MINT

MENTHA PIPERITA

Refreshing, Clarifying, Bright, Focused, Stimulating, Clearing, Aware

PEP-UP PEPPERMINT
Peppermint essential oil stimulates and clarifies the system. It acts swiftly and decisively and there is often very little in between. This can be overpowering for some, but if you thrive on a more direct and decisive energy in your life, peppermint has got you covered. If you are drawn to peppermint, you may have a desire to refresh and reset an area of your life, or call in more drive an enthusiasm. 

THE FACTS
The essential oil is steam distilled from the flowering herb, usually partially dried and collected in late summer and autumn. Peppermint is a hybrid between spearmint (Mentha spicata) and water mint (Mentha aquatica). The mint plants are some of the oldest documented for medicinal and culinary use. 
Clinically speaking, Peppermint is used for complaints of the stomach and digestive system as well as a general stimulant for fatigue. I tend to use the hydrosol in my practice, as a facial mist during hot months and also as a digestive and for powerful nausea relief! 

DRIVING ENERGY
The driving energy of Peppermint is, "clarity". It can truly help to clear out mental fog, increase circulation of both the blood and stagnant or stuck energy, and cut through the ropes we often tie ourselves up in when at a crossroads. Peppermint has an interesting relationship with Rosemary, and when combined in massage, they can  shift and cleanse the body, especially after a long illness or time of low energy. 

MYTH AND ARCHETYPE
Interestingly, Peppermint is associated with the archetypes of the 'trickster' or 'shape-shifter'. In Greek mythology, the Naiad nymph Mintha was said to be the lover of Hades. When he took his new wife, Persephone, one version of the story says that Persephone transformed Mintha into dust out of jealousy, but that Hades caused her life-force to grow into the mint plant, and that whenever he walked over the plant he would smell and be reminded of his former lover. 
As a trickster, mint has the power to change and sometimes do the opposite of what we think it might. For example, it is sweet, yet it can also burn. It is cooling topically, yet warming internally. Added to a cold compress it warms, yet added to a warm compress it cools. 


References:
Aromatherapy and Subtle Energy Techniques, Keim and Bull, 2015
Aromatica, Holmes, 2016
The Complete Aromatherapy and Essential Oils Handbook for Everyday Wellness, Puchon and Cantele, 2014
The Encyclopaedia of Essential oils, Lawless, 2014
Essential Oil Safety, Tisserand and Young, 2016
The Fragrant Mind, Worwood, 1997
Hydrosols, The Next Aromatherapy, Catty, 2001
Portraits in Oils, Mailhebiau, 1995
Subtle Aromatherapy, Davis, 1991​