Shield Oil is an essential oil blend that has been used for centuries to ward off all kinds of illnesses. Does it really work? That's up to you to decide. The story of this intriguing blend of fragrant oils starts way back during the time of the Black Death or bubonic plague. This horrific plague struck Europe and Asia in the mid-1300s. According to History.com, it began when 12 ships from the Black Sea docked at the Sicilian port of Messina.
When people gathered to greet the ships, they were met with a horrifying reality. Most of the sailors had died and those who still survived were extremely ill and covered with black boils that oozed blood and pus. The city of Messina quickly ordered the ships to leave port but it was too late. Within five years, the plague would kill over 20 million people: almost one-third of the continent's population.
The plague was so quick to take over that, oftentimes, a seemingly healthy person would go to bed at night and be dead by morning. Still others would hold on and suffer the emergence of apple sized lumps, boils, and other horrific symptoms. Death was swift, however, and the virus was spread as easily as touching someone's clothes! The culprit in all of this was Yersina Pestis, which traveled from person to person pneumonically (through the air) or through the bite of infected fleas and rats. The disease effected livestock as well and killed off cows, sheep, pigs, chickens, goats and horses. You can read more about this awful plague here.
Enter Shield Oil which originally began as Thieves Vinegar. According to Wikipedia:
"The following vinegar recipe hung in the Museum of Paris in 1937, and is said to have been an original copy of the recipe posted on the walls of Marseilles during an episode of the plague:
Take three pints of strong white wine vinegar, add a handful of each of wormwood, meadowsweet, wild marjoram and sage, fifty cloves, two ounces of campanula roots, two ounces of angelic, rosemary and horehound and three large measures of camphor. Place the mixture in a container for fifteen days, strain and express then bottle. Use by rubbing it on the hands, ears and temples from time to time when approaching a plague victim."
According to legend, the story declares that a group of robbers during a European plague outbreak were robbing the dead or the sick. When they were caught, they offered to exchange their secret recipe, which had allowed them to commit the robberies without catching the disease, in exchange for leniency. Another version says that the thieves had already been caught before the outbreak and their sentence had been to bury dead plague victims and to survive this punishment, they created the vinegar. The city in which this happened is usually said to be Marseilles or Toulouse, and the time period can be given as anywhere between the 14th and 18th century depending on the storyteller.
The vinegar eventually morphed into oils that were blended to provide the same alleged benefits. Today, the blend typically consists of clove bud oil, cinnamon bark oil, lemon oil, eucalyptus oil and rosemary oil. It is used as a disinfectant in cleaning surfaces and has also been used in diffusers and aromatherapy necklaces to ward off diseases/viruses. Some also apply it to the feet, but it's extremely important to take precautions when using this oil with all of these methods.
Before we go any further, I'm providing you with a very trusted link that talks about essential oil safety and covers things like essential oils in the bath, topical use, ingesting and more. Please click here to get top notch information.
Diffusing. I'm not a big proponent of diffusing essential oils and, because of this, do not suggest it to our customers, nor do we carry diffusers in our store or on our website. First, depending on the oils (and this particular blend is potent), diffusion can be quite harmful to pets and children. The amount of drops used, the type of oil, and how long you diffuse can cause issues. If you are going to diffuse, please do your research on the particular oils you are planning on diffusing.
Aromatherapy Necklackes. These are great because you put a little drop onto either a pad that sits inside your necklace or, like the type of necklace we carry, you put it onto a porous lava stone that resides inside the pendant.
Topically. Never ever apply essential oils directly to the skin without first diluting in a carrier oil such as fractionated coconut oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, avocado oil or whatever other oil you have on hand. Essential oils are extremely powerful and, during distillation, are basically compressed into a very strong compound. While you may not feel immediate effects of direct application of non-diluted oils, long term use in this manner will take its toll on your body and can cause severe consequences.
Ingestion. Never ingest an essential oil. Quite honestly, I have been around and around this with so many people who are "drinking the kool aid" of some larger multi-level marketing companies who do not adequately train their reps. This is a severe injustice to the consumer and it is infuriating to me when I hear that someone is ingesting these extremely potent and volatile oils without the guidance of a certified aromatherpist. Just don't do it. As I said above, your body will suffer consequences long-term. If there is any debate on this, I strongly suggest you contact a certified aromatherapist and highly rated holistic pracitioner. This is just too important to follow information gained from companies on the internet looking to make money or from advice of those who are not qualified.
Bath. Essential oils are oils. They do not stay mixed with water. This means that they should first be solubized/diluted in a good amount of carrier oil before adding to bath water because the oil will indeed make oil globules that sit on the surface of your bath water and will adhere to your skin meaning that the volatile concentration of these oils will be the same as putting it directly onto your skin. Using a carrier oil will dilute.
Again, click here for a good deal more information. In the meantime, you can get Thieves Oil at our website here. It is the highest quality, without additives, and is obtained from what we consider the master in the arena of essential oils. We trust the company we purchase our oils from in bulk where they educate and inform and expose those who are doing harm to others.
Our oils are affordable because we purchase direct from a top notch company with no middleman and we don't price gouge our customers; instead we pass the savings on to you. We sell a whole ounce (30 ml) for less than most of our counterparts sell for half that amount.
The bottom line here is to be sure to educate yourself before using essential oils. They come with a powerful punch that, when used properly, can create enjoyment for the user. When used improperly, they have the ability to create severe health problems. Knowledge is power.
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