Myrrh

Myrrh

Scientific Name: Commiphora myrrha

Part used: Sap from the tree

In a word: Wound healer

Uses: Keeps wounds free from infection and speeds the healing process

Several hundred years ago, some wise men brought the young Christ Child a heavy load of gifts, which included frankincense and myrrh. Today, most of us have heard of myrrh because we’ve heard the Christmas story, but what is it anyway, and how could it save your life?

At the time of Jesus’ birth and before, myrrh was considered a sacred substance associated with godliness. In those days, as now, myrrh was used for two things: religious rites and healing. On the religious side, myrrh was used along with frankincense as a popular incense. Burned in the temples, it exudes a most heavenly scent. Now, in order to understand why myrrh was so popular, you have to focus on a few facts. What with open sewage, people and animals sharing beds (remember where Jesus was born), not to mention the fact that bathing on a regular basis wouldn’t come into vogue for centuries, the ancient world smelled really bad. Noxious odors abounded, and perfume was a luxury of the super rich. The only sweet-smelling article common people had contact with was fresh flowers. Burning myrrh masked the nastiness. The fragrance was such a shock in the midst of all the stink that people assumed it had to have links with God.

Myrrh prevents wounds from becoming infected and speeds the healing process.

Myrrh is not actually a plant but rather a plant product, one of the oldest plant products still in active use. The commiphora tree, when slit with a knife, exudes a gummy white substance that hardens quickly in the Near Eastern sun. You may have noticed the clear gelatinous substance that cherry trees secrete when attacked by borers. Myrrh is similar, with the important exception that long ago, and we mean really long ago, man discovered the substance is fragrant and when burned creates an incense that puts those who inhale it into a dreamlike state.

Not long ago I got my hands on some myrrh, and my dinner guests and I decided to try lighting the ancient gum in an incense burner. As it flamed away, putting out its luxurious smoke, a dull quiet spread over the room. Who knows what was so soothing to me and my guests, but the incense definitely made everyone feel like naptime. Then adults went from chatting noisily to sitting quietly enjoying the silence. Myrrh does something to the human mind. We are only now learning about pheromones, little chemicals that are sucked in by the nose and affect the brain, and after seeing what myrrh did to my dinner party, I am inclined to think that there is something inside the gum which puts the human mind in a special place.

Though the plant is revered by all cultures familiar with it, the myths attached to its creation are less than noble. The leading one holds that Myrrha, daughter of a king of Cyprus, developed an unnatural fixation on her father, a desire that even people in the days of human sacrifice found out of line. We are talking about the big taboo. As she wouldn’t let up on her yen for dear old dad, he banished her to the barren deserts of Arabia where the gods transformed her into a myrrh tree exuding tears sweet with repentance.

When I say that myrrh has been kicking around for some time, I mean serious business. In the fifth century, BC, Herodotus noted that the Egyptians used myrrh in embalming:

 First with a crooked iron they draw out the brains through the nostrils, extracting it partly thus and partly by pouring in drugs; and after this with a sharp stone of Ethiopia they make a cut along the side and take out the whole contents of the belly, and when they have cleared out the cavity and cleansed it with palm-wine they cleanse it again with spices pounded up; then they fill the belly with pure myrrh pounded up and with cassia and other spices except frankincense, and sew it together again.

A more appealing quotation about myrrh comes from the Bible:

 I rose up to open up to my beloved, and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock. His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers, his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh.

Sounds like the sound track to a racy sex film? Wrong, Song of Songs, chapter 5: verse 5. Look it up, you will see it plain as day. Mor, as the ancient Hebrews called it, receives not one, but eleven biblical listings.

Myrrh’s uniqueness is hard to tack down and put into words. To understand myrrh, you have to buy some, let it burn in the house, and experience its presence. The Wise Men felt its essential value so strongly that they deemed it a worthy gift for the newborn Christ Child, and they were right.

Medicinally, myrrh has been used as a healing stimulant, antiseptic, and antispasmodic. Conditions for which it is recommended include leprosy, syphilitic ulcers, sores, sore throats, wounds, bad breath, weak gums, bleeding gums, and loose teeth.

In China, myrrh is used to correct defective healing. Like people in other cultures, the Chinese use it to treat wounds and ulcers. They believe that the herb, which enters the body through the liver channel, invigorates the blood and gets it moving rapidly to the parts of the body that need healing. The essence of the human body, blood caries nutrition to the various cells which in turn tune up the organs that keep us alive. In addition, the blood picks up any waste products that need to be eliminated. The Chinese feel that myrrh actually helps the body collect and get rid of the congealed blood of bruises. According to Chinese medicine, the herb’s ability to get the blood moving is its main boon to health. The Chinese go on to say that myrrh soothes pain. The plant product promotes healing, especially in the case of stubborn skin wounds.

Practitioner’s Advice

Since the beginning of time, literally, myrrh has been used to heal damaged tissues. Its ability to heal tissues was so profound that early in history it became a commodity. This is an ancient first aid plant and one that should be kept around when accidents occur. It prevents wounds from becoming infected and speeds the healing process. In the old days the substance was powdered and poulticed unto wounds. Today, herbalists feel it is better to use an alcoholic myrrh tincture. It should be applied four times a day.

Directions: Tincture (1:5, 90% alcohol) or cream is applied 3 times daily