There’s a lot of talk in the modern ‘healing’ world about all the various tools and techniques that can help us heal - and that’s wonderful, but a pattern I’m noticing recently is how this means that what I call ‘real magic’ can get diluted. By ‘real magic’, I simply mean our ancient medicinal truths - those old healing technologies (like essential oils) which have been around since ancient times which, these days, the world is often trying to fit into a mundane box so that it is more palatable and easier to work with (i.e., it makes logical sense).

This is because it’s often deemed more ‘ok’ to work with, say, something that the world views as ‘acceptable’ - or that the world ‘understands’ - than it is to do the deep work of real magic. It’s often thought by magical women that they have to dilute themselves to be understood and accepted.  This is something that most Witches will fear: not fitting in (it’s called the Witch Wound).  Most aromatherapists will suffer from this on some level - because they are the archetypal healer: have you ever thought “what will people think of me if I’m serving out essential oils and other woo?”  If so, then this is you - and maybe it’s time to reclaim your magic?

Introducing personality profiles

One of the ways we can reclaim our magic is with Archetypal shadow work.  Archetypes are like personality profiles - stories and mirrors - that help us move into deeper self-enquiry and understand ourselves a little bit better.  Typically, it is done by working with myths and legends - as an example, the story of the Witch - to begin to help us see where our blocks are.  For example, if we work with the Witch as an archetype, we can see that she - as a powerful story - is typically outcast for her magic, and people fear her power.  We can use this lens to look at our personality and ask ourselves “where do I fear being outcast for my magic?  Where do I fear my power being unloved?” In doing so, we illuminate parts of ourselves we’d not previously seen that have been unconscious - and which we have shamed and hidden. 

Archetypal work is a body of real magic that was distilled by Carl Jung, who says “until we make the unconscious conscious, it will forever direct our lives and we shall call it fate.”

This is the work of real magic that provides us the power to choose again.  In this instance, with the witch - for example, we can choose to more powerfully own our magic.

Essential oils as personalities

One of the unique ways I work is by working with archetypal personalities that are grounded in healing technologies - like homeopathy and essential oils. I call it my Archetypal Apothecary modality - in which we work with the spirits of the ‘remedies’ from real magical technologies as ‘personality profiles’ with which we can go into self-enquiry to begin to understand ourselves better.  Let’s be honest, in a world where real magic is being diluted, combining the ancient magical technologies of archetypal work and essential oils is really only turbo charging your healing.

In short, each oil we work with in our aromatherapy practice has its own unique ‘personality’ - its own unique essence - and we can explore it for deeper self-enquiry.  

Below, I outline 5 Essential Oil Remedy Personalities for you to begin to work with, for the purposes of deep self-enquiry and healing. I’ve also made these oils the top 5 ones most useful to healers, too.

Lemon’s personality: all about ‘joy’

Lemon’s essence is a bright and cheery one which is always joyful.  It is fresh, sweet and lifts the spirits.  

Fearful Expression - when this remedy personality is in fear (shadow), it can be a forced joy that you can’t bear to be in its presence - when joy is being ‘put on’, it can come across a little bit false, pretending to be ridiculously over-the-top joyful even when it doesn’t feel it.  OR, on the other hand, in fear, Lemon’s personality can also sink into a gloomy Eeyore-style sense of despair.  

Balanced Expression - when this remedy personality is in balance, though, it is naturally joyful - it is playful, and joy just bubbles up and is expressed.

Who it Helps - working with the spirit of Lemon as a remedy will help people who experience the ups and downs of the fearful expression to become conscious of this pattern and begin to choose to allow themselves to embody the more balanced expression of joy.  

Deeper Self-Enquiry - Ask yourself - do I commonly force joy, or not allow myself to experience joy?  Notice where each pattern plays out in your life - and love this part of you that operates from fear.  Eventually, you’ll come to be able to choose differently.

Peppermint’s personality: all about power

Peppermint’s essence is a potent one - it is sharp and powerful.

Fearful Expression - when this remedy personality is in fear (shadow), it can be overbearing and penetrating - a bit of a tyrant - OR, on the other hand, it can be a little bit insecure and feel a little bit helpless; it doesn’t always know its power.

Balanced Expression - when this remedy personality is in balance, though, it is naturally powerful - and quite a leader of the scents. 

Who it Helps - working with the spirit of Peppermint as a remedy will help people who experience the fear of being a powerful leader and healer (yet they were born for that role).  

Deeper Self-Enquiry: Ask yourself - do I commonly shout and act a bit of a tyrant, or feel full of self-doubt and fear my own power?  Notice where each pattern plays out in your life - and love this part of you that operates from fear.  Eventually, you’ll come to be able to choose differently.

Rose’s personality: all about the feminine

Rose’s essence is a honey-like tender, soothing feminine one with an open heart.

Fearful Expression - when this remedy personality is in fear (shadow), it can be harsh, forced and penetrative like its thorns (it could feel quite ‘hustle’ - quite masculine) - and out of touch with its body - OR it could be so soft and emotional that it’s squashed like rose petals begin trodden into the ground.

Balanced Expression - when this remedy personality is in balance, though, it is naturally feminine - relaxed, open, soft, and fully expressed

Who it Helps - working with the spirit of Rose as a remedy will help people who experience the challenge of creating life from the feminine - from an open, vulnerable heart, from flow and from love.  

Deeper Self-Enquiry: Ask yourself - do I commonly push and force through my body’s signals - or am I so overly soft and emotional that it is to my detriment?  Notice where each pattern plays out in your life - and love this part of you that operates from fear.  Eventually, you’ll come to be able to choose differently.

Chamomile’s personality: all about peace

Chamomile’s essence is a deeply soothing and relaxing one.

Fearful Expression - when this remedy personality is in fear (shadow), it can be in complete denial of any peace being available to it, thinking peace to be boring and creating all the drama as a distraction from life being calm - OR it could be so peaceful it avoids any situation where there isn’t peace entirely (i.e., it doesn’t leave the house, avoids conflict, etc!)

Balanced Expression - when this remedy personality is in balance, though, it is naturally peaceful.

Who it Helps - working with the spirit of Chamomile as a remedy will help people who experience the challenge of creating harmony and peace in their lives in just the right amounts

Deeper Self-Enquiry: Ask yourself - do I commonly create and experience drama and chaos in my life or do I avoid going into situations where there isn’t peace?  Notice where each pattern plays out in your life - and love this part of you that operates from fear.  Eventually, you’ll come to be able to choose differently.

Myrrh’s personality: all about spirit

Myrrh’s essence is an ancient spiritual oil which originally grew in the Garden of Eden.

Fearful Expression - when this remedy personality is in fear (shadow), it can be in complete denial of its connection to spirit - it believes that spirit is ‘woo’ or made up and ignores the deeper connection to the universe - OR it can also be so overly connected to spirit that it ascends beyond the human realm and denies its unique expression, wafting around waiting for the universe to provide.

Balanced Expression - when this remedy personality is in balance, though, it is naturally connected to a sense of something greater - and works with spirit for guidance.

Who it Helps - working with the spirit of Myrrh as a remedy will help people who experience the challenge of connecting to the greater realm - to the universe, to love, to spirit.

Deeper Self-Enquiry: Ask yourself - do I commonly deny my connection to something greater than me - or do I hand over my power to the universe and forget I have a unique human soul?  Notice where each pattern plays out in your life - and love this part of you that operates from fear.  Eventually, you’ll come to be able to choose differently.

How to work with the spirit of these oils

You may identify with some - or all - of these essential oil personalities - if so, the next question I usually get asked is “how do I work with them more deeply?”  

We’ve only really touched the surface here, so I’d advise you to begin to work with the oils yourself.  I’d recommend you do this with individual oils to begin with.  To do this, connect to their spirit (their essence) and ask them to show you more and reveal more about how you can liberate the patterns we’ve illuminated here. Even just noticing where these ‘fearful expression’ patterns show up in your life is a really powerful first step - and one you can work with over a longer period to create subtle shifts. As you begin to work more magically with the oils, they will begin to speak to you and show you more and more that hadn’t been revealed before.

Practically, you could do this in ceremony - diffuse your oil - 7 drops in water, in a candle burner or electric diffuser - and sit in meditation with the oil - to see what its energy wants to show you. Journal whatever comes up. 

Think of each essential oil as an archetypal energetic medicine - we are talking about the deeper underlying energetics of these essential oils. You can work energetically with any oil you like - or every essential oil you have - as they each have a unique essence; it’s not just these five here.  Each oil will have its own unique personality, and its own ‘fearful’ and ‘balanced expression’ - and, if you’re open to working more ‘magically’, it will show you parts of yourself that you’d not seen before.  

Remember, though, there’s no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ with this - it’s very intuitive.  As we said at the beginning, mainstream magical healing has been made very ‘logical’ and ‘linear’ to make it more palatable - but real magical technology is full of feminine mystery (the unknown).  You can’t get it wrong - so enjoy playing with it.

The real question is: what do essential oils want to show you?

Nicole Barton
Consultant Aromatherapist

Disclaimer & Safety Advice

Read other articles by Nicole Barton