The Health Benefits of Gold, Frankincense & Myrrh

Biohacking for Baby Jesus

Long before “biohacking” or “longevity science” entered the lexicon, three wise men brought the baby Jesus a curated trinity of botanicals and metals so highly valued for their restorative properties that they were typically reserved for royalty. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh hold especially symbolic meaning for the birth of the messiah. But the gifts of the Magi were also the world’s first ultra-luxury wellness supplements.

On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Matthew 2:11

Gifts of the Magi: An Ancient Trinity of Wellness Supports

The Magi’s legendary gifts and their remarkable and time-tested wellness properties, as understood across millennia of global healing traditions, were the original status symbols of holistic medicine: precious, powerful, and nearly impossible to obtain. These were not arbitrary offerings; in the ancient world, they were among the most coveted and costly health substances known to humankind. Their worth extended far beyond the marketplace. Each was revered as a botanical or mineralic powerhouse, woven into medical traditions that spanned continents.

The gifts of the Magi have long captivated the imagination, simultaneously presenting mythic symbolism and practical value. Most of the historical discussion around the gifts of the Magi has focused on their symbolic meaning, but the health benefits of these gifts — to an infant and to a postpartum mother — are perhaps the most interesting factor of these substances.

Spiritual Meaning of the Gifts of the Magi

Across centuries, theologians, mystics, and historians have offered various interpretations of the Magi’s gifts, viewing them not merely as treasures but as symbols encoded with spiritual and philosophical insight.

Gold, the traditional gift for a king, represents royalty and acknowledges Jesus as a divine ruler. Frankincense, a fragrant resin used in temple rituals, symbolizes divinity and worship, pointing to Jesus’ sacred nature. Myrrh, commonly used for embalming and healing, signifies mortality and foreshadows the suffering and death he would eventually face. Together, these gifts express a portrait of Jesus as king, divine, and destined for sacrificial suffering.

Some scholars interpret the gifts as a quiet recognition of Christ’s triple identity as a king (gold), priest (frankincense), and sacrificial healer (myrrh). In some Christian mystical interpretations, the three gifts mirror the tripartite nature of humanity itself — gold signifying the physical body, frankincense the animating spirit, and myrrh the immortal soul. Still others view them as remnants of ancient mystery teachings, each resin and metal carrying esoteric significance within trade routes that connected healers, astrologers, and philosophers from Persia to Egypt.

Gold, as to a king; myrrh, as to one who was mortal; and incense, as to a God.

Origen

Health Benefits of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh

Thousands of years ago, these substances were accessible primarily to kings, priests, and the wealthy — not just because of ceremonial exclusivity, but because the trees that yield frankincense and myrrh can only be grown in a few harsh, arid corners of the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa. Their rarity, combined with the laborious hand-harvesting process, made them worth their weight in gold.

Frankincense: The Spiritual Healer

Frankincense, derived from the resin of Boswellia trees, has been prized since antiquity, sometimes referred to as “liquid gold.” It has commonly been used as a divine fragrance fit for temples and healing sanctuaries. Ancient physicians understood its potency well; Pliny the Elder noted its utility in everything from ritual fumigation to remedying toxins, recommending it as a go-to solution for hemlock poisoning.

Across Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, and Middle Eastern healing traditions, frankincense has been used for its broad restorative qualities. Modern research has echoed many of these observations, suggesting that frankincense extracts (particularly boswellic acids) have a plethora of widely beneficial properties: supporting healthy inflammatory responses, modulating immune activity, and serving as an antidepressant, antibacterial, antiviral, antiseptic, and analgesic.

Frankincense boosts the immune system by increasing white blood cell production. It is used to aid in gastrointestinal conditions, oral health, coughs, asthma, and other respiratory disorders. Frankincense is also used in skin care and wound healing as it helps skin cells regenerate. It has also been used to treat cancer.

Traditionally, frankincense has been used to:

• Encourage clear, calm breathing

• Support digestion and gastrointestinal balance

• Soothe oral and gum tissues

• Promote healthy skin renewal and wound recovery

• Help the body maintain resilience during stress or mood fluctuations

Frankincense’s aromatic profile — woodsy, honeyed, and faintly citrus — has been prized for millennia for grounding the mind and elevating meditation. The resin is commonly used in churches, particularly the Catholic Church, and the essential oils are cherished in modern wellness practices for their soothing, restorative qualities — often diffused to promote calm, or blended into skincare for their rejuvenating effects. Frankincense can also be obtained as a supplement, called Boswellia, in forms including capsules, tinctures, and powders.

Myrrh: The Soulful Protector

Myrrh is a dark, rich resin distilled from the Commiphora tree, long associated with both healing and sanctity. Myrrh sap comes from a tree native to northeastern Africa and southwest Asia that is also commonly used in Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine. In ancient Egypt, myrrh was used in embalming rituals for its aromatic depth and preservative properties, a symbol of reverence for both the body and the afterlife. Its smoke was believed to purify sacred spaces and ward off evil spirits.

Within traditional medical systems, myrrh has been valued for its warming, stimulating, and cleansing qualities. Myrrh is a powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiparisitic, and antifungal, that has been proven to support oral health, gastrointestinal health, wound healing, colds, cough, asthma, lung congestion, arthritis pain, and cancer. There are studies showing myrrh kills both Lyme and mold.

Historically, myrrh has been associated with:

• Wound cleansing and skin repair

• Oral and gum care

• Digestive support

• Comfort in the throat, lungs, and sinuses

• Relief of minor aches and physical tension

Myrrh’s interaction with the body’s natural pain-modulating pathways was well known to ancient practitioners. Myrrh interacts with opioid receptors to tell your brain you’re not experiencing pain. The Gospel account of Jesus, on His way to crucifixion, being offered myrrh mixed with wine, a traditional analgesic blend, highlights just how well-known myrrh’s numbing and comforting properties were understood to be.

Jesus refused the drink.

Gold: Fit for a King

Gold is, of course, a universally recognized symbol of wealth and beauty. Yet across ancient civilizations, it was also regarded as a health supportive metal of vitality, prized for its purity, rarity, and incorruptibility. Gold is the most inert of metals; it does not tarnish, corrode, or interfere with the body’s natural electromagnetic environment. This unusual stability made it a material of choice not only for jewelry but for early medical experimentation and alchemical exploration.

Historical uses of gold abound. Over 5,000 years ago, alchemists in Alexandria, Egypt developed a liquid gold elixir to restore youthfulness, rejuvenate the body, and cure and protect the body from diseases. In Ayurveda, finely processed gold, known as swarna bhasma, has been used internally for centuries as a rejuvenative tonic, traditionally believed to treat asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, and nervous system disorders.

In modern biomedical contexts, gold has found roles in specialized surgical applications, certain joint therapies, and emerging research exploring gold nanoparticles. Gold has been found in clinical studies to help with rheumatoid arthritis, reducing joint pain and stiffness — both through the modern medical treatment known as “gold therapy” and just by wearing gold jewelry (it has prevented arthritis around the joints it’s near). Studies show colloidal gold supports mental acuity, thought to be by increasing conductivity between nerve endings and the surface of the brain. Gold is anti-inflammatory, used in surgery to patch blood vessels, nerves, and bones, and is even used as a cancer treatment.

Historically and traditionally, gold has been associated with:

• Ease of movement and joint comfort

• Support for mental clarity and alertness

• Rejuvenation and vitality in long-term wellness practices

• Biomedical applications in the repair of delicate tissues

A Trinity of Ancient Wisdom

Taken together, the gifts of the Magi represent an elegant symbolic and medicinal triad: the spirit (frankincense), the soul (myrrh), and the body (gold). Each substance stands at the crossroads of history, medicine, trade, and spirituality. Each has been used for thousands of years to support well-being in ways both practical and profound.

And though modern science continues to explore and clarify their properties, the wisdom of the ancient world remains clear: these gifts were prized not only for their rarity, but for their capacity to support the spiritual and physical health of a baby and His postpartum mother.

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