Lemon Balm, Melissa officinalis - The Initiation Plant of The Ancient Greek Bee Shamanesses: And The Essential Oil of Everyday Miracles (The Secret Healer Oils Manuals)

Melissa essential oil, the distilled extract of the Lemon Balm plant, is famous for two reasons. It enjoys the reputation of being one of aromatherapy’s best healers of depression, but also for being expensive. Despite the intoxicating fragrance of its leaves, it yields an infinitesimal quantity of oil.Melissa means bee, and indeed, medieval herbal manuals tell how the priestesses of the ancient Greek goddess, Demeter, were also known as Melissae. These were bee and womb shamans who worshipped female deities as aspects of the wondrous insect world.Rediscovering this, opens a portal to untold knowledge of the plant.Why do “bees love Melissa”, as the old saying goes? And what was the connection between bees and a woman’s womb? Today we only retain half the puzzle, but science has indeed demonstrated how effective the plant’s healing is for both menstrual and post-natal health.Scientific experiments also reveal the many ways the plant seems to understand diabetes, a condition exacerbated by Demeter’s cereal crop. Perhaps its powerful effects in soothing the symptoms of dementia could also be explained by the rituals of Eleusis, where the Melissa priestesses famously served two thousand years ago. There, it was said, Dionysos would hand initiates a drink from the river Lethe to preserve their memories of loved ones even after death.Who were these bee shamans, what did they do, and where did Lemon Balm fit into all this anyway?The 16th century herbalist, Paracelsus, also rated the herb highly. In fact, he declared that no other had more majesty, calling it the Elixir of Life and crediting it with the ability to return youth and vigour to those who used it. The medieval tales are miraculous, macabre, and unsettling. Nevertheless, you won’t be able to resist the urge to experiment.Join Elizabeth Ashley on a journey into the past, to a time of shapeshifting magicians who merged with insects, elements, and plants. To a time of nymphs who were beautiful women, devout priestesses, but also unhatched bees.Feel the beat of the European frame drums, as Ashley leads you on a bee march into their hive.Then, peer over the shoulders of modern laboratory researchers and witness the most recent discoveries in the science of Melissa officinalis for ….DiabetesWeight lossEmotional balanceDementia and other neurological disordersGynaecological health and disturbancesCancerPainAnd much, much more.When the Emperor Theodosius ordered the closure of the Pagan sanctuaries in the fourth century, the Roman Catholic church also placed a moratorium on the religious use of scent. Over time, people forgot the bee priestesses, but the bees never stopped remembering their ways. Now, two thousand years later, Elizabeth Ashley reunites Lemon Balm with the secrets of the Melissae to weave a rich tapestry of healing interpretations using this extraordinary, nay legendary, botanical.A must read book for anyone interested in the Old Ways or who considers themselves to bee a healer. Read more