The Perfumed Heart & Anointing the Windows to Heaven
Allegory of the Sense of Smell (1617–18), Peter Paul Rubens and Jan Brueghel the Elder. Museo del Prado, Madrid
A dab on the wrist, a splash behind the ears.
To the French aristocrats of the 17th century, these points held the allure of seduction. In these close contact areas, perfume would waft from neck to nose during greetings, whispers, and embraces. A perfumed wrist would leave a trail of aroma with every movement, and could be easily accessed for a discreet inhale.
Practically — these points on the skin hold heat, which helps distribute and enhance aroma, and you’re less likely to stain clothing from these points.
The wrists and neck are also known pulse points. Did our perfumed ancestors intuit how protective and healing anointing these places with fragrant oils could be?
And here we are, centuries later — still creating fragrant auras by placing perfumes upon our wrists and necks.
This practice, when done in partnership with pure plant perfumes, has the potential to protect our heart and attune us to spirit throughout the day.
Unfortunately, most people aren’t using botanical, natural perfumes. Even many “spiritual” perfumes are made with synthetic fragrances.
If you’ve been around here for awhile, you probably already know some of the risks of synthetic perfumes — namely disrupting the endocrine system. But stay with me here. There is way more at stake that you might realize.
And — way more benefit to uncover, too ;)
The Meridian Matrix of Perfumed Points
When we apply any perfume to wrist and neck points on the body, we are activating and anointing our energetic blueprint — our meridian matrix.
This means that the perfume you put on these key points not only travels through your skin into your body’s chemistry, it also moves into specific meridians, where it is further circulated throughout your system.
Meridians, to review, are energetic pathways through our body. Some of them have an affinity with organ systems and very real effects on our physical health. Some of them carry karma, patterns, and life lessons. All of them impact us on multiple levels of our being.
Any system that utilizes the meridian matrix for healing — from acupuncture to tapping to anointing — aims to free us from blockages and foreign energy that clogs or disrupts the healthy flow of our energy.
So how do the commonly perfumed wrist and neck points relate to our energetic body?
Let’s begin with the wrist points.
In TCM, the Pericardium meridian runs down the arm, with a few key points along the wrist. It protects the heart — both physically and emotionally — just like the actual pericardium, the membrane around the physical heart.
Take a look at the image below, and you’ll see just where some of the key wrist points are:
A healthy Pericardium helps us manage emotional stress, heartbreak, and trauma. It opens us to joy, love, and connection.
Next, let's look at the neck points.
The neck is home to several points within the grouping known as the Windows of Heaven.* Also referred to as Heavenly Windows or Windows of the Sky, these points are often used to connect us with our higher selves and facilitate all sorts of spiritual healing. A few of the Heavenly Window points found along the neck include:
Large Intestine 18
Triple Heater 16
Stomach 9
Images below thanks to Yin Yang House.
*There is contention around the actual age and origin of these points, with many scholars calling them a modern invention. It seems that a version with 5 points has some origin in ancient texts, while the grouping of 10 points might be a modern development. I find that the results speak for themselves, regardless of their origins. See this article for more.
Plant Perfumes as Energetic Allies
While acupuncture is probably the most well-known way to stimulate these points, they aren’t our only option. Placing stones on these points is an ancient practice. And so is anointing them with sacred, perfumed oils.
By anointing your wrist points and neck with sacred oils via a simple daily perfume ritual, you stimulate energies of love, connection, and healthy emotional boundaries within yourself. You facilitate your connection to spirit and your true, divine nature.
This happens simply by applying perfume. (But only the right kind of perfume…)
We evolved in partnership with plants, and plants help us remember how to be healthy. Essential oils in particular carry the healthy, vibrant energetic blueprint of a plant — which in turns helps our own energy blueprint remember its most healthy and vibrant way of being.
When we wear perfumes made with real essential oils and absolutes, not only do we benefit from the condensed chemistry of plants, but we receive their spiritual essence and energetic gifts, as well.
If you have a diluted essential oil or truly botanical perfume nearby, you can experience this right now:
Dab a bit of your perfume onto your your pulse points. Feel the spiritual essence of the plants flow into your body on the lines of energetic matrix. Notice how the plants know just where to go, effortlessly clearing any stagnation as they circulate health chi throughout your system. This may feel subtle. Simply notice any tiny shifts, buzzes, vibrations, or thoughts that arise.
For those wondering — yes, certain plants do have an affinity for certain meridians, and I’ll share some of my favorite plant perfume allies in a moment.
Now that you have some idea of how truly magical and healing plant perfumes can be, let’s look at how typical commercial perfumes impact our systems…
Popular Perfumes as Foreign Energy
There’s a foundational concept when it comes to healing at energetic and spiritual levels:
Either something is missing that should be there, or something is there shouldn’t be there.*
(I have an entire 65-minute class on this topic that is totally FREE, which you can check out here.)
Anointing with pure plant perfumes has the potential to call our soul home. To ignite memory beyond the mundane and help our souls remember who we really are. In other words, plant perfumes restore what should be there.
Anointing with synthetic entities that have not evolved to support us introduces foreign substances and energetics into our system. We are literally inducing spiritual illness because synthetic perfumes add something that shouldn’t be there.
In Taoist alchemy, we refer to these substances as parasites or ghosts — foreign energies that enter our system and begin to hijack our wellness to support their own survival.
When “ghosts” take up residence in our hearts:
We have trouble letting go of the past. The process of integrating challenging experiences into lessons that become strengths is clogged, and our most painful emotions get lodged in our systems.
It becomes more difficult to discern what feelings, emotions, and opinions are our aren’t our own. Are you picking up on other people’s fear, or is it your intuition? Heart ghosts make this type of discernment incredibly confusing.
Our relationships lack intimacy. The ghosts block us from being able to open our hearts and find the truth and love within.
We lose hope. For some reason, ghosts love depression. Sadness. Fear. Shame. Guilt. All the fun stuff. They feed off these emotions, and make it harder for us to access the spiritual joy that is always waiting to imbue us with blessings.
When “ghosts” clog our Windows to Heaven:
We lose our spiritual connection. Our attention becomes overly fixated on the material world, leaving us feeling empty and hopeless without fully understanding why.
Our connection with our higher self is blocked or severed. We start to believe the lie that a smaller version of ourselves is the fullness of our being.
We can’t access our intuition. There’s too much confusion with the many messages that come to us from all directions, and we lack the ability to know what’s true beyond the surface.
Trust in the goodness of life becomes elusive. Without an authentic connection to the realms beyond this reality, we lack the ability to see the beauty that is always within any pain.
It’s estimated that up to 80% of humans wear perfume regularly, and the vast majority of this is still synthetic. (Even “natural” perfumes can contain synthetics filled with foreign energy, which I write more about here.)
Imagine what this is doing to us.
So many people are unaware that they are sabotaging their connection with their true nature, which often results in searching outside yourself for fullness. What should you believe? Who will protect you?
We give away our power when we lack the discernment to know lies from truth. We lose our ability to have strong communities when our hearts are filled with ghosts.
And we see the results of this all around us.
Fortunately, there are so many options for botanical, natural perfumes today…
Botanical Perfumes as Daily Allies
Perfume is ritual. It always has been. And it’s only been since the mid-1800s that perfumes have had synthetic materials in them. Reclaiming the ancient, ancestral practices of blessing our bodies and energy fields with sacred, natural perfumes is revolutionary act with far reaching consequences.
Botanical perfumes are everywhere today, but you do need to be careful — there’s a lot green/spiritual washing when it comes to terms like “clean” or “natural”. (So much so that I wrote a whole article on how to navigate the chaos and jargon of natural perfumes.)
I’ve been creating natural perfumes for almost two decades now, and I know where my ingredients come from. I also have developed a process of creating perfumes while channeling compassionate spirits, so each bottle is filled with transmissions of healing energy.
When I create a botanical perfume, I select plants based on several factors — what I know about them chemically (I’m also a certified aromatherapist with a 610-hour training under my belt), energetically (I mentor with a Taoist alchemist who specializes in anointing), and spiritually (my mediumship practices help me communicate directly with the spirits of the plants).
This article goes into more detail about my process.
And this article has a fun example of how all this came together when I created my Magpie perfume.
Many of the oils for the heart and spirit gates I mentioned above are in my natural perfumes, which means that when you apply one to your wrist (and the heart itself, as I like to do), you are giving your entire body a plant healing.
As promised, I’ll highlight a few general botanicals that you can use on your own, alongside some of my own creations, here:
Anointing the Heart
Truly, any pure botanical perfumes applied to the wrists will have a positive effect, but of course, bringing in oils with a special affinity for the heart is especially helpful. A few of my favorites:
Rose — obviously! Rose is the ultimate heart harmonizer, both opening us to love and supporting the cultivation of healthy boundaries.
A few perfumes with rose: Aphrodite, Rós, Elephant, Forest Fawn
Lavender — A great harmonizer and all-purpose healer, lavender brings balance and gentle strength to the heart center.
A few perfumes with lavender: Wild Horses, Artemis
Citruses — Uplifting the spirit, citruses are a blessing for a bright heart.
Citrus-forward perfumes: Jardín de Citron, Yuzu Yoru
Cinnamon — A deeply penetrating oil that warms the heart and helps energy move while brightening the heart and mind.
A few with cinnamon: Oshun, Mary Magdalene (both of these have big rosy hearts, too)
Lemonbalm (Melissa) — Soothes anxiety and grief while uplifing the spirit
Anthophilia, dedicated to the bees, is the best perfume for lemonbalm; but, my heart chakra anointing oil is filled with this loving herb, along with roses and violets.
All flowers — In general, all flowers have an affinity for the heart. Chamomile soothes and calms, jasmine nourishes, ylang ylang strengthens and uplifts, neroli does everything :)
Anointing the Heavens
For the Heavenly Windows, I love oils with an affinity for spirit. Every tradition associates different plants with different types of spiritual work, so this is pretty broad…but once again, here are a few favorites to get started with:
The flowers, again — When it comes to plant parts (blooms, woods, roots, fruits, leaves, etc), the flowers have an affinity for influencing the spiritual dimensions of life. A few I love for these points are:
Clary sage & Lavender — brings clarity to higher mind and harmonizes with the body
Neroli — uplifting, delicate, and enhances angelic connections
White lotus — opens us to spiritual wisdom and connection
Some perfume options: White Buffalo Calf Woman, Magpie, and Wild Horses for clary sage and lavender; Xi Wang Mu and Epona for neroli, and Kuan Yin for white lotus.
Frankincense — A protective, sacred resin, frankincense helps us ground spiritual wisdom into our bodies and minds.
Perfumes with frankincense: Innana, Mary Magdalene and Oshun again, and all the angel oils.
Hiba & Hinoki — Two Japanese evergreens with sacred aromas, these woods calm the spirit and quiet the mind.
My perfume for abundance, Daikoku, is inspired by and filled with these trees.
Trees — Strong and tall, the trees help us root to Earth and expand to spirit, which keeps these gates protected and open.
Omgggg I loooove evergreen perfumes. Maybe because my name is Juniper ;) So I’ve made a few with amazing forestry fragrances, including Artemis, Wolf, and Green Man.
If you wish to use any of these essential oils on your own, make sure to dilute them first! More is not better with this practice. 5% is good to start for a light, energetic lift. Up to 20% works for most, but not for cinnamon — go with 1-2% for that one.
Becoming the Alchemist of Your Own Healing
The waitlist is open for Nectar & Alchemy, the School of Sacred Aromatics. I’ll be launching with a few courses on the spiritual dimensions of fragrance, working with plant spirit allies, and an introduction to anointing — plus a very special anointing workship for the Feast Day of Mary Magdalene in July.
Enjoyed this article? The absolute most wonderful way to say thank you is by sharing it! Use the image below for Pinterest or add to all your socials :)
ASTROLOGY | RECIPES | REWILDING | SACRED AROMATICS | SHAMANISM | SPIRITUALITY | WELLNESS
Juniper Stokes is a certified coach, mythoanimist guide, alchemist & artist.
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