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Amber Pinus succinifera

Description: Fossilized resin from a long since extinct pine tree, some 5 to 60+ million years old. In ancient Greece amber resin was called electron, the root of the English word electricity, due to the electrostatic properties of the resin if it's rubbed. The Ancient Greeks used amber in their incense mixtures and also called it the "sun stone," which they believe connected them to the Sun god.

Amber is often a confusing ingredient due to the manufactured cake-like soft resins made in India and sold worldwide under the same name. True amber is anything but soft and larger pieces of it are widely used in jewelry and pieces with insects trapped inside are highly prized and collected as art (also used in the movie Jurassic Park as the premise for how they obtained Dinosaur DNA).

Family: Pinaceae

Synonyms: sun stone, hu po

Origin: Baltic Sea, Russia, North and Central America

Parts Used: fossilized resin

Aroma Description: penetrating, biting, smoky, tar-like resinous, resembling tanned leather

Emotional Attributes: cleansing/purifying, brings renewal, alertness

Cosmetic Uses: perfumery, aromatherapy; used in skin rejuvenating creams, etc.

Culinary Uses: none

Medicinal Attributes: ancient Greeks and Egyptians used amber as a healing remedy for respiratory and urinary tract infections, fever, coughs, bronchitis, decongestant, rheumatism and muscle spasms

Element Association: Earth

Magical Associations: spirituality, healing, protection, prosperity

Astrological Association: Taurus

Planetary Association: Sun, Mars

Season: Summer

Aromatic Note: Base note

Essential Oil: Yes, produced by destructive dry distillation then rectified by steam distillation.

Mixes Well With: cedar, frankincense, guggul, labdanum, myrrh, opoponax, pine, etc.
 

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