to help us reach hidden and far-away aspects of ourselves, while at the same time keeping us grounded. It is for this reason that we find it useful coupled with oils for memory and shadow work when working with ancestors. With this ancestral work, it helps us understand the lives and contexts that our ancestors were living in and liberates any judgements we may have been holding. Carrot seed also is very balancing. It helps us find a balance between all aspects of the self so we can integrate lost and shadow elements.

 

Cupressus sempervirens L. - Cypress

Origin: France

Plant part used: Leaves and branches

Source: Wild-crafted

Method: Steam distillation

Origin: France

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Description

The Cypress Essential Oil: rich, beautiful and complex. I feel such awe working with this aroma.

It arrived at exactly the right time too. At the moment, the feminine in all of us is being asked to heal and come forward. Once this takes place, the masculine in us all needs to come into support the feminine. The problem is that many of us have wounded masculine sides, wounded by patriarchy, a cult of power that has colonized our mother lines, our bodies, nature, etc.

“We must first awaken to our [feminine] needs, feelings and values. Then the masculine can grow up and say: I stand up for these needs, these feelings, these values. I shall put them out there in the world. I shall work with you in all your creativity” Marion Woodman

Cypress Essential Oil is the ideal oil to help us tune into and find a healthy masculine resonance. Its vertical energy runs from the base chakra up to the crown chakra, giving a feeling integrity and structure. This helps us to make decisions and feel supported and focused in life.

Cypress oil is also associated with grief. The woodland god Silvanus, the divine companion of Cyparissus accidentally killed a stag, Cyparissus was consumed by grief and so Silvanus turned him into a tree and forever after carried a branch of cypress with him as a symbol of mourning.  We all need to honor the grief we are feeling collectively in the world today, the grief that comes from seeing the beautiful natural world being destroyed but we also need support for this deep grief, and this is where cypress can be very helpful. It stops us crumbling and giving up by supporting us at a very profound level with an ancient wisdom that can be felt like a deep hum connecting us to ourselves and the earth.

Sempervirens, the second part of the botanical name means ‘ever living’ and cypress trees have been planted in cemeteries in Europe as a symbol of eternal life.