About Aqua Oleum

Aqua Oleum is a company with a long history, starting with Julia's mother, Kerttu, a Finnish biochemist who studied essential oils and who had a lifelong interest in herbs, as did her mother before her. Family knowledge goes back at least three generations and our interest in essential oils pre dates the advent of Aromatherapy in the UK by many years.

Kerttu and Julia were concerned more with research than with business - they did not train Aromatherapists and chose not to engage in commercial activities, though their research left them well connected with oils suppliers. Inevitably however they were asked by friends to supply essential oils for personal use and eventually were approached by local retailers. As a result Kerttu and Julia started selling oils to a shop in London in 1970, with Julia taking over the business when her mother became ill. Sadly Kerttu is no longer with us.

Our Products

We are major importers and exporters of pure Essential Oils and Carrier Oils. Our product range also includes Flower Waters and Books by Julia Lawless.

Origins

Aqua Oleum is taken from an ancient alchemical manuscript on the nature of the soul.

Aqua (water) was a favourite symbol of the alchemists and referred to the wisdom of the unconscious. The elusive nature of this wisdom was the spirit Mercurius and was also known as Oleum (oil) due to its ability to penetrate all things and its reluctance to restrict itself to any particular form.

The manuscript also discusses the problems and difficulties of mixing wordly values with those born of Aqua permanens - unchanging water. An essential oil, being the essence of a plant, can be seen as a bridge between spirit and matter. the main concern of Alchemy was the union of these opposites on a psychological level. Water is also used to extract most of the oils from their raw materials.