Essential Oils for Lovers: How to use aromatherapy to revitalize your sex life

Essential Oils for Lovers: How to use aromatherapy to revitalize your sex life Maggie Tisserand If you’ve ever wondered how to keep your romance alive you need to look no further. This inspiring book is a treasure trove of erotic wisdom – aromatic recipes, potent aphrodisiacs and sensual massage techniques that have stood the test of time.Includes:the use of essential oils since ancient times• how to prepare sexy massage oils and remedies• how aromatic oils and massage can enhance your sex life and help with sexual difficulties• new ways of soothing, relaxing and exciting your partner with touch and fragrance• how to beautify your skin and body with luxurious oilsThe art of driving your partner wild is at your fingertips! ESSENTIAL OILS FOR LOVERS A sensual guide to aromatherpy Maggie Tisserand Copyright (#ulink_78d7d7c8-20fe-5141-9fcd-79a83a4dee94) Thorsons An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF First published by Thorsons 1993 as Aromatherapy for Lovers This edition 1999 © Maggie Tisserand 1993 Maggie Tisserand asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books. Source ISBN: 9780722537954 Ebook edition © November 2017 ISBN 9780008286484 Version 2017-11-16 Dedication (#ulink_c5731ae5-ffcf-52c7-b073-88c248ac3f80) This book is dedicated to the lover within. Contents Cover (#u80040870-47a0-57a6-b1b9-b802e81da4f5) Title Page (#ub44bfef0-335a-55eb-ad16-4cf2b32042a3) Copyright (#ulink_48da99e1-6ca5-57a1-b98c-6a36c0ab3b0f) Dedication (#ulink_69180c42-9faa-53dc-8b11-92bed4b399db) Introduction (#ulink_76d1590a-4244-53f4-888a-7f81bc3fe01c) chapter one AROMATHERAPY FOR LIFE (#ulink_40b35163-b03c-524a-8df2-bdaf39a69e76) chapter two AN EROTIC HISTORY (#ulink_c9eb1e94-7b8a-5a91-bf3c-0da78eeddc64) chapter three LASTING IMPRESSIONS (#ulink_2f202fad-a789-56d7-8eb4-6042d30e64bd) chapter four MASSAGE WITH ESSENTIAL OILS (#litres_trial_promo) chapter five BEAUTY CARE (#litres_trial_promo) chapter six ACHIEVING SEXUAL FULFILMENT (#litres_trial_promo) chapter seven AROMA AND SEXUAL RESPONSE (#litres_trial_promo) chapter eight ESSENTIAL RECIPES (#litres_trial_promo) Footnotes (#litres_trial_promo) Glossary of Oils: Their Common and Latin Names (#litres_trial_promo) Further Reading (#litres_trial_promo) Bibliography (#litres_trial_promo) Index (#litres_trial_promo) Acknowledgements (#litres_trial_promo) About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo) INTRODUCTION (#ulink_127292a5-6426-5801-9102-be291f0b9444) ‘The love of two pure lovers consists of desire and in mutual pleasing. In it nothing can be worthwhile unless their will be equal.’ JAUFR? RUDEL Sex is beautiful, fulfilling – and good exercise. No revelations here; the benefits of good sex have been known and written about for a long time. But what of the theory that sex can improve your health, strengthen your immune system and prevent the onset of disease? When sex is enhanced by aromatherapy, all this is also true. This is not a book on ‘how to get a man’ or ‘how to score with women.’ It is a book for lovers. You can be as hedonistic as the ancient Greeks and Romans, as worshipful as the Taoist Chinese or Tantric Hindu. The recipes and descriptions in this book will help you use aromatic oils to scent and massage your body and that of your partner. You can indulge all your senses, in the privacy of the bedroom. While writing this book I had to stop and ask myself the question, ‘Why am I writing a book about sex in this age of AIDS? Am I exploring an issue 30 years out of date? Am I being irresponsible?’ A bit of reflection, however, gave me my answer. There is no reason for sex to stop being fun just because it needs to be ‘safe’. And isn’t the safest sex that which takes place within a loving monogamous relationship? Monogamy need never be boring. Sex need never be boring: each of us has an innate need of pleasure and fulfilment, as well as a need to give pleasure to another. What greater or keener pleasure is there than that of sex? Sex and aromatherapy marry together perfectly. Imagine how, hundreds and even thousands of years ago, lovers rubbed scented oils onto each other’s body, experiencing the fulfilment of all their senses. Their sense of smell delighted in the wonderful perfume of natural essences intermingling with the body’s own perfume; their sense of touch revelled in the feel of massaging their loved one or in being massaged by him or her; their eyes beheld the erotic sight of oil glistening on naked skin; their ears took in spoken words of pleasure – and when they kissed, the fifth sense was fulfilled, for what finer taste is there than that of the lips of your lover? I believe that good sex is life-enhancing, as is aromatherapy. Even when sexual intercourse is not involved, the physical pleasure of touching, of intimate body contact in the form of massage – all this equals happiness, and happiness is a potent medicine. Joy and pleasure send the right stimuli to the body cells to keep them healthy. By using essential oils on a daily basis we create within ourselves a state of health and harmony. You may already be a keen advocate of aromatherapy and appreciate its benefits but if this book is your introduction to essential oils, you have a treat in store. Enjoy the sensual pleasures that lie ahead. Fragrant essences not only excite the senses and lift the emotions but also work on a deeper level, to nourish and protect the cells of the body. Aromatherapy can be used to address many health problems, enabling us, for example, to break with the antibiotic habit. In recent years the researcher Clive Wood has looked at the connection between mind, brain and the immune system. He calls this study ‘psycho-neuro-immunology’. We know, for instance, that people can truly die of a broken heart – such is the power of our emotions on our physical being. Surely we must also be able to use this power to maintain a strong and healthy body. Aromatherapy can also bring about a peaceful state of mind, which in itself can bring harmony to a relationship. Many Eastern texts, when referring to meditation, stress the importance of deep breathing. They say that the mind follows the breath. Within our polluted environment we tend to be shallow breathers. When experiencing a delightful aromatherapy massage or when soaking in a deliciously fragrant bath, we automatically take deeper breaths to savour the beauty of the scents around us. In this book I have tried to present practical tips and recipes and alternative methods of treating sexual problems as well as offering a brief history of the erotic use of aromatics since ancient times. I have also discussed the theory that inside every woman there exist attributes of several goddesses. Aphrodite, being the goddess of love and sensuality, is the one this book is most interested in revealing. By letting go of fears and preconditioning, and using essential oils with imagination and confidence, every woman can allow this part of herself to emerge and flourish. chapter one (#ulink_685fe5bc-38b5-552c-a339-6610751e7563) AROMATHERAPY FOR LIFE (#ulink_685fe5bc-38b5-552c-a339-6610751e7563) ‘Sex puts a sparkle in the eye, a glow to the cheeks and makes the world seem like a better place.’ MANTAK CHIA, Taoist Secrets of Love Few of us would argue with this sentiment, yet it’s easy to let the pressures and problems of modern living dampen our desire, making us ‘not in the mood’, preferring the television to a night of love-making. We have become too used to obtaining objects of desire – cars, holidays, fitted kitchens – merely by signing an ‘easy credit’ contract. This habit of ‘instant gratification’ can influence the way we view our sexual needs. We may believe what we see in films and read in the press, magazines and books: that sex – any kind of sex – is the answer. One-night stands, extra-marital affairs, or simply choosing partners for their sexy image are all seen as ways of fulfilling our need for intimacy. But are they really? HOLISTIC SEX Many of us recognize holistic medicine as a safe and effective system that takes an overview of the whole person – his or her lifestyle, diet and mental outlook as well as medical and hereditary history and total symptom picture. In the same way, holistic sex brings together every aspect of sexual union: the physical, mental and emotional. The sex therapist and author Barbara de Angelis writes, ‘The sexual act is so powerful because it is the closest we ever come to uniting with another human being. If that physical union is not balanced and matched by emotional closeness, the same act that can be so full of joy becomes one that leaves [us] feeling isolated, lonely and unfulfilled.’ The psychologist Erich Fromm puts it this way: ‘Sex [without love] becomes a desperate attempt to escape the anxiety engendered by separateness, and it results in an ever-increasing sense of separateness, since the sexual act without love never bridges the gap between two human beings, except momentarily.’ Figure 1: Triangle of love. Holistic sex is the mix of all three types of loving, so that we love and want our partners on a physical, mental and emotional level. Or, to put it another way, we lust after their body, thinking about them turns us on, and we bond with them emotionally. We love their mind, body and spirit with our mind, body and spirit: ‘When their bodies merge into each other, desire can turn into joy, and physical lust and its gratification can become an expression of unconditional devotion which pervades mind, body and spirit.’ ERICH FROMM, The Art of Loving Physical, mental and emotional – this is the ideal sexual mix, and within the mix are all the ingredients for a lasting and happy relationship. Holistic sex is as valid to our emotional health and happiness as holistic medicine is to our physical and mental health. And aromatherapy has its part to play in this mix. Beautiful aromas act on all three aspects of our being, and can be used in obvious and more subtle ways. INNER SEX In the 1970s an American called Timothy Gallway wrote a fascinating book called The Inner Game of Tennis. His hypothesis was that to be centered and ‘in the now’ puts us in contact with a higher power that knows instinctively what to do. Although written for tennis players, the basic message can be adopted by lovers – something inside you knows how to love, and the love is always there, irrespective of whether you currently have a partner. When you fall in love with someone the feelings of love do not come from the other person but from within you. Erich Fromm writes, ‘Respect for one’s own integrity and uniqueness, love for and understanding of one’s own self, cannot be separated from respect and love and understanding for another individual.’ He understood that we need first to love ourselves before we can truly love another, because in order to give we must feel we are rich enough in love to be generous with our love. If you are tired or depressed you cannot give. You need to take care of yourself first, utilizing the essential oils that will cleanse, uplift, heal and energize your body and emotions. Only when your cup is full can it overflow to others. ‘The inner smile is the recipe for living in simple harmony with yourself and others. The inner smile is the smile of total happiness. This is not the social smile. This smile rises from the cells and organs of the body’ MANTAK CHIA, Taoist Secrets of Love WHAT IS AROMATHERAPY? Aromatherapy uses the essential oils of plants to heal and beautify the body. Connected to herbal medicine but having its own separate identity, aromatherapy takes aromatic plant material such as basil or lavender and distils its essence, then uses this essence in numerous beneficial ways. Imagine how, thousands of years ago, humans watched wild horses running free across the plains and marvelled at their beauty and awe-inspiring speed. If someone were lucky enough to catch one by surprise, he would experience the speed, power and majesty of riding, but as soon as he dismounted the horse would be gone. Then one day humans invented rope and made a lasso. They began to catch these wild, free animals, taming them and harnessing their power. Imagine how, thousands of years ago, humans beheld the glory of the aromatic plant kingdom, rejoicing in the scent of the rose, for example. Yet people could not capture its exquisite fragrance. Then, one day, distillation was invented and the fragrance of the rose was captured forever more, to be enjoyed at any time of the day or night – any month of the year. Distillation is the rope that lassos the aromas of flowers and plants, so that their power is harnessed for our purposes. However, aromatherapy is far more than just the experience of a pleasant aroma; it is not by chance that ‘therapy’ is part of the word. For here, in using essential oils from plants, we have at our disposal many choices: we have fragrances that can lift our emotions – transporting us from depression to happiness; healing essences that work with our bodies to combat illness and disease; and aromas that can provide us with untold sensual pleasures. ESSENCES AND THE EMOTIONS How we cope in times of stress can greatly influence our general health. Our ability to ‘weather the storm’ makes all the difference between drowning in a sea of overwhelming emotion or calmly sailing through the troughs and peaks of life. At times of trouble aromatherapy can help. Just a few drops of clary sage oil on a room fragrancer or added to the bath will soon restore mental clarity and bring a clear perspective. Illness often causes depression as it interrupts the flow of what we normally expect to do – which is to be active and useful. Healing and recovery can be hindered by a depressed state, as mental depression also causes a depression of the immune system. Use any of the uplifting essences – rose, ylang ylang, lavender, bergamot, geranium, rosewood, rosemary, sandalwood, neroli or petigrain – to remove unnecessary burdens from the body and allow it to repair itself. Our ‘will’ is a powerful tool that we can use for our own benefit and for the benefit of others, but only if we recognize that we own such a tool. Will power is linked to the solar plexus, and when we are under attack from negative emotions, whether our own or someone else’s, the solar plexus area becomes very tender. It is a vulnerable and highly sensitive area of the body, and is where ‘gut feelings’ are registered. Overloading this area can result in loss of will-power, a feeling of helplessness and the inability to effect positive change. ‘I feel as though I have been punched in the gut’ is a familiar cry from someone who has suffered an emotional shock, as is the expression, ‘I’m gutted.’ Diluted essential oils, when applied to the solar plexus, can help to heal and protect this susceptible region. BEAUTY INSIDE AND OUT Because of their beneficial action on the skin, essential oils make perfect skin care products. Valuable research into this area has been conducted by Dietrich Gumbel. He says that ‘Blood sugars, which have been stored in fat deposits, are released by the use of sandalwood [oil], so that the sugars can reach the skin and oxidize, thus vitalizing the skin. Skin water-retention is improved and the elasticity of fibres is maintained.’ In other words, sandalwood helps your skin stay moisturized and young-looking, from within. Lavender, rose, bergamot, rosewood and ylang ylang are invaluable if you want to maintain a healthy, glowing complexion. Acne and even chronic skin problems such as eczema and psoriasis can be treated successfully with soothing essential oils. Tea tree, lemon, lavender and geranium regulate the skin’s production of sebaceous oils, and so can help treat greasy hair. And a combination of tea tree oil and the ‘liquid wax’ of the jojoba plant makes for a very effective treatment for dandruff. More on aromatherapy for healthy and beautiful skin and hair can be found in Chapter 5 (#litres_trial_promo). STAYING IN TUNE Aromatherapy self-help can strengthen our bodies and protect us from succumbing to colds, flu and other diseases. Oils that help to fight viral and bacterial infections include lavender, ravansara, niaouli, bergamot, tea tree, lemon and myrtle. Any one of these, diluted in a base oil, may be massaged into your back and chest to help you to feel better. With the possible exception of tea tree (which cannot be said to be pleasant smelling), any of the other, oils makes a wonderfully soothing and healthy bath. As only 4 - 6 drops are required for a therapeutic bath, using essential oils is also a very economic way of staying healthy. Blends of these essences can be made following the instructions in Chapter 8 (#litres_trial_promo). More detailed information on the use of essential oils for curing common ailments can be found in my book, Aromatherapy for Women. THE GODDESS WITHIN Over the centuries gender roles have shifted; what is expected of women has changed dramatically; more importantly, the way women view themselves and their position in society and in relationships has altered drastically. Today’s woman is multifaceted; often juggling a career, husband, children, politics, the pursuit of sports and much else besides. In a remarkable book called The Goddess Within psychologists Jennifer and Roger Woolger attribute these different facets of a woman’s psyche to six major goddesses: Demeter, the nurturer; Hera, the power-seeker; Athena, the wise and confident career woman; Artemis, the lover of Nature and freedom; Persephone, the intuitive, psychic, sensitive aspect of a woman; and of course Aphrodite, goddess of love, ruler over sensuality, the arts and beauty in all things. The balance between these different goddesses will vary from woman to woman and from time to time, even within one woman when her lifestyle forces her to embrace one goddess more fully. As the authors of this marvellous book say, ‘To know oneself more fully as a woman is to know which goddess one is primarily ruled by and to be aware of how different goddesses influence the various stages and turning points of one’s life.’ For aromatherapy it is Aphrodite particularly who interests us. She is the goddess governing perfumery, sensuality, massage, cosmetics and all things aesthetic and joyful. To be ashamed of your sexuality means that you are not sufficiently in touch with the Aphrodite part of yourself. Aromatherapy can help you to get and stay in touch with this element of your psyche; oils such as rose or myrtle can help you to identify with this goddess within. You share with all women an innate sensuality, and should rejoice in it. You may be a partner, mother, co-worker, but you are also a vibrant, sexy, sensual being. In Greek myth, myrtle was the plant chosen by Aphrodite to hide her nakedness and it has been associated with her ever since. To let go of your business stresses, domestic strains, mental worries or physical aches and pains and connect with the loving, sensual woman within, take a myrtle bath in a quiet, subtly lit room. Imagine that you are free from your current problems, allow yourself to be enveloped in this timeless fragrance while it cleanses, soothes and inspires you. Allow your imagination to make you feel that you are a goddess – after all, you are breathing the same aromas as the goddess did, all those millennia ago. Rose oil is soothing to the heart and is comforting in time of sorrow; through its uplifting powers it removes psychological pain and opens up a channel to sensitivity, love and empathy. It balances a woman’s hormonal system and would be useful for anyone who feels ‘at a distance’ from her emotional centre. Using geranium and clary sage oils will help to harmonize a body that has been neglected and is tense and lacking in sensitivity, whether male or female. When you become aggressive and full of stress a massage using clary sage, rose, myrtle or geranium will rebalance the male/female forces within you, resulting in a calmer, more lovable you. When the pressures of holding down a job or the trauma of losing a job have temporarily ‘castrated’ you, and the joy of making love seems like a distant memory, then once again aromatherapy can be of assistance. Using those aromatics that contain phyto-hormones (plant hormones) can restore harmony to your body and mind, leading to a calmer way of being, and allowing you to accept help and healing from those around you. Being in harmony and being in touch with yourself brings about the ability to empathize with and reach out to others in their time of suffering. The Greek god Apollo, representing life, immortality, harmonious balance, beauty and goodness, could be considered to be the male version of Aphrodite. The way to become the perfect lover is to be beautiful from the inside out – and allowing aromatic essences to make you feel beautiful is a step in the right direction. ‘Of all the ten thousand things created by heaven, man is the most precious. Of all the things that make man prosper, none can be compared to sexual intercourse.’ LI TUNG HSUAN, Ars Amatoria (The Art of the Bedchamber) chapter two (#ulink_739894d4-e3bb-5a9f-bc05-df43c945e3ea) AN EROTIC HISTORY (#ulink_739894d4-e3bb-5a9f-bc05-df43c945e3ea) ‘Therefore I come forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee. I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of love until morning, let us solace ourselves with love.’ PROVERBS 7 The word ‘aromatherapy’ may have been coined in the twentieth century but the use of aromatic oils and unguents for religious and sexual purposes goes back thousands of years, to the dawn of civilization. It is difficult to pinpoint which civilization first had the knowledge of perfumery and aromatherapy. The ancient Chinese say that The Yellow Emperor first brought medicine and perfumes to the world, while in India the birth of perfumery is attributed to the god Indra. Most probably the art of aromatherapy passed on like this: ancient China/India ? Egyptians/Hebrews ? Greeks ? Romans ? throughout the Roman Empire/Arab world ? on to Europe/rest of the world. Wherever aromatics were grown people recognized their contribution to sexual and religious ecstasy and, realizing the value of these commodities, travelled to other lands to trade, selling the aromatic plants that grew in their own land and buying aromatics that did not. In this way the knowledge of perfumery/aromatherapy spread. AROMATHERAPY THROUGH THE AGES SCENT AND SEX IN ANCIENT CHINA AND JAPAN Sexual union between man and woman was the basic concept behind Yin and Yang, the ancient Chinese polar and complementary forces of life. The Chinese believed that sexual union had a cosmic influence on world events. Earthquakes, tidal waves, fierce winds – all these were attributable to disharmony. The emperor and empress of China epitomized the balance of the positive and negative elements in the realm. Special court ladies kept records (with a special red writing brush) of the sexual relations between the emperor and his wives. According to R. H. Gulik, ‘ancient China considered the clouds to be earth’s ova, which are fertilized by the rain, heaven’s sperm.’ The emperor had one wife, with whom he copulated once a month. He would practise the Taoist discipline of having sex without ejaculating, which allowed him to indulge in sexual relations many times in the space of one night. Although he only had sex with his wife once a month, he also had three consorts, nine wives of second rank, 27 wives of third rank and 81 concubines. Conserving his sperm was the only way in which he could make love with these 121 different women! Far from being exhausted by so much activity, the Chinese recognized that ‘during sexual union the man’s vital force is fed and strengthened by that of the woman, supposed to reside in her vaginal secretions’ Old Chinese sexual guidebooks preach that the more times one has sex without ejaculating the greater the benefits to the health. Once – and the vital essence are strengthened; twice – there will be an improvement in sight and hearing; three times – and all diseases will be cured; further practice – will result in the man’s having a religious experience. By recycling the semen it was thought that the brain would be nourished and that longevity would be assured. In their time these sex manuals would have played another very important role – that of mentally exciting the emperor, for it would not be possible for him to feel aroused by each of his women when he needed to make love with at least three every day of the week. Yin and Yang depended upon the harmony between a man and a woman, and as a woman is slower to be aroused and to reach orgasm than a man, it would be up to him to preserve the harmony and satisfy her needs by practising ‘The Tao of Loving’: ‘Man is fire, which quickly flares up and can easily be extinguished. Woman is water, which takes longer to heat up, but once hot, cools down slowly. Fire is extinguished by water and water is heated by fire.’ At the same time it was recognized that inside every man there was some feminine and inside every woman there was some masculine. Harmony between the two is only possible if the man is in harmony with himself and the woman in harmony with herself. Having found harmony within himself, the man could practise Taoist sex, making love to his chosen partner for several hours at a time, without expending his ejaculate. Many Chinese herbs, such as ginseng, were useful in strengthening sexual potency; aromatic spices and herbs were used regularly both to enhance sexual union and to promote harmony between the two partners. Such was the Japanese understanding of the importance of sexual expression that the genitals were worshipped. Ancient fertility festivals frequently culminated in a sexual free for all. Phallic worship is one of the oldest aspects of religion in Japan, and even today a shrine exists in Kanamara with a giant wooden phallus on which grandmothers sit their small grand-daughters in the hope that they will receive good luck for a fertile and happy marriage. Courtship rituals were often elaborate affairs, with go-betweens carrying letters and poems. Sometimes a poem would be written on tinted paper, according to the season of the year, and delivered on a heavily scented fan. If the correspondence was mutually encouraging, it would result in the suitor making a night call to the lady. ‘Stealing behind the curtains and into the scented darkness of the waiting lady’s bedchamber, the man simply removed his clothing and got into bed with her’ (Nicholas Bornoff, Pink Samurai). Sex was guiltlessly regarded as one of the pleasures of life – and free love was very common place. Attached to the kimono sashes of both sexes were little boxes called Inro. These were used for medicines and love potions and other aids to sexual fulfilment. The Japanese passion for incense was transformed into an art still practised today by devotees of Kodo and known as the Way of Incense. In ancient times perfumes would waft through the temples, clothing and people’s homes, and of course bath water was delicately scented. Bathing in Japan was and still is a very important ritual. Washing was done first outside the bath, and only after scrubbing away the dirt and dead skin debris and rinsing thoroughly did the bather step into the deliciously scented tub of water, where the cares of the day were soothed away. TANTRIC SEX Tantra or Tantric sex is the Indian equivalent of Taoist sex. The major difference is that Tantra is seen to be a step on the road to spiritual enlightenment and mystical union, whereas practising Taoist sex does not require a belief system, merely the cultivation of will power. The Hindu words for the genital organs are ‘lingam’ for the man and ‘yoni’ for the woman, and these organs – which to us are associated with sex, birth and maturity – have in Indian culture a much more spiritual association. Just as the Christian theory of the origin of the world is the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve, so in India the god Shiva and his mighty lingam is believed to have brought the world into existence. Throughout India there are shrines – elaborate ones in temples and simpler ones tucked away on side streets – where the lingam and yoni can be worshipped. Sex in all its forms is considered acceptable and beautiful. A nation that reveres the sex organs certainly has no sexual hang-ups compared to Western nations, and India’s openness to and unabashed enjoyment of sex has provided the world with the most famous sex manual of all – the Kama Sutra. This text’s illustrations of the various sex postures is not considered pornographic nor is its discussion of oral sex meant to be taboo but a normal part of healthy love-making. Yet eye contact is still considered the most important facet of love-making, because the eyes are windows to the soul, and Tantra is the experience of God within oneself and within one’s partner, through sexual union. Perfumes, particularly sandalwood, went easily from the temple to the bedchamber. The Hindu god Indra is always represented with his breast tinged with sandalwood. Kama, Hindu god of love, is always pictured holding a bow and arrow. The bow is made of sugar cane, the string consists of bees, and each of his five arrows is tipped with the blossom of a flower. The arrows are meant to pierce the heart of the recipient through one of his or her five senses. One arrow is tipped with the jasmine flower, known for its aphrodisiac value. Kama Sutra, or Kama Shastri, means ‘Scripture of Love’, as Kama is the Hindu word for love and is the equivalent of Eros or Cupid. The Kama Sutra has many references to aromatics, as they were an intrinsic part of the sexual act: ‘… the outer room, balmy with rich perfumes, should contain a bed, soft, agreeable to the sight, covered with a clean white cloth, low in the middle part, having garlands and bunches of flowers upon it, and a canopy above it, and two pillows, one at the top, another at the bottom. There should also be a sort of couch besides and at the head of this a sort of stool, on which should be placed the fragrant ointments for the night, as well as flowers … and other fragrant substances.’ The Ananga Ranga, another Indian text, rivals the Kama Sutra and gives the following recipe for a night of passion: ‘… scattered about this apartment, place musical instruments, bottles of rose-water and various essences … Both man and woman should contend against any reserve, or false shame, giving themselves up in complete nakedness to unrestrained voluptuousness, upon a high and handsome bedstead; the sheets being sprinkled with flowers, such as aloes and other fragrant woods. In such a place, let the man, ascending the throne of love, enjoy the woman in ease and comfort, gratifying his and her every wish and every whim.’ A lovely story of man’s use of perfumes to seduce a woman comes from The Perfumed Garden, written by Sheik Nefzawi late in the fourteenth century: Two prophets lived at the same time, and Sheja, the prophetess, wrote a letter to Mosailama, refuting his right to call himself a prophet. Mosailama sought advice from his counsellors, who recommended that he invite Sheja for a meeting to discuss their problem. In preparation for Sheja’s arrival, Mosailama was to erect a tent of coloured brocade on the outskirts of town, and then ‘fill it with delicious perfumes of various kinds, amber, musk and scented flowers such as the rose, orange blossom, jonquil, jasmine, hyacinth, pink and others similar. That done you will place in the tent golden cassolettes filled with perfumes … Then the tent must be closed so that none of the perfume can escape, and when the vapours have become sufficiently intense to impregnate the water in the tent, you will mount your throne and send for the prophetess, who will remain with you in the tent alone. When she inhales the perfumes she will be delighted, all her joints will slacken and she will swoon away. After having possessed her you will be spared trouble from her.’ When everything was in order Mosailama sent for Sheja, who quickly became stupefied and began to lose her presence of mind. Instead of discussing their conflicts, Mosailama knew he could have his way with her and asked, ‘Whatever posture you prefer, speak, and you will be satisfied.’ ‘I want it all ways,’ replied the prophetess, thus bringing to a satisfactory end the dispute between the two prophets. As much credence was given to the rejuvenating properties of aromatic plants as to their seductive powers: ‘If you wish to repeat the act, perfume yourself with sweet odours, then approach the woman and you will attain a happy result.’ Kama Sutra ‘He who will feed for several days on eggs cooked with myrrh, cinnamon and pepper will find an increased vigour in his erections and in his capacity for coition.’ The Perfumed Garden Little wonder that these ‘scriptures of love’ were written in a part of the world where sun and sex were a daily delight, where sandalwood trees grew in abundance, otto of roses was distilled and hundreds, of aromatic spices, grasses and flowers were a part of everyday life. ANCIENT EGYPTIANS AND HEBREWS It is from India, as well as from China, that the ancient Egyptians obtained their knowledge and their supplies of many aromatics. The Egyptians were the inventors of the public baths, later borrowed by the Romans and adopted as their own. After their daily ablutions the Egyptians would rub themselves all over with fragrant oils and ointments. The unguents used were many and varied and were primarily dispensed by the priests, who alone were acquainted with the mysteries of the compounding art. From the priests, who could be called the first perfumers, the skills were learned by the temple attendants and then by ordinary members of the populace. It must be remembered that a perfume and a medicine were one and the same to the ancient Egyptians. In the time of the Pharaohs, Egyptian women appreciated the value of perfumes for sexual attraction and hundreds of formulations were known. Perfumes were used to camouflage body odours, to scent the homes and public meeting places, and to fragrance the hair and even the genitalia. The passion for perfumes went on increasing in Egypt until the time of Cleopatra, when it can be said to have reached its climax. Queen Cleopatra used aromatics in a lavish way, which may have been a contributing factor to her active sex life. As well as being lover to Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony, she is said to have fellated 100 centurions in a single day! Certainly she was no novice in the art of seduction: when summoned by Mark Anthony to meet him on the banks of the Tiber, she drenched the sails of her barge with jasmine and other heavy sensual aromatics. Having sailed to where he waited, she invited Mark Anthony on board. ‘The very winds were lovesick,’ Shakespeare writes in Anthony and Cleopatra, and this may account for the fact that Mark Anthony was completely spellbound by Cleopatra, to the exclusion of all duties and obligations to his country. Hebrews were kept as slaves in Egypt, and after their release brought the arts of perfumery to their own people. Perfume was one of the means of seduction resorted to by Judith when she sought Holofernes in his tent, determined to liberate her people from his oppression. Elsewhere in the Old Testament the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon act out their erotic and aromatic fantasy: ‘My lover has the scent of myrrh, he shall lie all night on my breasts.’ Other known aphrodisiacs are mentioned in Proverbs: ‘I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.’ GREEK GODS AND ROMAN EMPERORS Many beautiful and romantic stories describe the origin of aromatic use, and none is more beguiling than the Greek version. The goddess Aphrodite arose from the waves and, realizing her nakedness, plucked some sprigs from a myrtle bush to cover herself. This is why, it is said, the myrtle plant has leaves shaped like a vagina, the outer lips (labia majora) being likened to ‘the lips of the myrtle’ and the inner (labia minora) to ‘the fruit of the myrtle’. Aphrodite was worshipped as the goddess of love, beauty, sexuality and passion; she ruled all things sensual including the knowledge of the sexual use of aromatic plants. From her name we have the word ‘aphrodisiac’; her son’s name, Eros, gives us ‘erotic’. According to Greek legend the art of perfumery came to mortals when Aphrodite’s handmaiden, Oenone, confided in her lover Paris. Paris, after anointing himself with aromatics, managed to steal Helen of Troy away from her husband Menelaus. When Helen eventually returned to Greece she brought with her the knowledge of perfumery. Another of Helen’s lovers, Alexandras, was saved from the clutches of the jealous Menelaus by Aphrodite, who ‘snatched him away with the ease of a god, wrapped him in thick mist, and set him down in his sweetly-scented bedroom’. Aphrodite then united the lovers: ‘She took hold of Helen’s sweet-smelling dress and twitched it with her hand. “Come this way, Alexandras is calling you back to the house. He is there in the bedroom, on the carved bed, shining in his own beauty.”’ Aphrodite was not always so kind, for when the women of Lemnos refused to pay homage to her she cursed them with a foul smell which made their husbands turn away from them. In despair and frustration they massacred their menfolk and lived empty celibate lives until Jason and the Argonauts arrived on the island during a tempestuous storm. So desperate for sex were these women of Lemnos that they bartered hospitality for love-making, but to enable this to take place they first had to burn vast quantities of incense on the alter of Aphrodite, not only to appease the goddess but so the sensual odours would mask the foul smell they’d been cursed with. Ancient Greeks colonized parts of Italy; in Sybaris the men and women bathed several times a day in aromatic water and it was this indulgence in the physical pleasures that gave us the word ‘sybaritic’. Later when the Romans began to amass their Empire, conquering Southern Italy, the knowledge of perfumery passed to Rome. The Roman goddess of love and sensuality was Venus, and she too was supposed to have been born from the sea and to have covered her nakedness with myrtle leaves. The Three Graces in attendance on Venus and her son Cupid were crowned with myrtle leaves; when accompanying The Muses, however, they wore wreaths of roses. Rose essence was called ‘the blood of Venus’ and Roman temples were always adorned with roses. Venus gave us the word ‘venery’, meaning sexual desire, and ‘venereal’ (of the sexual organs), and it is not coincidence that Venice is called ‘city of lovers’. Roman feasts in honour of Bacchus, god of wine and lust, were elaborate occasions, with roses being as important a commodity as wine, women and food. The Romans were obsessed by the rose. Rose-water perfumed the public baths, flowed from fountains in the emperor’s palaces and were strewn everywhere at banquets. Even wine was rose-scented – and the cure for over-indulgence? Rose-water. Although not the earliest aromatherapists, the Romans knew that perfumes in general possessed medicinal properties. The most popular recipes were inscribed on marble tablets in the temple of Venus. Brides-to-be in the fourth century BC were anointed with aromatic oils prior to their wedding. Romans borrowed from the Egyptians the use of the public bath, which they would visit daily. Ovid, the great poet in the time of the Emperor Augustus, told the Romans ‘Adonis is a woodland boy, but became the darling of Venus. It is by simple cleanliness that you should seek to attract …’ Rome in Nero’s time had over 1,000 unctuaria (baths that specialized in the use of fragrances). Nero’s wife Poppaea bathed in scented ass’s milk. She was a poet, and wrote ‘Wives are out of fashion now/Mistresses are in/Rose leaves are dated/Now cinnamon’s the thing.’ Eating, drinking, bathing and copulating were not only indulged in but actually worshipped. One month in every year male genitals were worshipped in honour of the god Liber. The month of this phallic worship corresponded to the time of year ruled by Libra. Romans worshipped the genitals as the gateway to immortality both for their procreative powers and because it was believed that one could attain spiritual union with the gods by reaching sexual heights of ecstasy, as was believed by those who practised the Indian Tantra. BYZANTIUM Wherever we look in history and see how the mighty empires rose and fell we can see evidence of aromatics used for sensual pleasures. After the fall of the Roman Empire power passed to the Eastern Empire, as Byzantium became the hub of trade. Harem women relied heavily on the use of aromatics, for their beauty, their ability to satisfy their master sexually, and to appease their boredom during the long hot days with nothing better to do than prepare for a night of love-making. Spices such as cloves and ginger were rubbed onto the body, because the women of the harem believed that these aromatics had the ability to increase sexual power. Bathing was not only a necessary obligation but the main social event of the day, where dozens of nude beauties whiled away the hours. The bathing ritual lasted for several hours, and afterwards ‘they at once spring upon their sofas, where the attentive slaves fold them in warm clothes, and pour essences upon their hair, which they twist loosely without attempting to dislodge the wet … and then cover with handsome handkerchiefs or embroidered muslin … perfumed water is scattered over the face and hands, and the exhausted bather sinks into a luxurious slumber beneath a coverlet of satin or eider down.’ EUROPE AND THE NEW WORLD In Europe perfume, although introduced by the Romans, went out of fashion and was only really reintroduced when the Crusaders returned from their travels and their wives found themselves competing with the seductive memories they brought home with them. Exotic perfumes brought home by the Crusaders became popular with the women, who took to wearing perfume in an attempt to lay the ghosts of Arabian nights to rest and so to regain their husband’s affections. ‘With the Renaissance the perfumer’s art was revived with a vengeance … it was also acceptable once more for men and women to search openly for the erotic.’ Catherine de Medici adored aromatics, especially neroli, which she transplanted from her native Italy to the South of France when she became wife of Henry II. Despite the fact that Diane de Poitiers was the young and beautiful mistress of the king, Catherine managed to give him five heirs. The Empress Josephine loved scents and, being a Creole brought up in Martinique, she was used to wearing oils and creams of almond and coconut impregnated with heady aromas from jasmine and other heavily scented flowers. She was fanatical about the use of aromatics and impregnated the walls of her bedroom with musk. Her favourite flower was the violet. Napoleon gave her instructions to wear only orange-water, lavender-water and eau de Cologne when she visited him on location, claiming that her perfumes distracted him to such an extent that he could not concentrate on planning his battle strategies. But when they had been apart for a lengthy period he would send word to her: ‘Je reviens en trois jours, ne te laves pas’ (I return in three days, don’t wash), so potent did he find her natural body odours. When Josephine died Napoleon had violets planted on her tomb, and in loving memory of their nights of passion he wore a pressed violet in the gold locket which he wore constantly round his neck. Though pomanders were originally used for medicinal purposes, in the seventeenth century many upper-class European women wore them solely as a means of enveloping themselves in an aura of perfume, in order to attract the attentions of a lover. Perfumed bracelets became popular as, it was believed, they ‘by their odiferous scent conduce much, to the making your captives numerous, though they bind only your arms, yet they take men your prisoners’ The use of aromatics for seduction became so rife in Europe that the English Parliament of 1770 even passed an act intended to protect men from being beguiled into marriage by the fairer sex. ‘All women, of whatever age … that shall from and after such act, impose upon, seduce and betray in matrimony, any of his subjects, by the use of scents, paints, cosmetics … shall incur the penalty of the law in force against witchcraft and like misdemeanours and that marriage shall stand null and void.’ Witch-hunts and the Puritanism of Cromwell’s reign did much to destroy the love of perfumes, sensual pleasures and open sexuality. During the Restoration perfumes made a comeback and one popular scent was an orange fragrance created in memory of Nell Gwynne, mistress of Charles II, as her humble origins were that of an orange-seller. Elsewhere around the globe people were also employing aromatics in their love lives. Women in Senegal used the tubers of the ginger plant to make belts, with the aim of arousing the dormant senses of their men. In North America, Native American tribes made a tea from juniper berries which they drank as a contraceptive. At wedding rituals great bowls of yucca suds (aloe vera) were prepared so that the bride and groom could ceremonially wash each other’s head. Every civilization has employed aromatics in the course of a fulfilling sex life, and only in times of repression and fear has the use and appreciation of sensual aromatics been lost. ‘Man only doth smell and take delight in the odours of flowers and sweet things. Sweet scents are the sweet vehicles of still sweeter thoughts.’ WALTER LANDOR chapter three (#ulink_fb6222b0-d7c7-580f-9fe2-786f0a43aad6) LASTING IMPRESSIONS (#ulink_fb6222b0-d7c7-580f-9fe2-786f0a43aad6) ‘He found her as she slept in the beauty of her palace. She awakened at the fragrance of the god, which she smelled in the presence of his majesty. When he came before her, she rejoiced in the sight of his beauty. His love passed into her limbs, which the fragrance of the god flooded.’ From an inscription on the chamber wall of an Egyptian pyramid ENHANCING YOUR NATURAL BODY SCENT Each of us has our own ‘smell’ which is as unique as our fingerprints. Mostly we are unable to detect it ourselves because our noses become ‘satiated’ with one smell after a short period of time – just as when we apply perfume and cannot smell it after half an hour even though other people can be aware of it for many hours. Uniquely personal, we can often only detect our own scent when we take a worn item of clothing from the back of the wardrobe and realize that it needs laundering. This is our ‘stale’ scent, however, an aroma we find disagreeable and do not choose to be associated with; yet our ‘fresh’ scent signature is one that we take with us wherever we go and by which we are recognizably us. Smell has very strong erotic connotations, and we can be attracted to or repelled by another person by the way he smells. Just as you can love someone for the softness of her skin, so you can love someone for the smell of it. Part of loving someone is loving his smell, and ‘just as it may be difficult to live with someone whose voice is unpleasantly loud or shrill, so it may be impossible to live with someone whose body smell is disagreeable.’ Some North African tribes give so much credence to personal aroma that the wife can be instantly divorced if she does not smell ‘right’. Your individual aroma can be affected by what you put into your system – food, alcohol, coffee and other strong drink, cigar or cigarette smoke, etc., and by your mental and spiritual attitudes. Anger or fear, for example, can alter your smell as your body releases adrenaline. In an acute situation this chemical change may be insignificant, but if it becomes chronic due to the pressures of work, then your body chemistry can be altered to such a degree that your partner no longer ‘recognizes’ the person he fell in love with. Acupuncturists are trained to recognize different body smells, and so are able to utilize the sense of smell as a diagnostic tool. Spiritual harmony is supposed to imbue the body with a beautiful aroma, and reports from India claim that after the death of holy men there is sometimes a lingering aroma of beautiful blossoms. It is interesting to note that the Japanese, who have long employed a daily relaxing bath in scented water, do not have an underarm smell – there are of course a few exceptions, but in general their understanding of the need to create harmony in their everyday lives, and their conscious effort ‘not to disturb the “wa”’ (harmony) may have caused a systematic physiological change over the passage of time. Sexual excitement causes all sorts of exotic odours to emanate from the body – from the breath, the skin and in particular the genitalia. In many successful relationships the partners are able to recognize each other’s smells, as the body’s natural perfume is indeed a potent method of non-verbal communication. An experiment showing that when a woman’s vaginal secretions were applied to her chest she and her partner had sex more often has recently been reported in the British Journal of Sexual Medicine Конец ознакомительного фрагмента. Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес». 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