Agarwood with Feng Shui
Agarwood, the “Wood of the Gods” has been traded and highly coveted for thousands of years. The resinous wood is used as incense, for medicinal purposes, and pure resin in distilled form is used as an essential oil as well as a perfume component. Outside its native countries, it is most widely known in the Middle East, China, Taiwan, and Japan. A strong connection exists between use, religion, and curative properties, and elaborate traditional and religious ceremonies are known around the world. Faith healers in the Middle East use it at curative ceremonies, Japanese pilgrims donate flowers and agarwood oil to Shinto-Buddhist temples, and Vietnamese religious groups are obliged to bring agarwood to ceremonies at their temples in Mekong Delta communities.
Agarwood as medicinal products has been recorded in ancient bibles such as Sahih Muslim from the 8th century and in the Ayurvedic medicinal text Susruta Samhita. Agarwood is used in Ayurvedic, Tibetan, and East Asian medical practices. Traditional Chinese medicine uses powdered Agarwood as a treatment for cirrhosis of the liver as well as a director or focuser for other medicines Agarwood as therapeutic perfumes This usage has been acknowledged for centuries and even recorded in the Old Testament of the Bible. It is used intensively by the Middle Eastern and French perfumers; it is a tiny but essential component of some high-class perfumes such as Zeenat and Amouage. Agarwood as aromatic food ingredient Agarwood is aphrodisiac, thus often used as a cleansing agent of the body organs and boosts one’s energy. The diaphoretic property of the wood will make one sweat and assist in the detoxification process. In Taiwan, it is used in Chu-yeh Ching and Vo Ka Py wine. Agarwood as religious properties For centuries it used as incense in religious ceremonies by Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims. It may also be carved into praying materials such as sculptures, beads, and boxes. There are many other properties and usages of the wood which are not mentioned here, but it can be deduced that the most valuable properties of Agarwood lie in its health benefits.
