Cherie Bender's Glitter Book Of Magical Cooking ~Azulene~

~Azulene~ Pastel with Swarovski Crystals by Cherie Bender

 ~Azulene~ the name of the essential oil extracted from Matricaria Chamomilla, or German Chamomile, is a wonderfully magical shade of deep, dazzling blue. Just gazing at this color induces relaxation. Combined with the delicious scent of the essential oil: magical wonders are created for soothing stress.
Our English word Chamomile originally stems from the Greek chamai-melon or "earth apple" because they thought it smelled like fallen apples.
In the language of flowers, Chamomile is a symbol of energy and patience in adversity. Given in a flower bouquet in the Victorian 1800's, the flower represented support and love.
The Chamomile flower was revered by the Egyptians for its medicinal virtues and dedicated the flower to Ra, the god of the sun.
 Today, the Chamomile flowers are taken as a relaxing and sleep inducing herbal tea, or they may be crushed and made into an aromatherapy sniffing ball to induce sleep. A netted bag containing dried or fresh chamomile flowers may be immersed in a warm bath to soothe tired and aching muscles and bring peace.
Azulene, the essential oil, is wonderfully relaxing as a facial. Just one drop on a warm facecloth, breathe it in, and all of the cares of the world drop away. Beautifully.
 In my drawing  ~ Azulene ~ pastel with Swarovski crystals, I wanted to capture all of the healing and soothing magical properties of the Beautiful Chamomile flower and the fragrant scintillating blue of the essential oil, Azulene.
Pastel Drawing of ~ Azulene ~ by Cherie Bender

References: Magical Aromatherapy, the power of scent, by Scott Cunningham;
Flower Power, flower remedies for healing body and soul by Anne McIntyre