Palo Santo Essential Oil

Recently I added the beautiful palo santo (Bursera graveolens) essential oil to my collection and instantly fell in love with it. It has a deep comforting aroma but with a lightness to it which I think probably comes from the limonene within it which is also found present in citrus oils.

I first came across palo santo as an incense bark for smudging and clearing energies. The bark from the Palo Santo tree is traditionally burned in South America for the purpose of clearing negative energies from living spaces. The oil can be used in prayer, energy work, etc, where it is symbolic of rebirth, its name when translated is “holy wood” showing its significance within traditional and spiritual practices.

Palo Santo essential oil, extracted from the wood, holds similar cultural importance. It’s applied topically for its calming and grounding effects. Its sweet, woody scent is known to promote relaxation and mental clarity. Its sweet, woody aroma offers a sense of tranquility and relaxation. Daily life in many South American communities incorporates Palo Santo. It is used to purify homes and create a sense of calm and tranquility. People often burn the wood to ward off mosquitoes and other insects. There have been some practitioners who claim it is beneficial for coughs and other respiratory conditions. 

Chemically Palo Santo has a few interesting key components, β-caryophyllene is a sesquiterpene found within it that is also in oils like copbaiba balsam and black pepper and is associated with an anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect. There have been studies on how this component works on certain nerve pathways too. Limonene, abundant in Palo Santo, is what gives it the fruity fresh edge to its aroma. Monoterpenes are mood lifting and also stimulating to many of the bodies systems. Linalool is also in the oil and there have been countless studies proving the calming effect of the component on the central nervous system perhaps why it so revered spiritually.

Palo santo is having a moment trend wise so I really recommend purchasing from a reputable supplier and ideally one that works with artisan or family growers as it is said that the Bursera graveolens tree's branches have to naturally break off, the entire tree has to fall, or it has to die before the Palo Santo can be harvested from it. This would be especially important if you are wanting to use it for energy work.