Seven Scents: Healing and the Aromatic Imagination

In this slim but enlightening and tightly packed book, Abram traces the physical, psychological, and spiritual healing powers of seven aromatic flowers and trees: sandalwood, lotus, neem, terebinth, tulsi (sacred basil), spikenard, and jasmine. She skillfully describes the pharmacological properties of the plants and their spiritual, magical, and mythological significance. Fascinating accounts include priestess Bhairavi Brahmani healing the insanity of 19th-century Hindu saint and teacher Ramakrishna, using sandalwood paste as a cooling agent; the use of the oils, aroma, and leaves of the neem tree to fight smallpox and the tree’s relationship to Hindu goddess Sitala Mata; the prophet Abraham’s use of terebinth to change consciousness and gain insight into a new religion; the spiritual and metaphorical significance of spikenard in the Gospels; and the inhalation of jasmine flowers to relieve consciousness-altering conditions such as epilepsy. Abram puts aromatic plants into cultural and religious context from ancient to modern times through personal narratives, historical accounts, and intricate mythologies. (July)