====== Camphor ======
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---- dataentry herbs----
latin_names: Cinnamomum camphora
folk_names: Kafoor, Camphire, Chang Nao
gender_tags: Feminine
planet_tags: Moon
element_tags: Water
deity_tags: 
effect_tags: Chastity, Health, Divination, Purification, Physical energy
part_tags: essential oil
----
</div>

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===== Magical Uses =====

Sniff to lessen sexual desire. Also place beside the bed for this purpose.

A bag of camphor (or the bark of a camphor tree) hung around the neck, prevents the contraction of colds and flu.

Camphor is sometimes used in divinatory incenses; unfortunately, true camphor is all but unavailable in the United States, so synthetics usually have to suffice.

===== Aromatherapy =====

==== Lore ====

Ancient camphor trees guard Taoist and Buddhist temples throughout China.

Camphor was (and still may be) an ingredient in the manufacture of firecrackers. In earlier times, small pieces of camphor were worn around the neck to guard against infectious diseases.

==== Magical Uses ====

Most of us know this scent from mothballs, but these contain artificial camphor, not the genuine substance. To this day many drug stores sell small, cellophane-wrapped squares boldly marked “camphor.” The fine print on these packages warns that this is synthetic camphor, and that inhaling the vapors can be hazardous to our health.

White camphor oil is much safer to use than the synthetic form. This is a powerful, cool scent which can be inhaled to speed recovery from colds. When sniffed with the proper visualization, the scent of camphor is excellent for self-purification and stimulation of the physical body.

Several hundred years ago, religious men and women systematically inhaled camphor to lessen and finally to kill all desire for sexual activity. If you wish to cool down, give camphor a sniff or two.

However, inhaling this permeating scent for more than a few seconds at a time can lead to severe headaches. So visualize, open the bottle, take a quick whiff and close it up again.

Crystalline camphor can be used in place of the essential oil but is much harder to find. I enjoy camphor-the way it looks, the way it smells. But this powerful scent should be used with respect.

If you wish to grow your own, camphor trees are available by mail (see Companion Plants in Appendix II). You won’t be able to extract camphor, but the leaves and wood contain the familiar scent.
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