Siberian Fir: Great Fir, De-stressing Delilah

Welcome back to Harvesters' Corner. Life often rears it’s ugly head at the most inopportune time, and the past week is evidence of that. In the middle of finals week in school, I received a message from one of my contacts at dōTERRA with a request that I present a different oil than what I hoped to be able to present for this message. Lucky for me, my husband was able to do some research on an oil that has recently come to grab my attention, as I worked to finish up my classes. While I desire to have the focus of Harvesters’ Corner be on the growers and people harvesting the products for the oil, the sudden change of topic has forced me to digress momentarily with this blog. I apologize in advance for not having more about the growers and harvesters in this article.

I keep hearing that this is the most wonderful time of the year, with much mistletoeing and hearts glowing with loved ones near. There’s steam rising off hot chocolate, marshmallows for toasting, and people everywhere saying, “Be of good cheer.” Smiles are everywhere, and peace on earth, good will towards men seems faintly possible.

Then I park the car and enter one of the vast temples of consumerism that fill my city. The door slides open, and I step into chaos, confusion, and angry grinch voices. There are little children crying because they don’t want to wait another week to get toys, parents grumbling about batteries not included, and men bemoaning that the new doll house being bought for their daughters requires a tool kit just slightly smaller than what one would find aboard a NASCAR Hauler, or the garage of an F1 race car.

An hour or so later, and I am back at my car, nerves frayed, and a basket-case of emotions. I look at my shaking hands and wonder how I can ever drive home. My go-to oil for relaxation, Bergamot, isn’t quite fitting the bill at present, no matter how deeply I inhale. Something more is needed. Thankfully, I have Siberian Fir.

It is a fluke I even have the oil with me. My husband wanted it to put some drops on the artificial tree at work, “to make it smell less like plastic, and more like Christmas.” Now it’s in my car, and I’m not afraid to look a gift horse in the mouth. I wad up some tissue, stuff it in the air vent, and dab several drops of the oil on the tissue.

Suddenly, my car fills with the fresh, woodsy scent reminiscent of a rich forest, and my anxious feelings start to melt like a marshmallow in hot chocolate. As I start to drive home, I crank up the air conditioner, so it feels like I’m on an open sleigh riding through a magical forest.

Okay. Full disclosure here. I really didn’t turn on the air conditioner. I did, however, experience the relaxation brought on by Siberian Fir.

Why Siberian Fir?

To better understand the answer to the above question, let’s take a look at the tree itself. Siberian Fir (Abies sibirica) belongs to a group of tall trees that thrive in the cold temperatures near the Arctic Circle. While dōTERRA sources the oil from trees grown on the steppes of the republic of Kazakhstan, a fair distance south of the Arctic Circle, the country lies along the same zone as Mongolia, northern Japan, the lower regions of Canada, as well as Germany, Hungary, and Ukraine. Members of this tree group are found on both the Asian and the North American continents. They are a hardy species of tree, able to withstand temperatures down to -58 degrees F (-50° C). The ancient Druids held the fir tree in high esteem. The tree, which grows straight and tall, has often been viewed as symbols of honesty, truth, and being forthright, or being on the “straight and narrow.” (1) The tree’s Latin name, Abies sibirica, is derived from the Latin words “to rise” as a reference to their height. (2) The word fir itself comes from the Old English word firgen meaning “mountain forest,” based on ancient words like firre, spelled f-i-r-r-e, and fyr, spelled f-y-r, meaning “fire” and “light,” and a group of the trees clustered together was often considered a symbol of friendship. (3)

While I found all of that information very interesting, it didn’t tell me why my body relaxed as it did. As it turns out, I finally found an answer in a section I try to stay away from, because I don’t fully understand it: the chemistry of the oil. As such, I am going to share, verbatim, what I found out:

Fir tree oils are a great example of the difference between chemical diversity and chemical dominance. Chemical diversity refers to the different compounds present in an oil. Because all of the fir tree oils are mainly composed of the same nine compounds, they share the same diversity of chemical constituents. However, there are only three dominant constituents in each oil. The chemical dominance—the compounds found at the highest concentrations—of each fir tree oil is completely distinct from the other two offered by dōTERRA. For example, Siberian Fir essential oil contains high concentrations of bornyl acetate, camphene, and alpha-pinene. On the other hand, Douglas Fir is primarily composed of beta-pinene, sabinene, and terpinolene, while White Fir mostly consists of bornyl acetate, alpha-pinene, and limonene. [Note: White Fir is no longer available through dōTERRA. -Delilah] 

Because of the difference in dominance, the three fir oils smell very different. Douglas Fir has a bright, almost citrusy smell with fewer of the deep pine notes. White Fir is light, airy, and piney without being sharp. Siberian Fir is intensely pine with some sharpness. (4)

Siberian Fir’s alpha-pinene component is a naturally-occurring chemical compound which helps promote feelings of peace and tranquility. In addition, Siberian Fir partners well with citrus oils (like my favorite oil, Bergamot), which are high in the compound limonene, which also promotes tranquility.

Beautiful Tree, Fragile Landscape

Siberian Fir has really caught my attention. Yet I look at the environment the tree grows in, and see a harsh, inhospitable, and very fragile environment. What safeguards help protect this foreboding landscape? The trees are often grown for the lumber they provide for building materials. The oils, however, get distilled from the branches and needles, which are removed from the trees as they enter the mills for processing. By utilizing the waste products from trees already harvested, there is less waste to be disposed of, and no need to chop down additional trees just for distillation purposes.

I also found out a fun fact, which I was unaware of. While the pine trees in forests I grew up in have a similar appearance and shape as fir trees, they are two very different species. There is an easy way to tell the difference between pine and fir trees. Look close at the needles on the branch. If you’ve got a stem with needles in groups of two, three, or five you are likely looking at a pine tree. If the needles are singly on the stem, and the needle feels flat and doesn’t roll between your fingers easily, it’s a fir tree. (5)

I have been impressed with how easily Siberian Fir blended with Bergamot to help me relax during this stressful time of year. It hasn’t been easy with finals and the holidays, and the sudden change of topic, but the oils have really been a benefit to me. Click here to purchase Siberian Fir and experience first-hand some of what I have experienced the past couple of weeks. May you and your family have a blessed holiday season with whatever holiday you follow, and may we take advantage of the new year to resolve to treat each other with more kindness.

Speaking of next year, join us in January as we look deeper into Co-Impact Sourcing and the Healing Hands Foundation, and the differences these organizations are making in the individual lives of growers and harvesters around the world.

See you soon, here at Harvesters’ Corner!

Sources

1. Podcast No. 271, “Get to Know Holiday Peace,” dōTERRA.com. Online. <https://www.doterra.com/US/en/podcast-episode-271-get-to-know-holiday-peace.> Accessed 12 December 2023.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. “Chemistry of Siberian Fir,” dōTERRA.com. Online. <https://www.doterra.com/ US/en/blog/science-research-news-chemistry-siberian-fir.> Accessed 12 December 2023.

5. “Essential Oil Spotlight: Siberian Fir,” dōTERRA.com. Online. <https://www.doterra.com/US/en/blog/product-spotlight-using-siberian-fir.> Accessed 12 December 2023.