Guide to Calamus Essential Oil

Calamus essential oil is available in three forms:

• Diploid (Acorus calamus var. americanus)
• Tetraploid or hexaploid (Acorus calamus var. angustatus)
• Triploid (Acorus calamus var. calamus)
  

Depending on the form, this essential oil has varying degrees of potential toxicity (and possible carcinogenicity). Many aromatherapy sources recommend avoiding the oil or using it only under the guidance of a professional.

Plant family: Araceae.

Production: Steam distilled from the roots (rhizomes) of the plant, which is also called sweet flag or sweet sedge. The reed-like aquatic plant has small greenish-yellow flowers and grows on the edges of lakes and streams with the long-branched rhizome immersed in mud.

Aroma: Faintly sweet and waxy.

Perfume/Aromatic note: Base.

Is calamus essential oil safe to use during pregnancy? No, and do not use while breastfeeding.

Is calamus essential oil safe for children? Unlikely. Consult a professional.

Main components:

• Diploid: shyobunones, acorenone, preisocalamendiol
• Tetraploid or hexaploid: beta-asarone, isoeugenol, calamenene
• Triploid: shyobunones, beta-asarone
  

For more details, see Essential Oil Safety, 2nd Ed. The book states the most commonly available form of the oil is tetraploid and recommends a dermal maximum of 0.2% for it.

Calamus Essential Oil Benefits and Uses

Calamus is useful for any type of spiritual/intuitive work, according to Aromatherapy and Subtle Energy Techniques. The oil supports the flow of information directly from the seventh chakra to the sixth chakra, where the mind can understand the info, and to the fifth chakra for communication.

Aromatherapy Anointing Oils adds that the essential oil promotes and supports understanding of your own spiritual path and that of others. Calamus uses for the chakras:

• Seventh (crown) chakra: supports the ability to receive spiritual information.
• Sixth (third eye) chakra: supports understanding of spiritual information and insights.
• Fifth (throat) chakra: helps you speak clearly about spiritual information and insights and listen to others about their spiritual information and insights.

Lotus Garden Botanicals: The best-suited use for calamus is in perfume or spiritual holy anointing oils.

Essential Oils Natural Remedies: Calamus helps ease headaches and promote a refreshed, renewed feeling. Diffuse this essential oil at the first sign of a headache or use it (sparingly) in an aromatherapy pendant or inhaler.

Gya Labs: Calamus may help improve concentration and memory and also soothe stress. 

Original Swiss Aromatics: Calamus may help relieve rheumatic conditions, reduce spasms, and enhance memory. The Old Testament mentions a holy anointing oil made of calamus, myrrh, cinnamon, and cassia.

Healing in the Bible With Essential Oil by aromatherapist Rebecca Park Titilo: In mild doses calamus may help maintain nervous system health and in very low doses aid sleep. The oil may also help relieve spasms, along with calming the mind, promoting positive thoughts, and relaxing the body. This essential oil blends well with clary sage, geranium, lavender, marjoram, rosemary, and tea tree.

Ayurveda and Aromatherapy:

• The rasa (taste) of calamus (called vacha in Sanskrit) is pungent, bitter, astringent; the vipaka (aftertaste) is pungent; and the virya (energy) is heating and drying.
• The oil decreases vata and kapha and increases pitta.
• Tissues most affected by the oil are plasma, muscle, fat, marrow, nerve, and reproductive.
• Indications for this essential oil include colds, coughs, sinus headaches, sinusitis, arthritis, shock, memory loss, and neuralgia.

Marma Points of Ayurveda adds that vacha acts primarily on the brain, enhances clarity of perception, and reduces convulsions, congestion, and kapha-type pain. The oil relieves numbness and is a strong stimulant, with an affinity for the nervous system, sinuses, lungs, and lymphatic system.

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About the Author

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

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Photo Credit: Mokkie, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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