What is Aloe Vera? Spiritual, Mental & Physical Benefits

Plant history

The Aloe vera plant has been known and used for centuries for its health, beauty, medicinal and skin care properties. The name Aloe vera derives from the Arabic word “Alloeh” meaning “shining bitter substance,” while “vera” in Latin means “true.” 2000 years ago, the Greek scientists regarded Aloe vera as the universal panacea. The Egyptians called Aloe “the plant of immortality.” Today, the Aloe vera plant has been used for various purposes in dermatology.

Aloe vera has been used for medicinal purposes in several cultures for millennia: Greece, Egypt, India, Mexico, Japan and China. Egyptian queens Nefertiti and Cleopatra used it as part of their regular beauty regimes. Alexander the Great, and Christopher Columbus used it to treat soldiers’ wounds. The first reference to Aloe vera in English was a translation by John Goodyew in A.D. 1655 of Dioscorides’ Medical treatise De Materia Medica. By the early 1800s, Aloe vera was in use as a laxative in the United States, but in the mid-1930s, a turning point occurred when it was successfully used to treat chronic and severe radiation dermatitis.

The plant is native to North Africa, Southern Europe and the Canary Islands. Today, aloe vera is grown in tropical climates worldwide. 

Plant Identification

• Origin: Arabian Peninsula
• Growth: 60-100cm tall (24-39 inches)
• Plant family: Asphodelaceae (Liliaceae)
• Scent: A sour smell, similar to garlic or onion
• Colour: Grey-green or blue-green with vibrant green young leaves.
• Harvesting: Aloe Vera plants are sensitive to extreme cold and extreme heat. These plants thrive in warm temperatures in most homes between 50-80 degrees Fahrenheit. They do not like dark spots or direct sunlight. Watering is needed only once every 2 weeks (overwatering is the most common death to these plants). 
• Endangered: The species is threatened mainly by the uncontrolled illegal collection of plants from wild populations.

Benefits 

Spiritual 

The Aloe vera flower is a revered symbol of beauty, fortune, and good health. The flower only blooms for 3-4 months of the year from early spring to late summer, which also makes it a symbol of patience and endurance. In its native habitat, the Aloe vera plant has to withstand months of drought and yet it still produces stunning tube-shaped flowers of white, red, orange and yellow, every year. This makes it the perfect symbol of enduring love and friendship.

Use aloe vera for spiritual cleansing and protection by keeping an eye on the saturation of the plant it will determine the types of energy within your space. Placing aloe vera in your working environment or home at the entrance. Aloe will attract good fortune and abundance energy. If you put aloe vera in a spell jar or bathe in aloe; it will keep away any evil eye or jealous energy that is being projected on to you. 

You can use aloe vera in your spells or rituals to bring beauty and love into your life, it teaches self love first and took look at ourselves with much more gratitude and loving energy.

Aloe vera recalibrate's the body’s frequency. The most powerful element of aloe is the organic germanium; This mineral is believed to reinforce the body’s own DNA signals and so help it to fall back into alignment.

• Aloe vera is connected to the element; Water and carries feminine energy

Medicinal

 The Aloe Vera plant is known to act as an air purifier by removing harmful pollutants, absorbing carbon dioxide and providing oxygen into the atmosphere. Aloe vera is an anti-doxidant when digested on an empty stomach 'aloe juice' as it can reduce sugar levels in the blood and inflammation. It is also anti-bacterial which can help heal our wounds, dental, mouth, acne and skin damage. Aloe vera is used in many of our skin care creams and gels for healing, anti-wrinkle and tackles against skin damage.

The vibrations that Aloe vera amplify can lift the energies in the room, if you are suffering with anxiety or depression it is a wonderful idea to have an Aloe plant nearby. Placing aloe vera in your bedroom may help aid a peaceful night sleep and provide relaxation from stress.