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"And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother,and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they opened their treasures, they presented him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh." - St Matthew 2:11
One of the most highly valued commodities of ancient times, frankincense was traded for porcelain by the Chinese, employed by Egyptians for embalming, presented to the infant Jesus as a symbolic gift and burned copiously by emperors during the height of the Roman Empire. In numerous religious traditions, frankincense's spiritual scent was believed to confer divine blessing.
Frankincense was used by the ancient Egyptians in their religious rites. It constituted part of the Jewish incense of the sanctuary and is frequently mentioned in the Pentateuch. Pliny the Elder described the characteristics of good-quality frankincense and mentioned it as an antidote to hemlock poisoning. The Iranian physician Avicenna recommended it for a wide range of bodily ailments. In China and elsewhere in the East, it was used as both an internal and an external
remedy. Today, Frankincense is still revered for its aromatherapeutic
properties.
"Above all other essential oils, frankincense soothes the
spirit, I've never known anyone who didn't like it, especially anxious people, because it slows down breathing and brings them to a grounded place." -Valerie Cooksley,
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