Lemon Eucalyptus oil: A Key Ingredient in the Thieves Blend

One of the most popular herbal legends is the Legend of the Four Thieves. This story has everything a good old fashioned mystery needs–expensive jewels, thieves, and a little bit of trickery that leaves everyone wondering how they pulled it off until the end. Like any good tall tale, it’s mythical but set during actual historical events, so the story changes to become more dramatic or relevant when necessary.

While the legend changes as much as the formula for this historic blend, the gist of the story is this: During the plagues (enter your favorite plague here, the Black Plague is most common, but the tale has even made its way to America, as a plague that struck New Orleans), a group of four brothers began robbing the dead. At first, they were largely ignored, as everyone knew they would eventually pay the price by catching the plague themselves but, to everyone’s surprise, they managed to avoid catching the plague and continued robbing graves, amassing a great deal of wealth. They became legendary and everyone wanted to know how they managed to avoid getting sick. Was it trickery? Magic? What secret did they possess.

Years later, when they were finally captured, they were asked for their secret during questioning. After much debating, they agreed to share their secret in return for their pardon. This offer was accepted and the secret is now out. These men were the offspring of a perfumer and herbalist. They learned about essential oils from their parents during their childhood. They knew these oils would protect them so they rubbed them on their bodies and used them to clean anything they brought back. The powerful blend is now called the Thieves Blend, Legend of the Thieves Blend, Grave Robbers Blend, and countless similar names.

Many essential companies offer their version of this blend at a high price, but the formula is so commonplace, there’s no reason not to save by making your own. Here’s my current favorite blend; for maximum effectiveness use the best quality organic essential oils you can find. (I use J&M Botanicals.)

Combine the following oils in a small, glass vial:
10 drops rosemary oil
20 drops lavender oil
15 drops lemon eucalyptus oil
15 drops peppermint oil
25 drops orange oil
15 drops clove bud oil

To make a spray, add 1 cup of vinegar to the blend and store in a spray botle.

The formula can be changed, and has been altered often. The key ingredients are mint, lavender, rosemary, and citrus. Many herbalists and aromatherapists have added their own special additions that they feel can enhance the formula. Some add garlic and others like to make the oil into a tincture-like substance that is recommended for internal use. I don’t ever recommend consuming most of the essential oils in this blend for two reasons. The first is that there are documented health risks when consuming some of the pure, potent oils in this blend. The other reason is that, despite what our culture often believes, internal consumption is not always the best way to use a medicinal product. Most aromatherapeutic blends are most effective when diffused or used topically, due to the unique chemical make-up of essential oils. Consuming them poses a needless health risk because it does not offer any benefit.  Therefore, I prefer to stick to original use, according to the legends, which is that of a cleaning product.