Hello everyone! Anita Kalnay has written a wonderful piece on Bergamot, which we have included below. Let's start our conversation by sharing how each of us uses Bergamot in practice.
Bring In the Light—The Energetic Side of Bergamot
By Anita Kalnay, RA®
Bergamot can be used in blends for many different reasons. It is an oil of illumination and considered a “light” remedy (1). For that reason, it has often been associated as an essential oil for the psyche . . . as well as a wonderful oil for physical issues.
There are two poles: light and dark. Bergamot can “shine a light” within the darkness. Often these periods of darkness are dark nights of the soul. They are times of inward reflection, perhaps dejection and soul searching. Berkowski said that the bergamot individual seeks illumination (1). Often that is presupposed by a feeling of being stuck or a frustrated inability toretain emotional constancy, and to make fruitful commitments to the choices that life presents.
Bergamot is a balancing oil for the nervous system (2), as well as an adaptogen. Adaptogens effectively dance with the nervous system until the rhythm is fully integrated, creating harmony and balance in an otherwise polarized expressive system. When the nervous system polarizes, the stress on the body to find balance takes more work and can feel like a tennis match rather than a dance. ME/you/ME/you rather than US together enjoying the moment and the movement. In a nutshell, the bergamot-type individual needs to restore the dance and the rhythm—the joy and the flow, the idea being to “breach this oscillation” of deeply entrenched duality that causes so much stress otherwise. And when we can do that, it is stabilizing. And that in a nutshell is the magic of bergamot!
Clincher: We must ensure that the bergaptene is present in the distilled bergamot essential oil. Why? Because that is the element within the plant that “attracts” the light. The Bergaptene-free essential oil in effect isolates the bergaptene element out of the final product. And of course, nature would never do that!
Legislation and safety regulations in many areas of the world have required that bergamot be the bergaptene-free version for safety reasons. So, if you are a formulator and create products for general use, the bergaptene-free version will be the bergamot of choice for your use and there are available guidelines based on product development and safe application and usage (5).
However, if you are blending for depression, anxiety, stress-related emotional symptoms such as ADHD, SADS, agitation, fear, insomnia, discouragement, frustration, shyness, lack of self-confidence and nerve-sense-system pain (1), each of these would benefit from the original unadulterated version of bergamot.
There are non-dermal ways to utilize bergamot as well as appropriate and safe dilutions. Client education regarding safe application is also essential and helpful (e.g. do not apply to exposed skin as burning may occur). It might be quite fine to apply it under a covered area of skin or before bed etc. Or “dot” on only and inhale, as is the option with natural perfumes and stronger blends. Refer to Tisserand and Young (6) as a guideline for general aromatherapy use.
So, both can be used, and for different reasons entirely. It’s an idea to be sure to have a bottle of both in your kit and experiment. My experiments over the years have also shown that the bergaptene-free version of bergamot goes off much faster and when stored in a bottle with a dropper lid in fact turned entirely black in a short time, while the regular bergamot did not. Just interesting!
Astrological Bergamot
The Essence of Magic: Tarot, Ritual and Aromatherapy by Mary K. Greer(3) is a vintage and nearly impossible to get book now, but wonderful and one of my favourite books to reference essential oils and astrology. Bergamot is listed under the signs of the sun (fire), Jupiter (fire) and Sagittarius (fire). It relates primarily to the elements of fire and air and pitta/vata in Ayurveda.
In the tarot, bergamot is related to card #14, the temperance card, which is for balance, moderation, patience, and purpose. “Temperance refers to rebirth and renewal after ‘letting go’.” (2) Although many may not be into tarot cards, they do inspire creative introspection and can be very useful in guiding the inward journey, especially when used in conjunction with journal writing or contemplation.
This is a lovely quote that summarizes the influence of bergamot and its relation to temperance: “Temperance refers to having the compassion for mistakes and using your ability to heal yourself by correcting imbalances and reconciling opposing beliefs . . . bridging gaps and catalyzing change”. (3)
In Ayurveda, bergamot clears excessive heat (pitta). Balancing the activity of the hypothalamus, it helps maintain appropriate temperature and temperament. (3)
Energetically, bergamot fruit is a lemon/green colour, which relates to the third and fourth chakras, the solar plexus (yellow) and heart (green/pink). “The solar plexus aligns with the heart to overcome power and control issues. (Especially where the mind “judges” something as good or bad in a “conflicting: or polarized way). Bergamot releases fear and trauma from the cellular memory of the physical body as the “mental” body becomes clearer and calmer”. (4) Bergamot is well known to relieve depressive patterns (through its guiding “light”) and stress-related conflicting thoughts.
As our energies assimilate to the energies of the essential oil itself, there is often a
transformational process of “rebirth” when the heart and solar plexus align. Irritability is calmed and the light of joy returns. Bergamot cools excessive heat in the body, burning away what no longer serves us and “stimulates the body’s etheric thyroid (energetic) to balance the body’s thermostat.” (4) I have also found it to be a very good balancing oil when used in a hormone blend.
Much of the relationship stress that we encounter might be the relationship to our own nature. Insightful bergamot can “turn on the light” as we continue to discover our own inner nature, and reclaim our essence, hold onto and shine it brightly no matter what is going on in the world around us!
Repertory suggestions for bergamot
The Berkowsky repertory (1) is conclusive especially for psycho-spiritual type of considerations. A 2022 edition is now available. It is 152 pages long and divided into three sections: general, emotional, and physical references.
Considering the theme that much of our recent world is so polarized as we look around us, perhaps blending with bergamot will allow us to see through the confusion that so many of us feel and witness.
Repertory Considerations:
- Fatigue: mental
- Anxiety felt in the heart region
- Anxiety felt in the stomach
- Confusion
- Depression: when alone
- Duality: sense of Tension
Essential oils that showed up the most often (intuitively) in relation to the repertory references used:
- Bergamot—6x
- Lemon—6x
- Frankincense—3x
- Neroli—3x
- Valerian—3x
- Cardamom—3x
- Tuberose—1x
- Anise—1x
- Blue chamomile—1x
How to use this information:
Create your blend with intention, selecting the essential oils that you have in your kit. If you are doing this with a client, you might present the oils to them to sniff on separate strips, have them line up their favourites in order and remove the ones that they don’t feel an attraction.
Sometimes with clients this can be challenging as many, if not all, of the oils, might be new to them to sniff and they might not appreciate the effect of the oils, so don’t overwhelm your client. Often I will do intuitive additions too! Or knowledge-based, as the case might be.
Having said that, a little can go a long way and using just a few of the oils might illuminate the effect for that particular client as we are all very different and sense our situations quite differently.
In working with any essential oil, the nose knows. There will be a visceral attraction or repulsion and, with that in mind, it is easy to create a blend based on that sense alone. I use scent strips, which are easy and fast for a client to sniff and put in order of their favourites, then create the blend based on their selection.
Intention is the key to creating the focus for just what the action of the blend is all about to the client, or yourself if it is for you.
No two people would ever pick the same blend, and that is half the fun of why we love our job as aromatherapists!
Anita’s Blend:
Illumination—“fruitful commitment”
- Seeing the light through times of anxiousness and confusion
- Relates to mental/emotional aspects as well as physical/spiritual
- Third and fourth chakra balancer
Oils selected from list (you can create your own selection):
- Bergamot 6
- Lemon 2
- Frankincense 3
- Neroli 1
- Cardamom 2
- Tuberose (20% dilution) 4
TOTAL 18
Blended in a 10 mL roller applicator in oil
Blend is 6.6% essential oil in dilution
NOTE: the bergamot in this blend is at 2.2%. If using for psycho-spiritual focus (e.g. using the non-FCF bergamot), apply safety application guidelines or dilute the blend to 10 drops per ounce (30 mL) of carrier oil. Suggested use for psycho-spiritual is the dot on the wrist and sniff method (1). This offers full potency at low application and works fastest directly through the limbic system.
Otherwise, Eden Botanicals states that “Bergamot FCF is one of the few citrus peel oils that has the benefit of wearability in both perfumes and body oils without the potential risk of phototoxicity”
Application options:
- Apply to areas on the body where you feel the anxiety, e.g. solar plexus, heart, etc.
- Apply to the back of neck area and temples and rub in gently
- Apply to the soles of the feel and rub together like a foot massage
- Apply to inner wrists and inhale (dot on if using a stronger dilution)
- Create a blend and use in a diffuser
- Create an atomizer blend using water or a hydrosol base (e.g. frankincense or neroli) based on 8 to 10 drops per ounce of carrier. In this case I have found that high- percentage alcohol (perfumer’s alcohol is 195 proof) is an excellent preservative/emulsifier. Use the same percentage as the essential oils in total.
References:
- Berkowsky. Spiritual Phyto-Essencing Repertory of Essential Oils. 2022 ed.
- Stromkins. The Autonomic Nervous system and Aromatherapy: A Therapists Guide to working with the two systems. 1998
- Greer, Mary K. The Essence of Magic: Tarot, Ritual and Aromatherapy. 1993
- Eidson, Deborah. Vibrational Healing: Revealing the Essence of Nature through Aromatherapy’s use of Essential Oils. 2000
- IFRA 49th amendment standards - May 2020. https://ifrafragrance.org/standards/IFRA_STD_087.pdf
- Tisserand and Young, Essential Oil Safety: 2013 ed.
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