Essential Oils with a Male Psyche

You may remember I wrote a blog post on the Floral essential oils and how they remind me of women at certain stages in their lives. Well it came to me, while teaching the Aromatherapy group, that perhaps I ought to do the same about the oils which I think of as being “male”, or having male attributes. They can’t be pinned down to a particular type of oils, although they are mainly woody or spicy. It helps too if you have an identifiable male celebrity to think about.

Atlas Cedarwood – Cedrus atlantica Stands tall and strong. Athletic. In it for the long haul. Think Sir Steve Redgrave.

Sandalwood – Santalum album The mage of oils, by that I mean he is a wizard. The strong, silent type who will only let you have what is in his heart when it has matured, when it has become a real treasure. Here I’m thinking of one of the great Indian musicians like Ravi Shankar or Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, or a prog musician such as Steve Hackett, whose guitar playing has improved with age and continues to improve.

Black Pepper – Piper nigrum Spiky, hot-tempered, but strong with a real warm heart of gold. Sir Bob Geldof here: not to everyone’s taste perhaps, but his achievements are undoubted.

Orange – Citrus sinensis Maybe it surprises you that there is a citrus oil in here, but Orange always strikes me as the comedian of oils: puts a glow on your face and a gleam in your eye. Maybe a sort of Michael McIntyre personality.

Frankincense – Boswellia carterii A favourite uncle or a mentor, a man who takes you under his wing and shows you mysteries of life, whether it’s how to catch a carp or how to watch a butterfly emerge from a chrysalis. Sir David Attenborough perhaps.

Peppermint – Mentha piperita A teen idol here, one whose first encounter with you blows your mind and you become a fan, only to find he’s gone not long after. Sweet Gene Vincent: young, and old, and gone.

Copaiba balsam – Copaifera officinalis The conductor of essential oils. One who brings oils together and creates something greater than the sum of the individual parts, just as Sir George Martin did with the Beatles.

Tea tree – Melaleuca alternifolia Has been described as a first aid kit in a bottle, or possibly a Stanley knife in a bottle! As it’s Australian in origin, the Crocodile Dundee character is the most appropriate man to think of. Someone who knows what to do in order to survive in extreme circumstances.