If you are interested in using Aromatherapy here are some essential oils and their uses:

• AJWAN, a kind of wild celery seed from India, is pungent and hot. It is stimulating, diaphoretic, aphrodisiac and antirheumatic, particularly good for Vata. It can be used as a spice or a tea or as part of steam therapy.

• ALMOND: Here we are referring to the essential oil from the almond, not its heavy or fatty oil. It is bitter, sweet and warm. It strengthens the lungs and nerves and reduces Vata. It is good for cough and also helps dissolve congestion and tumors.

• ALOESWOOD: Also called Agaru or Aquilaria this is an important incense and fragrance in the orient, second only to sandalwood in its usage. Aloeswood is pungent, sweet and warm. It is stimulant, aphrodisiac and analgesic and has good restorative properties for the kidneys, bones and reproductive system.

• BASIL is pungent and warm. It cleanses the mind, nerves and senses and purifies the air. It counters fever, clears phlegm, and has good antiviral action. It also cleanses the large intestine and removes apana, the negative or downward moving life‑force. It increases devotion and gives space. It is good to have holy basil (tulsi) plant in our house or healing area for maintaining the purity of our psychic environment.

• BENZOIN or Loban in India is cool, calming and nurturing. It soothes the nerves, settles the emotions, stimulates higher awareness and helps promote meditation.

• CALAMUS is pungent, bitter and warm. It cleanses the subtle channels of the mind and nervous system. It improves the senses, particularly hearing, and strengthens and regenerates our power of speech. Inwardly it increases intelligence and wisdom and strengthens Tejas, the fire of the mind and affords perception of the inner Self. It helps us let go of the past and helps ward off ghosts and other negative entities. It is useful in exorcism and helps stop possession by various entities, including the gods. For this, it can be burned and the smoke (which is not that pleasant in smell) allowed to fill the room.

• CAMPHOR is pungent, hot and stimulating. It strongly opens the mind, senses and lungs and increases our powers of perception and meditation. It is very cleansing, antiparasitical and antiseptic. It is strongly analgesic, as for headaches or arthritic pain. It is an important incense for Puja and helps allow the subtle energies of spiritual rituals to enter into the mind. It energizes the power of Shiva (pure consciousness). The natural resin should not be taken internally in amounts more than one gram at a time.

• CARDAMOM is pungent, sweet and warm. It stimulates the mind and heart, the digestion and circulation. It gives joy, delight and creativity and helps counter dullness and depression. It is good during pregnancy for its harmonizing effect.

• CEDAR is pungent, bitter, sweet and warm, stimulating, cleansing and antiseptic. It is good for arthritis, edema and diabetes. It also strengthens the lungs and heart.

• CINNAMON is pungent, sweet and warm. It is stimulating and promotes circulation and relieves pain. It strengthens the heart, the muscles and improves fertility and sexual function. It gives strength and empowers the will.

• CLOVE is pungent and warm. It is stimulating, expectorant and analgesic, and mildly aphrodisiac. It awakens the senses and has a decongestant action. It makes us more joyful and lively.

• EUCALYPTUS is pungent, warm and stimulating, much like camphor. It opens the mind, senses and lungs and is both analgesic and antiseptic. It is good for phlegm, stagnation, toxicity and depression. It cleanses the psychic air.

• FRANKINCENSE, like its relative myrrh, is very cleansing to the blood and to the nerves, the head and heart. It relieves pain and strengthens the joints. It calms the mind, increases faith and promotes purity, virtue, detachment and devotion. It is pungent, astringent, bitter, sweet and warm.

• GARDENIA is sweet, bitter and cool. It cleanses the blood, liver, kidneys and heart and counters infection and fevers of all kinds. It is similar to jasmine, but milder as an aphrodisiac for the female. It is good for uterine infections.

• GARLIC is pungent, hot and unpleasant. It is an important oil by itself for its antibiotic and antiseptic properties. Hence, it is only used for acute conditions and not as a fragrance. It can have a grounding affect if taken or inhaled in conditions of hysteria, fright or convulsions. It is said to help ward off negative entities, but is also said to repel the gods.

• GINGER: We can press out the juice of fresh ginger root and obtain a high percentage of the oil. It is pungent, sweet and warm. It is a good stimulant and analgesic for colds, flus, head pain, lung congestion and joint and muscle pain. It also helps improve the pulse and strengthen the appetite. Dry ginger can be used this way as a paste. Ginger promotes joy, happiness and creativity. The flower fragrance can also be used.

• GUGGUL: This Ayurvedic resin has similar properties to myrrh and frankincense. It is not quite as specific to the female reproductive system, but is generally better for the nerves. It balances Vata in the deeper tissues for bone, marrow and reproductive.

• HEENA: This is a special warming oil from India. It is good for Kapha and Vata but can increase Pitta. It promotes perception and clarity of mind and is good for the Third Eye.

• HONEYSUCKLE is sweet, bitter and cool. It cleanses the blood and plasma and strengthens the lungs. It is good for colds and contagious flus. It is refrigerant and good for heatstroke, sunstroke or insomnia and purifies and cools the brain.

• IRIS is sweet, bitter and cool. It cleanses the blood, liver and lymphatics, is laxative, counters infections, and helps counter negative emotions like jealousy, envy, anger and hatred.

• JASMINE is sweet, bitter and a little warm. It strengthens the female reproductive system and makes the female more attractive and alluring. For this reason, it may have a warming action on the male. It is clearing, cleansing and antitumor in action and good for breast or uterine infections or cancer. It purifies the mind and emotions.

• JUNIPER is pungent, bitter, sweet and warm, stimulating, cleansing and antiseptic. It is good for arthritis, edema and diabetes. Juniper branches can be burned to clear the air. Juniper is one of the most common bushes in nature and in ornamental gardening, so one can usually be found not far away.

• LAVENDER is pungent, sweet and not very hot. It calms the emotions and soothes the nerves. It promotes contentment and is good for women, as in P.M.S. and for agitated children. It is particularly good for Vata.

• LEMON BALM is pungent, sour, sweet and cool. It is calming and relaxing. It is a good refrigerant for fevers and also good for calming children.

• LEMON GRASS is pungent, sour and cool. It is diuretic, expectorant and refrigerant. It aids in the cleansing of the lungs and kidneys.

• LILY is sweet and cool. It calms the heart, soothes the nerves, harmonizes the emotions and is good for irritability, anxiety and insomnia. It counters dry cough and nurtures the lungs and stomach. It increases faith, devotion, virtue and purity and gives us contentment.

• LOTUS is sweet, a little bitter and cool. It calms the mind and heart, and promotes deep sleep or meditation. It increases love, faith, devotion and compassion and helps build Ojas. It strengthens the reproductive system and the nerves.

• MINT as an oil is menthol, which is derived from a number of mints. It is pungent, cool and stimulating. It clears the mind and the head, disperses heaviness and dullness and increases lightness and motility. PEPPERMINT has more stimulating properties on digestion and circulation. SPEARMINT is more calming and relaxing. CATNIP is yet more so and aids in sleep.

• MUGWORT is bitter and slightly warm. It helps warm and clear the channels, particularly as burnt on sensitive points on the body, like the hara (the point of the sex center a few inches below the navel). It eases menstruation and helps prevent miscarriage.

• MUSK is pungent, hot, stimulating and aphrodisiac. It can be used to revive patients in coma or near collapse situations. It invigorates the heart, strengthens the reproductive system and awakens the senses. It is the most yang or fiery of the fragrances and can have a rajasic effect.

• MYRRH is pungent, bitter, astringent, sweet and slightly warm. It is very cleansing to the blood, counters infection and putrefaction and is good for tumors. It strengthens the bones and the nerves and helps reduce excess fat. It promotes the healing of tissues, as after traumatic injuries or post‑surgery. It strengthens the heart and the uterus.

• NEROLI is pungent, bitter and warm, with a citrus like aroma. It stimulates digestion and circulation and helps open the mind and senses.

• PATCHOULI is pungent and warm. It is stimulant, diaphoretic and expectorant. It cleanses the digestive system and stimulates the senses and promotes joy and activity. It is particularly good for Kapha.

• PENNYROYAL is spicy and a little warm. Oil of pennyroyal is a strong emmenagogue (promotes menstruation) and clears the emotions. It is also antiseptic and wards off insects. It cleanses the lungs, clears the liver and improves peripheral circulation.

• PLUMERIA is the main flower used in the making of leis in Hawaii, also called “frangipani”, and a common tropical flowering tree used around Hindu temples. It is sweet, spicy and cool and counters heat, infection and agitation. It clears the mind, calms the emotions and gives balance and harmony to the psyche. It promotes psychological clarity.

• PRICKLY ASH Prickly ash is pungent, bitter and warm. It is stimulating and analgesic. Its oil is good for treating pain, including toothache, facial nerve pain and arthritis.

• ROSE is the flower of the heart. It is sweet and cool and is refrigerant and alterative. It cools and cleanses the eyes, for which rose water is excellent. It increases love, compassion and devotion. It has a balancing and nurturing effect upon the female reproductive system.

• ROSEMARY is pungent, bitter and cool. It fortifies the heart, stimulates the circulation of the blood and is good for relieving headaches. It promotes menstruation and eases emotional tension.

• SAFFRON is one of the most important fragrances. It is pungent, sweet and neutral. It cleanses the blood, clears the emotions and energizes the heart. It strengthens love and devotion and increases faith, forgiveness and compassion. It strengthens Ojas and helps counter such negative emotion-caused diseases as cancer and AIDS.

• SANDALWOOD is the best general aroma for the mind, either as incense or as an oil applied to the head. It is sweet, pungent and cool and is diuretic, alterative, antiseptic and sedative. It nourishes the heart, cleanses the kidneys and soothes the lungs. It is good for fever, irritability or anxiety.

• THYME is pungent and warm. It is stimulant, diaphoretic and cough relieving. It is also antiseptic and insect repellant. It helps strengthen our immunity, particularly from colds, flus and lung diseases.

• TURMERIC is primarily bitter and warm. It cleanses the blood, lymphatics and the subtle channels. It is hemostatic, analgesic and antiseptic and is good for injury to the muscles or tendons. It aids in the healing of damaged tissue. It strengthens the skin and improves complexion.

• VETIVERT, also known as khus or cous‑cous grass, is bitter, pungent and cool (refrigerant). It calms the mind and clears heat from the head, so is very good for fevers and heatstroke. It is especially anti-Pitta and anti-infection.

• WILD GINGER (asarum) is spicy and warm. It is stimulating, diaphoretic and analgesic. It clears the head, opens the senses, and counters headache and nerve pain.

• WINTERGREEN is pungent, warm and stimulating, and very good for relieving pain. It contains methyl salicylate, from which aspirin is derived and can be used much like it. It is good for muscle pain, joint pain, headache or nerve pain and can be rubbed directly on to the site. It has a clearing and harmonizing effect on the mind and emotions as well.

• WORMWOOD is bitter, pungent and cold. It is a strong bitter aromatic and cleanses the blood, improves digestion and counters parasites. It detoxifies the liver, relieves fever and counters anger and irritability.