Essential oils have been used not just as scented extracts for hundreds of years. They were of significant spiritual and cultural value in death and burial-related ceremonies. Several old civilizations believed that aromatic oils were made to bridge the gap between the two worlds in recognition of the direct contribution to the dead, as well as offering a path of transition of the soul to the next life. Essential oils were also key to the rites of both farewell and memorial, in Egyptian tombs and in Greek and Mesopotamian temples.
Ancient Egypt: Oils to Sleep Forever
Few cultures valued essential oils in funereal rites as highly as the Egyptians. Evidence found using digs indicates that oils such as frankincense, myrrh, and cedarwood were important in the process of mummification. Egyptians believed that these oils did more than preserve the body, but also protected the soul in its journey. Liquid containers with aromatic resins and oils have been discovered in burial rooms, which is evidence of how significant they were as sacred gifts.
Writing on tomb walls informs us of ways that people used oils on their bodies when performing embalming processes, which meant purification and preparation in the life beyond death. People thought that the permanent odour represented some spiritual being ensuring the dead left a portion of the sacred with them to the next world.
Mesopotamian and Greek Generalities: Fragrance as a Guide to the Spiritual Path
The Mesopotamians used oils as a primary means of ensuring divinely imposed cleanliness. The dead were rubbed with sweet scented oils by priests. They believed these incense would ward off evil spirits and settle the soul. Here, this is the depiction of the dual role of oils as cleaning the body and protecting the spirit.
Aromatic oils were appreciated by Greeks as well because of the greater depth of meaning. It was during the funeral rites that people used to burn oil based incense so that they could worship the gods and seek blessings to the dead. Families rubbed the deceased with olive oil which was mixed with herbs and resins. They held that fragrances associated the earthly existence with eternity.
Death Rituals: The Olfactory Aesthetic
It was not an accident that people did use fragrance in burial practices. Other cultures identified scent as a token of exceeding. It served to remind people that the spirit continued to live in the body after death. Serving as symbols of purity, new life and connection to the divine, sweet-smelling oils reflected some of the most important concepts behind the rituals surrounding death and remembrance.
Today when people take essential oils, in the times of memorial services or quiet time, they recreate an ancient sense of understanding. The passage says how the oils were used in earlier days which indicates how smell and spiritual faith are always interconnected.
Oils as Offerings to the Divine
Burial ceremonies often served as acts of worship to gods. People thought essential oils were gifts fit for deities and ancestors. In many societies, pouring or burning oils near burial sites was an offering that showed respect and ongoing love. Take frankincense, for instance. People valued it not just for its smell, but because it was seen as something that “made the gods happy.”
These practices show that oils weren’t just used to preserve bodies—they were holy links between the living, the dead, and the gods.
Keeping the Tradition Alive Today
Funeral practices have evolved with the years, but their importance nowadays is nevertheless symbolic. Depending on the person, they may be used as a memento of loved ones, during meditation, or during personal rituals. Fragrances such as frankincense and myrrh still have a feeling of heaviness associated with them as in ancient times.
Young Living has earned a reputation of selling pure, sourced products that establish a connection between today and yesterday through ancient knowledge of the use of essential oils. The selection of their essential oils offers individuals in the current inner world a possibility to appreciate similar powerful smells that once were indispensable parts of religious rituals.
Conclusion
Essential oils were greatly influential in the ceremonies of death and burial such as those of Egypt with the Egyptian pyramids and the temples of Greece. They were pure, assisted people to go to the afterlife and were sacred offerings to gods. Their occurrence in these rituals demonstrates the desire of people everywhere to pay respect to death, admire it and treat it with dignity.
These old customs still matter today. If you want to connect with the deep cultural and spiritual core of oils, Young Living remains a reliable source. It lets you tap into the lasting strength of scents that have guided humans for thousands of years.