Aromatic Herbs in Death, Dying, and Funeral Rites Across Cultures
- Summer Goon
- Sep 9
- 8 min read
In this threshold space between autumn and winter, many cultures and religions around the world feel called to connect more intentionally with the spirits of the dead and with the reality of our own mortality. In that same spirit, we’d like to explore some of the ways aromatic herbs have accompanied humans in funerary rites and grief tending throughout history.
For as long as people have lived, plants have been our companions in moments of grief, reverence, and transition. While Rosemary or Frankincense may come to mind first, the story of herbs in the care of our dead is much vaster. Across continents and centuries, we’ve turned to aromatic plants as part of the sacred work of deathcare and remembrance.
The use of aromatic plants in this way has always been a blend of spirituality and practicality; offering their ability to energetically purify spaces, support the grieving, and serve as spiritual guides. At the same time, carrying potent antimicrobial properties, offering respite from any unpleasant aroma and protection from disease. This weaving of spirit and science is part of what makes them so enduring in death rites and cultural practices, even today.
Herbs as Guides Between Worlds
Across the ancient world, plants were revered as mediators between the realms of the living and the dead.
In Egypt, Frankincense and Myrrh appeared in embalming and temple rites, both as preservative substances and as fragrant offerings to the gods. In Egyptian cosmology, scent itself was a vehicle for the soul’s journey, as illustrated in the Hymn to Nefertum (18th Dynasty), which praises the god of divine scents: “Osiris is the body of the plants, Nefertum is the soul of the plants, the plants purified. The divine perfume belongs to Nefertum, living forever.”
Across the Syrian desert in Mesopotamia – Cedar, and occasionally Cypress, was burned as incense in ritual fires, often in contexts related to mourning or ancestral offerings. The fragrant smoke was believed to honor underworld deities such as Ereshkigal or Nergal, and to keep restless spirits at peace.
In Greece and Rome, Rosemary symbolized remembrance, woven into funeral garlands and scattered on pyres. Myrtle, Bay Laurel, and Cypress were also linked to mourning and the safe passage of souls throughout the Greco-Roman world.
In each of these traditions, plants were more than symbols; they were active agents in guiding souls, a role that included guarding both the living and the dead in this liminal space between worlds.
Herbs of Purification and Protection
The threshold of death has often been seen as vulnerable, even treacherous, terrain, where both the living and the dead require protection.
In Europe, Juniper and Hyssop were burned during death rites to purify spaces and guard against wandering spirits. In medieval Europe, Hyssop was sometimes used in funeral rites for its symbolic purification, while Juniper smoke helped cleanse both the home and those attending the dead. The Juniper plant monograph from the Aromatic Medicine Garden Library notes that in Germanic folklore, “Juniper was traditionally burned during cremation rituals to purify the spirit and protect the living.” In Jewish practice, Hyssop appears in both symbolic and practical purifications, echoing traditions of purifying and offering aromatic protection to both people and spaces.
In India, Tulsi (Holy Basil) is planted near graves and burned in funeral rites, as it is said to guide and protect the departing soul in Hindu tradition.
In China, Sandalwood is an essential element of Joss sticks, burned in many religious practices, including those honoring ancestors. Jìngzǔ, or “veneration of the ancestor,” is observed by devotees holding joss incense with both hands in front of an altar during worship, a practice that continues today.
Having honored the living and protected the dead, we now follow this thread to the herbs whose aromas hold us in grief.
Herbs of Memory and Mourning
Across cultures, plants support beloved memories and help us carry grief, offering us tangible ways to honor the dead.
Rosemary has long been associated with remembrance. In Hamlet, Shakespeare places the words in Ophelia’s mouth: “There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance.” Erika Galentin shares in the Aromatic Medicine Garden that in England and Wales, sprigs of rosemary were worn at funerals and placed on coffins, a sign that the dead would not be forgotten. Egyptian mummies have even been found wrapped with this aromatic symbol of memory.
In Mexico’s Día de los Muertos traditions, fragrant orange Marigold flowers are placed on ofrendas and pathways, guiding spirits home with their brilliant color and strong scent. Authors Summer Downs and Erik Montoya note that marigolds, or Cempohualxochitl, are often dedicated to Mictecacihuatl, the Lady of the Dead, as an aromatic way to “attract the souls of the beloved dead.” Copal resin, burned alongside the flowers, joins marigolds as a beacon for ancestors, making room each year to mourn and remember the beloved dead.
While these practices have ancient roots, they are still widely practiced in Mexico, and anywhere this tradition has traveled with those who carry it.
As Evan Sylliaasen writes in Materia Aromatica, “Sandalwood is also used as an herb for honoring the dead. It is very commonly burned as incense at Hindu funerals, used as the core source of wood for cremation services, and applied to graves in a paste form to honor deceased loved ones.” He continues that in “Sufi tradition, this is done to mark the graves of disciples and devotees,” honoring the grave as a sacred resting place.
Herbs in the Care of the Body
Herbs were not only spiritually symbolic, they were vital to the practical tending of the dead.
In Ancient Egypt, preserving the body was understood as essential for securing a favorable position in the afterlife. Recent biomolecular analysis of vessels from a 26th Dynasty embalming workshop at Saqqara revealed that most substances were aromatic materials, including resins and oils such as Elemi, Cedar, Juniper or Cypress, and Pistacia, often mixed with fats to create complex embalming unguents. The Ritual of Embalming papyrus and the Apis Embalming Papyrus similarly detail recipes of aromatic resins and oils used in mummification.
In Medieval Europe, bodies were washed and anointed with Lavender, Rosemary, and Thyme, both to slow decay and to sanctify. In Jewish tradition, the ritual of taharah involves cleansing the body with fragrant waters, “beseeching G-d to lift the soul into the Heavens and eternal rest.”
In Muslim practice, ghusl involves bathing the body three times: first in water infused with Sidr leaves, then in Camphor water, and finally in pure water. Sidr, a long-lived aromatic tree found across Africa and Western Asia, is valued for its medicinal and fragrant properties, while Camphor, derived from the wood of the Camphor tree, is prized for its scent and preservative qualities.
During the Victorian era, bouquets of strong-smelling herbs such as Rosemary, Hyssop, and Bay Laurel were placed near the deceased to mask odor and symbolize blessings on the dead.
In Ayurveda & Aromatherapy, Dr. Light Miller and Dr. Bryan Miller write that Frankincense is “an important oil for anointing the dead and dying, for assisting in transition, and keeping us all connected to its divine essence.” This reflects a long-standing global tradition of anointing, in which fragrant oils are applied ritually to the body to support the transition from life to death and provide families the opportunity to tend to the body of their loved one with reverence and care.
Across the Atlantic and centuries later, we find echoes of these aromatic and preservative traditions in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Writer Stacy Jane Grover shares that bodies were often washed with a cloth dipped in soda water, Camphor, and vinegar or alcohol as part of “laying out,” the preparation of the body for home viewing. These traditions persisted far into modern history due to the insular nature of mountain living.
The use of aromatic herbs in each of these examples reveals a tapestry of traditions blending practical care with spiritual reverence that continues to inform approaches to honoring the dead today.
Continuity and Modern Practice
As Phyllis D. Light writes about her own modern family in Southern Folk Healing, “death rituals were a time of grief and, in my family, more important than birth rituals.” She continues that during “the deathbed vigil, small Cedar branches were often burned to clean the air.”
Beyond individual homes, many communities continue to integrate aromatic herbs into memorials, vigils, and hospice care. Hospice and deathcare workers often encourage the use of a loved one’s favorite scents to cultivate comforting, sacred spaces, and aromatic flowers are commonly found in funeral arrangements such as sprays and wreaths.
Even when we are unaware of why, this use of scent reflects an ancestral knowing that fragrance carries memory, eases grief, and honors the passage of the spirit.
In many areas, there’s a growing return to home funerals, a practice that places tending of the dead back into the hands of families and local communities rather than solely funeral industry professionals. For some, this choice is driven by necessity, as funeral costs rise; for others, it is a conscious act of reclaiming intimacy, reverence, and ritual around death.
Aromatics play a thoughtful role in these practices: families prepare ritual baths, anointings, or incense offerings, washing and blessing the body with fragrance and prayer.
Across cultures and settings, herbs and resins continue to appear at memorials, community vigils, and diasporic cultural observances such as Día de los Muertos, All Souls Day, and Qingming Festival, carrying both fragrance and centuries of symbolic meaning into these modern spaces of grief and transition.
Aromatic plants have offered their support as guides, protectors, and companions who walk with us through the sacred threshold of death across cultures and centuries. They have carried prayers on their smoke, held memories in their fragrance, and offered spiritual protection for the journey ahead in their leaves and resins.
As we approach Samhain, may we remember that the herbs at our altars, in our incense vessels, or tucked in our pockets are part of a lineage far older than us. They remind us that grief is universal, memory is sacred, and the scents of aromatic plants are a thread connecting us back to our ancestors, and forward to those who will one day remember us.
Inspired by the devotion and curiosity of those in service at the Center for Conscious Living & Dying in Swannanoa, NC, and the aromatic wisdom shared by The Northwest School of Aromatic Medicine.
References and Further Exploration
Aromatic Medicine Garden. Plant Talk Library. The Northwest School of Aromatic Medicine. Accessed 2025.
Syliassen, Evan. Materia Aromatica. Higher Mind Incense, 2025.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Act 4, Scene 5. First published 1603.
Lomnitz, Claudio. Death and the Idea of Mexico. Zone Books, 2005.
Huber, Barbara, et al. “Biomolecular analyses enable new insights into ancient Egyptian embalming.” Nature 615 (2023): 440–447.
Smith, Mark. “The Ritual of Embalming Papyrus (Pap. Boulaq No. 3 / Louvre No. 5158) and the Apis Embalming Papyrus (P. Vindob. 3873).” In K. A. Kóthay, ed., Burial and Mortuary Practices in Late Period and Graeco-Roman Egypt: Proceedings of the International Conference held at Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, 17–19 July 2014. Budapest, 2017, pp. 23–34.
Bottéro, Jean. Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia. Translated by Teresa Lavender Fagan. University of Chicago Press, 2001.
Chabad.org. “What Is Taharah? A Step-by-Step Guide to the Jewish Ritual of Washing and Preparing the Deceased.” Accessed 2025.
Muslim Burial Organization of Los Angeles (MBOLA). “Burial Process.” Accessed 2025. https://mbola.org/burial-process.php
Light, Bryan, and Light, Miller. Ayurveda & Aromatherapy: The Earth Essential Guide to Ancient Wisdom and Modern Healing. Lotus Press, 1995.
Grover, Stacy Jane. “The Rituals of Death and Dying in Central Appalachia.” Literary Hub (Lithub.com). Accessed 2025.
Light, Phyllis D. Southern Folk Healing: Herbs, Remedies, and Stories from Appalachia. North Atlantic Books, 2018.
Downs, Summer, and Erik Montoya. Herbal Deathcare, Volume 1: Plant Allies for Medicinal & Ritual Support in Death & Dying. Self-published, 2025.
National Home Funeral Alliance (NHFA). “Home Funeral Guidebook.” Accessed 2025. https://www.homefuneralalliance.org/home-funeral-guidebook.html
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