General considerations about Palo Santo

For people who don't know much about Palo Santo, at first it looks like just a piece of aromatic wood that is used as incense. This may be one of its functions, but behind it there is a reason why it is used in this way.

Palo Santo is much more than an aromatic wood, and since it is made entirely naturally, it does not cause any type of aggression to nature and brings many benefits to human beings with its ability to harmonize environments.

This aromatic wood brings as part of its properties the ability to clean the environment of negative energies and also can attract good energies to a place that was previously contaminated with bad energies. Learn more about Palo Santo below.

What, what are the origins and what is Palo Santo used for

Palo Santo is an aromatic wood that has been used from the most ancient peoples until the present time for various purposes. In these early cases, it came to be used a lot during religious ceremonies due to its properties.

Various cultures have used Palo Santo at these times because it has great benefits for the well-being of an environment. People such as the Incas, Mayas, and Aztecs have used this natural incense at many times, especially during their celebrations.

In addition, it also came to be widely used by shamans, who used the natural incense to do their spiritual healings due to Palo Santo's ability to perform energetic cleansing. See more about Palo Santo below!

What is Palo Santo

Palo Santo is considered a natural incense because it can be extracted from nature very easily to be used in specific situations, such as cleaning environments and even just for flavoring.

The process for its removal is done in the most natural way possible so that nature is not harmed by the extraction. For this, it is necessary to wait until the tree dies naturally before removing the resin from the trunk, and it should remain in place for at least 10 years after death.

The Palo Santo tree and derived products

Palo Santo comes from a wild tree found in some specific regions. With so many positive and natural properties, Palo Santo can be seen and found through some products today.

Most commonly, it is used as incense, using a stick of the wood taken from the Palo Santo tree. However, there are also some essential oils that can be used for similar purposes, such as purification, cleaning, and harmonizing the environment.

The Origin of Palo Santo

Palo Santo, it seems, originates from South America, from a wild tree that can be found in some countries and specific regions of the continent. The main places where this tree can be seen are Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela.

Thus, it is common that in places like these Palo Santo is widely used for moments of religious celebration until the present day. Civilizations used Palo Santo due to its exhaled aroma, with properties capable of promoting relaxation.

Palo Santo in Umbanda

Palo Santo is used in religious ceremonies to drive away negativity and bring good energies. It is used by Umbanda precisely because it has these properties.

In its rituals and moments in which it is necessary to purify the environment, it is normal to light incense of Palo Santo because its smoke has the ability to keep spirits of low energetic vibration away, so that they do not affect the people around.

What it is used for

The use of Palo Santo as incense can be used to clean environments in general. The smoke spread throughout the environment purifies it and makes the people in that environment feel better, because they will not be affected by spirits with low energy and other dense energies, such as envy, jealousy, sadness, fear, and others.

Palo Santo can also be used in moments of meditation and contemplation. Many people use this natural incense to provide them with the relaxing properties for those moments when they need to be alone with their minds in the search for the meditative state.

How Palo Santo interacts with us

The interaction of Palo Santo depends on how it is being used. For meditative purposes, it provides relaxation properties due to its aroma, and when burned as incense, the feeling in the room is one of calmness, which provides a sense of peace.

Due to some of its properties, however, Palo Santo has also come to be used in treatments against pain, such as arthritis, for example, because it has analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties that are attributed to one of its main components, limonene.

Curiosities about Palo Santo

Since the removal of Palo Santo from its trees is done in a nature-friendly way, the trees that provide this potent natural incense can live on average for 50 to 100 years.

Due to the care taken in extraction, these trees can stay in nature for many years providing one of the most beneficial natural products full of properties, which bring about both physical and emotional changes for the people who use them.

Is the Palo Santo in danger of extinction?

The Palo Santo is not in danger of becoming extinct, according to information provided by the IUCN through a conservation report on the Bursera Graveolens tree. However, some rumors indicated that this kind of event could be real, but it was about another species that is also popularly known as Palo Santo.

However, it is worth noting that even if the species is protected, the environment in which it is found may be threatened due to the conditions it is in, since only about 5% to 10% of the forests where it is found in South America remain intact at this time.

The benefits of Palo Santo

Palo Santo, besides all its benefits for emotional issues, can also act by providing physical health benefits.

There are several applications for this product. It can be found in the form of a wooden stick to be used as incense and also as an essential oil. Both options should be considered depending on the type of application that will be done with Palo Santo.

Knowing more about the functionalities and benefits of this excellent natural incense can give you much more knowledge to use the natural product efficiently so that you can improve your quality of life.

Natural Repellent

One of the applications of Palo Santo is as a natural repellent. It has properties that are able to drive mosquitoes out of environments, according to a study done in 2012.

The essential oil that is extracted from Palo Santo wood is rich in limonene, a substance that is widely used in the manufacture of insecticides, and thus has a very positive effect in keeping flies, ants, mosquitoes, termites, and other various insects that can invade homes and generate nuisance.

Pain Relief

The essential oil taken from Palo Santo is also widely used to treat many different types of pain. Its main uses are for fighting arthritis, headaches, sore throats, and others.

Many studies are done every year to evaluate the properties of this excellent natural product. Among them, one dated 2017 proved that Palo Santo has analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties coming from its main component, limonene.

Improved stress and tension levels

Known for its ability to calm, Palo Santo also brings several benefits to people who face stress-related problems. In this case, the application is made through incense because the aroma exhaled by the smoke when burning Palo Santo incense provides a relaxing sensation to the environment.

This effect, as well as all the beneficial actions coming from Palo Santo, is also exerted by limonene. The action against stress and disorders of this origin are immediate and can be felt through the relaxation caused by Palo Santo.

Palo Santo in the treatment of diseases

Palo Santo can also be used to treat other illnesses, such as colds, flu, asthma, bronchitis, and others. The application can be done, depending on the illness to be combated, using essential oils or through the incense itself.

This is because Palo Santo can be a great aid in practices such as aromatherapy. In this application, it is also used as an excellent support for treatments of sleep-related disorders.

Palo Santo for spiritual purification and energetic cleansing

The habit of using Palo Santo for spiritual purification and energetic cleansing is something that comes from the ancestors of the Andean peoples.

The burning of the Palo Santo, according to the belief, is also something that can inspire more creativity in people, besides attracting good luck and bringing love closer, since it releases good energies around.

The properties and composition of Palo Santo

To understand a little more of the benefits of Palo Santo, it is also necessary to understand this natural incense in a deeper way, as to its composition and everything that makes it important in combating various diseases, and not only its application focused on the spiritual side.

The components of Palo Santo are responsible for the anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties that can bring relief to physical ailments that generate discomfort, pain, and other bad feelings.

Understanding a little more about this composition can clarify the reasons why this is a natural product that should be valued and inserted into your daily life in general, even if only for its mental benefits.

The properties of Palo Santo

The properties of Palo Santo are many, and one discovers with each passing moment that it can be applied to benefit a few more issues. The smoke from burning Palo Santo wood serves not only to perfume, but to invigorate the environment, ensuring a feeling of cheerfulness due to the energetic purification it promotes.

Through aromatherapy these properties are shown by Palo Santo oil, which can perform not only spiritual cleansing, but also physical cleansing, since it can be used in detoxification processes and also in cases of sprains, for example.

Chemical constituents of Palo Santo

As part of its chemical composition, Palo Santo has three important substances that are the main ones found in this natural incense: Limonene, Terpineol, and Menthofuran. Each one of them has a different way of acting.

These components found in Palo Santo are responsible for providing the benefits for several distinct areas, such as for respiratory diseases, arthritis, and inflammatory processes, and also the sense of well-being that can be noted as a characteristic of each of these components.

Limonene

Limonene is part of almost 63% of Palo Santo wood and essential oil. It is used and very beneficial to combat anxiety. It also helps in creative processes because it guarantees a sense of well-being for the person in the environment in which he or she is inserted.

This person's mind becomes much freer and more relaxed due to the properties, which provide a sense of quietness, peace, and tranquility to the environment, as is often used in cases of meditation, for example.

Terpineol

Terpineol is an excellent natural bactericide, as well as fungicide and tonic, and can be used to boost immunity. This property is also very important, because through it Palo Santo is able to establish a better balance between mind and body.

This increase in immunity favored by Terpineol can guarantee a much greater well-being for those who make use of this powerful natural product, enjoying a much stronger health.

Menthofuran

Menthofuran is an antiviral and anticongestant that promotes well-being in cases of respiratory diseases. Since Palo Santo can be used in cases of bronchitis, colds, and other diseases that are related to the respiratory system, the anticongestant property is very important in this process.

In addition, its antiviral benefits are remarkable and can provide immune system strengthening to prevent opportunistic viral diseases from spreading.

How to use Palo Santo

The application of Palo Santo can be done in several ways, depending on the objectives of those who wish to use this amazing natural product, full of properties. Thus, if the objectives are for physical issues, it is necessary to take into consideration the correct use and all the processes that must be done.

For the application to bring well-being, in the form of incense, for example, there are also other procedures that must be adopted to ensure that Palo Santo will have its beneficial action.

There is also some care that must be taken regarding the origin of the product, since it is possible to be mistaken and use something that may not have any effect or may end up doing more harm than good. If you want to know more about Palo Santo, then read on.

Proper extraction of Palo Santo

All extraction of Palo Santo must be done in a way that does not harm nature and the environment. It must be harvested through trees that have already died, in a natural way, to ensure that it is done correctly and minimally invasive.

Not only does it need to be done only on trees that have died naturally, but it is also necessary that these trees remain in nature for ten years. Due to this stance, it is possible to consider Palo Santo a sustainable resource.

The quality of the product

The quality of Palo Santo, such as good aromatic properties and others, is highlighted precisely by the way the product is extracted from nature. If the extraction is made in the right way, respecting nature and without committing any act of aggression to the environment, this is considered a good product.

This is because Palo Santo is only considered original if it is made this way and removed without any problems for nature. The trees in question stay in nature for 10 years curing, so that soon after this process the product can be removed and have value.

The best places to use Palo Santo

Although the effects of Palo Santo can be felt in many different environments, the best places to use this natural incense are in the most open and spacious areas, where there can be much more air circulation for the smoke to spread throughout the room.

However, care must be taken when using the Palo Santo stick to avoid inhaling the smoke, and it is also recommended not to burn the stick on dry days, since the strong, intense smell can cause some kind of irritation in the airways.

The purification of environments with Palo Santo

To purify an environment using Palo Santo, simply burn the stick and circulate it throughout the area you wish to clean.

The purification of the environment made with Palo Santo needs to be performed throughout the desired location in order for it to be effective and improve the energy of the environment, removing bad energies and ridding the space of everything negative that may be present.

Using Palo Santo on a stick

To cleanse the environment with the Palo Santo stick, first light it with fire and walk around the room with the purpose of each area being taken by the smoke that will do the work of purifying the desired location.

If you want to do this in your home, for example, go through all the rooms with the stick in hand, spreading the smoke in all the places and directions of the room. By going through the whole house you will be sure that the rooms will be prepared to receive good energies and expel the contained negativity.

Using Palo Santo in sawdust

To use Palo Santo in sawdust, you first need to light a charcoal and throw all the sawdust on top of the ember that was made by the charcoal. Thus, the Palo Santo will start its burning process and then release its aroma, responsible for purifying the environment.

Even when extinguished, Palo Santo has the ability to exude its aroma and ensures that the environment in which you are in has a much cleaner and more welcoming energy. In addition, it can also be used as a protection amulet against bad energies.

Using Palo Santo for incense

Palo Santo incense can be used at times when you feel energetically impaired, very tired, and discouraged. Light a Palo Santo incense in the environment you wish to stay in and let it act to remove the negativity that is in you and in the environment, causing the feeling of exhaustion, discouragement, and tiredness.

It can be used at times when you arrive home from the street and may attract negativity from other people into the environment. In this way, it will serve to prevent these bad energies from entering your home with you.

Palo Santo tea

The use of Palo Santo in its tea version can be done to fight colds. Since this natural product has the ability to help with these and other respiratory diseases, it can be very effective in fighting colds, flus, and even asthma.

Thus, its tea can be consumed for immediate relief from these bad physical sensations brought on by colds and flus.

How to delete Palo Santo

To put out the Palo Santo stick, you must first scrape the tip of the stick into a metal or ceramic bowl. Another way to quickly put out the fire is to pour sand or ashes over the stick, as these will smother the fire.

To put out the Palo Santo in incense you can throw sawdust or the ashes left by it on top of the ember. It can also be put out with sand, preventing it from burning any further.

Are there any contraindications to the use of Palo Santo?

The contraindications to the use of Palo Santo are related to its burning. As it produces smoke, otolaryngologists recommend caution, since it can contain particles that are toxic to the breath, such as carbon monoxide and soot, for example.

This care must be taken even in the case of natural products such as Palo Santo because there is also a risk of getting intoxicated with the smoke produced due to the substances that can be released.

However, since much of Palo Santo's composition is provided by limonene, some experts point out that inhaling the smoke can be tolerated, but care must be taken when noticing any kind of allergic reaction.