Where does the name THIEVES come from?
The story behind Thieves goes back many centuries in history. And more importantly, it is important to first understand that the use of essential oils and aromatics goes way back in ancient times….
… back to the time of the Middle Ages and trade along the Silk Road. Back to the time of the Romans, who in turn brought the oils from Egypt, where Cleopatra wielded the scepter and took care of herself with the help of all kinds of essential oils, and even centuries before that the Greek philosophers were already taking oils and knowledge from that same Egypt! But much further before that, the shaman (herbalist, priest, oracle, witch, sorcerer, or simply healer) used the juices of certain plants, trees, flowers, fruits, etc. as early as 2000 BC to treat tribal people who had physical or spirit-induced ailments. These people were held in very high esteem within their tribe, people or region.
How did Thieves get its name?
In the 14th and 15th centuries, the dreaded black plague killed citizens of all walks of life across Europe. The medical profession was powerless – they had no cure and no prevention. All people could do was stay as far away from plague victims as possible. The plague continued to make regular appearances until the 18th century.
Yet there was an intrepid gang of thieves who robbed the plague victims and their graves of all their jewelry and valuables. Incredibly, the thieves themselves never contracted the highly contagious disease. This was unheard of.
How did they do it? What protected them?
One day, as fate would have it, the brazen thieves were caught anyway. They received severe punishments for their crimes. Death by hanging! Public opinion, however, demanded to know their secret. However, if they were hanged, no one would ever find out!
So under enormous public pressure, the judge in question had to make a deal with the thieves. Would they really share their secret how they protected themselves from the plague in exchange for a less lenient sentence?
The thieves accepted the deal.
During the negotiations, it turns out that the robbers were not ordinary thieves. No, they were spice traders and perfumers who had traveled the Silk Road. Because of their knowledge of essential oils and spices, they learned exactly which oils to smear on their bodies to protect themselves from the germs of the plague. The court clerk on duty recorded their composition of the concoction during the trial and stored it in the court archives.
Of course, retrieving documents from the 15th century is no easy task, let alone court archives. D. Gary Young managed to unearth these important documents after an exhaustive search; and thus the contents were revealed.
Young Living’s Thieves® essential oil blend is based on this long lost recipe and named after the thieves who first used it. When using Thieves® oil, these ingredients synergistically combine the benefits of general wellness and the support of a healthy immune system.*
And while there are other companies trying to manufacture a product similar to Thieves®, no company may use the exact recipe and no other company consistently uses 100% therapeutic grade oils of the highest quality that is found in Thieves®.
* Due to different laws in various countries, e.g. not everywhere the Thieves® Waterless Hand Sanitizer may advertise “kills 99.99% of germs”.