Angelica Root Essential Oil Benefits and Uses in Aromatherapy

Angelica root essential oil is one of two essential oils produced from the Angelica archangelica plant. The other is angelica seed. They differ somewhat in their aroma, color, chemistry, price, and properties. This article looks at angelica root essential oil benefits and uses.

"Angelica root holds, strengthens, and protects us when we most need support," states Working With Unusual Essential Oils. The oil is useful when experiencing pain, weakness, difficult decisions, fear, anguish, and trauma and also supports the helpers who work with people who have these issues.

Basic Angelica Root Facts

Plant family: Apiaceae.

Production: Steam distilled from the roots of the plant.

Aroma: Musky, earthy, rooty.

Perfume/Aromatic Note: Middle.
 
Is angelica safe during pregnancy? No.

Is angelica essential oil safe for children? Yes, well diluted.

Cautions: Angelica root can cause skin to become photosensitive if used at more than a dermal maximum of 0.8% (1 drop in 2 teaspoons (10 ml) carrier), meaning your skin is more likely to burn when exposed to UV light from the sun or tanning beds. Avoid UV light for at least 12 hours after applying angelica root to your skin.

Some sources suggest people with diabetes shouldn't use angelica, although I have not seen supportive evidence.

Main components:

• beta-phellandrene  10.0–24%
• alpha-pinene         4.4–24%
• alpha-phellandrene  7.5–20%
• d-limonene           6.0–13.2%

Source: Essential Oil Safety, 2nd Edition

Physical Angelica Root Essential Oil Benefits and Uses

Aromatherapy: A Complete Guide to the Healing Art and Essential Oils & Aromatherapy for Dummies: As an essential oil for women, angelica regulates menstruation, helps relieve PMS, and may help during menopause. As a digestive tonic, the oil stimulates appetite and alleviates belching, gas, stomach cramps, and indigestion. For the respiratory system, angelica supports breathing and reduces coughing.

The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy: Angelica root is a fortifying and strengthening oil. Use it for coughs, sinus problems, arthritis, gout, physical fatigue, and stress-related conditions.

Aromatica: A Clinical Guide to Essential Oil Therapeutics, Volume 2: Physically, angelica root oil restores weak/hypotonic and relaxes hypertonic/tense conditions. The oil has an affinity for the nervous, endocrine, reproductive, respiratory, digestive, urinary, and musculoskeletal systems.

"The theme that angelica root clearly lays out is a balancing of opposites. Its tropism expresses a polarity dance, namely between the brain and nervous functions above, and metabolic and reproductive functions below."

Some of the best uses of angelica root:

• Chronic forms of anxiety and insomnia and also nervous exhaustion or breakdown from any cause. The oil's best use is for long-term problems resulting from chronic tension, weakness, and cold combined.
• Spasmodic menstrual cramping and absent periods.
• Pain, including neuromuscular, headaches, and toothache.
• Stagnant conditions of the lower digestive tract.
• Chronic spasmodic and/or congestive bronchitis with breathing difficulty and productive cough.
• Fungus and skin conditions such as psoriasis and vitiligo.

Spiritual and Energetic Benefits of Angelica Root Essential Oil

The powerful fragrance of angelica root may draw you close to angelic forces receptive to your needs, according to aromatherapist Valerie Ann Worwood in Aromatherapy For the Soul. The spiritual benefits of angelica root essential oil are to encourage strength, stamina, comfort, focus, solidity, grounding, and inner visions.

Angelica root supports a fiery physical vitality and can help strengthen your resolve to follow through with your convictions, according to The Blossoming Heart. The oil encourages you to stand your ground, to assert yourself, and to express your truth and confidence.

As a master teacher, angelica opens the heart, helps you move into higher consciousness, and protects from negative energy and emotions, according to Sacred Oils.

Aromatherapy Anointing Oils offers the most information about using angelica root with the chakras. Generally, the oil helps bring you into conscious relationship with the angelic realm, so you can receive its teachings, benefit from its wisdom, and draw substance and comfort from knowing angels protect and guide you. The essential oil also helps you align with your higher self.

Angelica root essential oil benefits for the chakras:

• Seventh (crown) chakra: helps connect you with the angelic realm, especially angelic guidance. Strengths spirituality and helps you align with your higher self.
• Sixth (third eye) chakra: promotes wisdom and inner visions. Balances and protects you during meditative states.
• Fifth (throat) chakra: promotes compassionate and patient communication and the ability to communicate effectively about spirituality.
• Fourth (heart) chakra: protects against outside negativity. Promotes inner peace, compassion, patience, acceptance, and the ability to nurture others. Encourages trust and gratitude.
• Third (solar plexus) chakra: promotes personal strength, stamina, and personal integrity.
• Second (sacral) chakra: supports healthy relationships, protects personal boundaries, shields against outside negativity, and helps you accept and find peace with your full range of emotions.
• First (root) chakra: grounds, supports, protects, and promotes a sense of security.

When to use angelica root:

• You desire light and wisdom in your life
• You want to experience the presence of angels
• You need to feel comforted
• To become a source of illumination in the lives of others
• During meditation to connect with angelic guidance and for protection from outside influences

Mental and Emotional Angelica Root Essential Oil Benefits

Psychologically, angelica root stabilizes the mind and promotes integration, willpower, and perseverance, according to Aromatica, Vol. 2. "By stabilizing mental functions and boosting instinctive ones, the complex aroma has a rare ability to integrate opposite poles of the psyche." This effect both rekindles powers of will and courage and returns flights of the mind to a grounded center. The oil is useful if you feel discouraged by setbacks and find it difficult to justify any further effort or perseverance.

Mentally, angelica root essential oil helps calm mental chatter and create a sense of serenity, according to The Essential Guide to Aromatherapy and Vibrational Healing. Emotionally, the oil can help release emotional wounds and clear away unnecessary emotional baggage and outside negative influences.

Use this essential oil to help relieve anxiety, emotional ups and downs, feelings of being overwhelmed, insomnia, irritability, nervous tension or upset, nervousness, and sleep disturbances, according to The Aromatherapy Companion (Shutes).

Angelica Root Essential Oil Benefits in TCM and Ayurveda

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the essential function of angelica root is to activate the Qi, harmonize the Middle Warmer, and calm the Shen, according to Aromatica, Vol. 2.

• Movement: circulating
• Warmth: neutral to warm
• Meridian tropism: Liver, Stomach, Spleen, Lung
• Five-element affinity: Earth and Metal

Angelica root tonifies lung and spleen Qi, nourishes blood, calms the spirit, and opens the diaphragm to expel phlegm, according to The Healing Intelligence of Essential Oils.

Ayurveda and Aromatherapy:

• The rasa (taste) of angelica is pungent and sweet, the vipaka (aftertaste) is sweet, and the virya (energy) is heating and moisturizing.
• The oil balances vata, pitta, and kapha but in excess can increase pitta.
• Tissues most affected by the oil are plasma, blood, muscle, marrow, nerve, and endocrine reproductive.
• Indications for this essential oil include adrenal excess, anemia, arthritis or rheumatic pain, colds and flu, headaches, hiccups, lack of periods, menstrual cramps, PMS, and poor circulation.

Angelica Root Essential Oil Uses and Blends

For sleep, rub 3 drops (diluted) of angelica root on your solar plexus, according to The Healing Intelligence of Essential Oils.

Working With Unusual Essential Oils suggests these essential oils to blend with angelica root:

• For trauma, upset, and fear: bergamot, buddha wood, cistus, copaiba, Fragonia, helichrysum, ho wood, katafray, kunzea, neroli, rose, yarrow.
• For courage: bay laurel, cypress, kunzea, rosemary.
• For self protection: cedarwood, elemi, frankincense, rosemary, sage, spikenard, thyme ct. linalol.

Relaxing Massage Oil

• 2 drops angelica root essential oil
• 2 drops cardamom essential oil
• 3 drops basil essential oil
• 3 drops spearmint essential oil
• Sweet almond or other carrier oil

Add essential oils to a two-ounce squeeze bottle. Fill bottle with carrier oil. Close bottle and shake well to mix.

Relaxing Bath Salts

Stir together the following ingredients:

• 2 drops angelica root essential oil
• 1 drop cedarwood essential oil
• 3 drops lavender essential oil
• 2 tablespoons jojoba oil
• 1/2 cup Epsom salt

Stir the blend into your bathwater.

Source: Eden's Garden

Soothing Shower Gel for Empaths and Wounded Healers

Use this gel and let the water wash away negativity.

• 100 ml (about 6-3/4 tablespoons or 3.4 ounces) shower gel base
• 8 drops angelica root
• 8 drops neroli essential oil
• 12 drops ho wood essential oil
• 2 drops rose essential oil

Source: Working With Unusual Essential Oils

Connect to Guides

Here's a blend for connecting to your angelic guides:

• 2 drops angelica essential oil
• 3 drops clary sage essential oil
• 4 drops goldenrod essential oil
• 5 drops frankincense essential oil
• 6 drops cistus essential oil
• 7 drops elemi essential oil
• 12 drops mandarin essential oil

Ways to use this blend:

• In a diffuser
• Diluted in a carrier oil (3% or less for topical use) and used as a perfume or as a body or massage lotion
• Blended with distilled water in a mister bottle and used as a room spray — 20 drops in 1/2 cup distilled water
• In a personal inhaler (8 to 15 drops)

Source: West Coast Aromatherapy

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Carol Wiley is a retired massage therapist and freelance writer. She has used her deep interest in aromatherapy and essential oils to research their benefits and uses and bring you summaries with links to more detailed resources.

If you find this site useful, you can show your support by buying through my affiliate links. The site is a labor of love, and I appreciate any income that helps keep it up and running.

Buy essential oils at Aromatics International or Rocky Mountain Essential Oils.
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But anything at Amazon.

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Photo Credits: Plant by Robert Flogaus-Faust, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Hands by nikkized / 123RF Stock Photo<./span>

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