Welcome to week nine of Deepen with the Plants, you can register to join this free program at any time https://getafreshstart.lpages.co/deepenwithplants/
What is Black Spruce?
Black Spruce is a powerful wood essential oil. Distilled from the needles and branches of the Picea mariana tree, it is a spruce oil from the pine family, it’s home is Canada and parts of Northern USA and we source ours from Canada. It has small cones that start as a dark purple and ripen to a red- brown.
Black Spruce thrives in the very cold, northern forests. Even when it is snowing and freezing, Black Spruce maintains its leaves, creating shelter and safety for wildlife such as deer, moose and elk, adding to it’s energetic properties.
Sourcing Black Spruce
The below info is taken from this blog post.
Environmental Stewardship
Black Spruce is mainly harvested for the lumber, pulp, and paper industries. The Forest Ministry has designed a forest management plan for harvesting Black Spruce. Working together, doTERRA and its key partner ensure that this plan is followed so that Black Spruce is harvested responsibly and sustainably.
When a tree is harvested, the trunk is quickly stripped of its branches and needles. The trunks are taken away for their various uses and the branches and needles get left behind. Historically, no one has been able to capture additional value from the remnant branches and needles. Until now!
Creating Value from a Waste Product
Once the Black Spruce timber has been harvested and hauled away, our key partner goes in to gather all of the branches and needles that were left behind using a grapple arm excavator. These leftover materials are then steam distilled for a powerful and beautiful essential oil.
Environmental Impact
After the Black Spruce remnants have been distilled, the branches and needles are taken to a local powerplant, where they are burned to produce energy. From this process they are also able to produce steam, which then powers the distillation process again. This creates a closed-loop system for maximum environmental sustainability and responsibility.
Adam Barralet’s thoughts on Black Spruce
This week I interviewed my friend Adam Barralet, co-author of my favourite essential oil book, Gifts of the Essential Oils.
Here’s what he shared-
“I thought I wanted to tell you a bit of Cherokee story, what I find is when you come to understand the tree, you come to understand the oil that it gifts us.
This Cherokee story tells of a time when the creator set a challenge to stay awake for seven days and seven nights. The first day and night were easy. All the plants and trees stayed wide awake. They managed the second night too. By the third night however, many of the smaller plants and some of the trees were dropping off. At dawn on the eighth day, only cedar, pine, fir, hemlock, holly, laurel and spruce remained awake. “You have endured,” a voice said, “and you shall receive a gift. All the other plants and trees will lose their leaves and sleep each winter. You, however, can be trusted with a special role. You will never lose your leaves. You will provide shelter to the birds during the harshest winds and you will remind the people that even during the darkest times, something remains, you shall be evergreen.”
When I tune in with Black Spruce
Black Spruce reminds me of a Dumbledore quote
“Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”
Black Spruce reminds us that there is always help, hope and shelter, just like the leaves of this tree are evergreen, even in the coldest snow, the bleakest weather.
Black Spruce reminds us of our resilience and strength and that often there are such profound gifts that come from adversity and challenge.
Humans are actually most proud of the challenges they have overcome.
So many times I have looked back at something that was so difficult, at the lowest, most despairing times in my life and with the gift of hindsight, truly seen actually how much good, love, community, connection and growth was possible as a direct result of navigating those challenges.
Life is full of mystery, of swinging pendulums, and so often on the otherside of a challenge is even more love, deeper gratitude, more bliss, more feeling, stronger connection, with self and others, than ever before.
I would love to hear your journey
Keep a journal of your experiences with each oil or blend, this is about you deepening your relationship and connection with the spirit of each plant, spend time with it, tune into it and I would love to hear your experiences, feel free to tag me on socials, my instagram is jessie_reimers or write in to me at jessrems@gmail.com
Upcoming Oils and Blends
Next week we are deepening with Blue Tansy.
If you are placing your order now in time for March the other oils we will be deepening with are Cardamom, Cassia and Cedarwood, order these now so they arrive in time for March.
Don’t have a doTERRA account yet?
Email me at jessrems@gmail.com or contact the person who introduced you to doTERRA to get set up or head to https://www.getafreshstart.com.au/shop-doterra/ you can set up from just about anywhere in the world, and you can get one of the starter kits or pay the $35 for a wholesale account so you get 25% off all our products + loads of other benefits and loyalty discounts.
Enjoy deepening with Black Spruce this week.
Jessie xx
