Sandalwood / Santalum Album Herbal Incense Resin Information

NAME
Sandalwood


LATIN NAME
Santalum Album

ORIGIN
India, Australia, Indonesia and the Pacific Islands.

PARTS USED
Wood, resin, oil.


TRADITIONAL HERBAL USES AND MEDICINAL PROPERTIES
Sandalwood is heavy and yellow in colour, and it is an aromatic wood that keeps it's fragrance for decades. Sandalwood has a sweet, fresh, clean, woody, light aroma.
Medicinally Sandalwood has anti-microbial properties. It has been used in Ayurvedic medicine as a remedy for inflamed kidneys, skin problems and respiratory conditions.
It's aroma aids peaceful sleep, states of higher consciousness, feelings of love and peacefulness. It has been associated with meditation, sacred spaces and the peaceful temple environment for many years. It is particularly the powdered or chipped Sandalwood that seems to give off the aroma when burnt, that is thought to have emotional and spiritual benefits.


FOLKLORE AND HISTORY
Sandalwood has been valued and treasured for thousands of years for its sacred and medicinal properties. Indian Sandalwood is now an endangered species, so it is very expensive.
In Hinduism Sandalwood paste is mixed with Saffron to mark religious objects and devotees. Sandalwood is used to support meditation in Buddhism, and it is seen as a sacred anointment or aroma in many sacred systems.


CONSTITUENTS
Sandalwood contains sesquiterpenic alcohols, containing tricyclic a-Santalol as its main constituents.


TYPICAL PREPARATIONS AND DOSAGE
Sandalwood powder can be burnt liberally on charcoal disks to create a peaceful, uplifting sacred space.


PRECAUTIONS
None known.