When gods and goddesses still walked the Earth, Xanat, daughter of the Mexican fertility goddess and a young Totonac mortal man fell deeply in love. Due to Xanat’s divine nature their relationship was forbidden and culminated in their deaths together. When their blood was spilt on the earth it transformed into the vanilla orchid that would continue to express the love, pleasure and happiness the couple shared with the world forevermore. Growing in the tropical climates of Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and northeastern South America is a dazzling orchid with yellow-green flowers. However, it is not the flowers that are this plant’s main gift, but rather the seeds within her beans, which possess the rich, beautiful aroma of Vanilla essential oil. This is the only orchid in the world that offers us the edible vanilla bean. Unlike so many other aromatic plants that produce essential oils through steam distillation or cold-pressing, the vanilla orchid’s beans do not effectively release their precious aromatic molecules when put through these processes. Rather, it is extracted using carbon dioxide or a solvent to produce what is called Vanilla Absolute. ABOUT ADAM BARRALET Adam Barralet has been observing and living in tune with nature since childhood. Growing up amongst the bushland and wildlife of the hills in Western Australia and residing in various locations around the world has presented Adam with diverse opportunities to access extensive and eclectic teachings about the secrets of Mother Earth. He has used essential oils for over 30 years and teams his experiences with his background in human biology, chemistry, psychology, health sciences and massage. He has now established himself as an international author, presenter, educator and Wellness Advocate, adept at working with essential oils, along with crystals, animal guides, tarot, astrology and mythology. CONNECT WITH ADAM HERE: https://linktr.ee/adambarralet   ABOUT ELIZABETH ASHLEY Elizabeth Ashley has over 20 books on sale on Amazon under her pen name The Secret Healer. The UK Director of the National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy and an overseas speaker for The International Federation of Aromatherapists, Elizabeth’s work focuses on understanding the very earliest energetic relationships between certain plants and the human world, right up the modern-day scientific evidence of healing botanicals. A practicing Melissa priestess, a plant and bee shamaness as well as a bee guardian, she has the unique perspective of having one foot in our three-dimensional scientific reality with the other dancing in the spiritual realms.   CONNECT WITH LIZ HERE: https://linktr.ee/thesecrethealer ABOUT LORI GLENN Lori received a Master of Divinity from Pepperdine University in 1994. A course on mysticism led to spiritual direction training in Los Angeles, while also studying aromatherapy and massage therapy. Around 2000, while living in Austin, TX, she was led to personal “post grad” work in women’s spirituality and the goddess. In 2005, after relocating to Northern California, she explored shamanism, Andean mysticism of the Q’ero, bee priestess/shamanism, alchemy, and mythos, and also received an aromatherapy certification with further study in perfumery. While the Sacred Feminine has still maintained a primary focus, the myth of Eros and Psyche and the Four Petal Flower of Teotihuacan have both significantly informed her Soul’s journey. CONNECT WITH LORI HERE: Email: [email protected] Web: www.herbalgram.org