- Usually reserved for royalty, the oil of spikenard is historically considered very precious. Its light frothy feeling, pleasing aroma and rarity made the oil very expensive and, therefore, used for royal anointing ceremonies as well as for other special occasions.
The Bible, for instance, says it was spikenard oil with which the young lady anointed Christ's feet in John 12:1-10. Interestingly, the oil was considered so valuable by onlookers that they protested its crude use with Christ, arguing that it should have been sold instead to benefit the poor. - The writings of ancient Egyptians often remark on the aromatic properties of spikenard, and historians remark that they may have used the plant as a form of incense, especially in royal or wealthy palaces. Moreover, biblical historians suggest that the incense of spikenard root may have been what perfumed the famous Temple of Solomon. Though its fragrance is very warm and heavy, ancients usually mixed it with frankincense or patchouli to give it an excellent and distinctively Eastern smell.
- Though the ancients sometimes brewed spikenard into a tea, many in the Middle Ages dismissed its supposed dietary benefit as a mere folk legend. Nevertheless, modern study has demonstrated that this tea would have been very useful as an antiseptic, diaphoretic and depurative, and extremely valuable for lung and throat problems, including colds and coughs, according to Annie's Remedy.
- When spikenard could be obtained in sufficient quantity, it was sometimes broken down into an oil to be applied externally. In this capacity, spikenard was valued for such medicinal uses as a moisturizer, a healing aid, and reducing skin irritation and inflammation. In oil form or ground into a powder, spikenard was sometimes used as a poultice for injuries, where it would act to soothe the pain.