Acorus calamus/Calamus Root/Sweet Flag

pH 4.6

Aroma and Taste Highly unusual. One of the strangest odors you will ever encounter and a case of love it or hate it for most people. It is a peculiarly masculine aroma, and certainly it’s preferred by men more than by women; perhaps that’s why it’s used in perfumery, to attract men!

Stability and Shelf Life Stable. Easily lasts eighteen months, probably reliably for two years.

Properties and Applications Canadian calamus contains none of the hepatotoxic ketone beta-asarone, making it completely safe for use in aromatherapy both internally and externally. European and Asian calamus contain high levels of beta-asarone and should not be used for aromatherapy.

Calamus is a specific for the liver and can be used with Greenland moss in topical compresses and poultices for liver infections and dysfunction and hepatitis. French aromatherapy experiments by Dominique Baudoux with both topical and internal use of these two essential oils have yielded some very promising results in treating tumors and cancers in the liver, and the hydrosols are worth further exploration. A seven-day test of Aromatic Tincture of milk thistle and calamus-root hydrosol worked wonderfully well in detoxifying the liver and gallbladder, and it is certainly nicer and easier to take as a treatment than the better-known lemon and olive oil gallbladder cleanse and appears to be similarly effective.

Calamus is best known in perfumery, where it is used as a fixative and base note. The hydrosol makes a gently astringent aftershave on its own or combined with sandalwood, cedarwood, or bay laurel. My father reacted more positively to calamus than to any other aroma I have ever offered him; he practically grabbed it out of my hand and declared, “That’s what I want in an aftershave!” He got it.

Angelica archangelica/Angelica Root

pH 3.8

Aroma and Taste Unusual. The first aromatic impression is reminiscent of dirty socks, but it is quickly followed by the dry, sweet, green herbaceous scent of the plant and oil. The flavor is slightly fruity, strongly earthy but not earthlike, with a hint of green floral tones, a really lovely taste. Diluted it becomes quite mild and retains the fruity-floral edge. There is also a hydrosol from angelica seed.

Stability and Shelf Life Unknown, but certainly twelve months or more.

Properties and Applications Experimental. Distinctly sedative, grounding, and calming to the nerves and very useful for anxiety states or high stress. A mild digestive, although not nearly as effective as the oil, perhaps because the hydrosol lacks the bitter principals to the same degree. It is warming to the system and can be used to increase appetite and tone the digestion.

Energetically, angelica is said to bridge heaven and earth, connect the seventh chakra to the first, and still have a grounding effect. When dowsed with a pendulum, both the oil and the hydrosol exhibit a phenomenal energy field, and so intention of use becomes a contributing factor in its applications for vibrational healing.