Essential Oils & Aromatherapy

I finally added Scott Cunningham's notes on magical aromatherapy to the Herbs and Plantsplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigHerbs and Plants

This data is sourced primarily from Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs.

Herbs catalog! Go here to see a list of relevant entries.

I've recently gotten into essential oils for both therapeutic and metaphysical purposes. In my research, I discovered that most, if not all, essential oils contain volatile hydrocarbon compounds which are lethal to cats. While there are various veterinarians claiming to have great success with essential oil diffusion and topical application with kitty patients, it's clear to me that the risks are still very high, and the consequences can be traumatizing for both cat and owner.

If you have cats, do not diffuse essential oils. If you want or need to diffuse oils for ritual purposes, do so in a room that your cat(s) can't access. You can, however, safely diffuse hydrosols - the watery byproduct of steam distillation extraction.

Many oils are totally safe for dogs, including topical application, so if you're a dog-only household, there are lots of options! I recommend Holistic Aromatherapy for Animals as a solid guide for how to use aromatherapy safely with your pets.