The Sacred Waters

And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water.
Exodus 29:4

Water was used by the early Hebrews for cleansing and purifying. Due to a commandment given by God to Moses, in the city of David, Jerusalem, pilgrims went daily in a big procession to the spring, Shilock, the waters of which were said to cleanse and sanctify.

The priests had to sanctify their hands and feet with water poured from a golden flask before they could go to the altar, or do anything of spiritual significance.
Baptism is a Christian sacrament of spiritual rebirth by which the recipient is cleansed of original sin through the symbolic application of water - by immersion, pouring or sprinkling. Muslims, five times a day, obey these words of the Koran:

When you prepare for prayer, wash your faces, and your hands (and arms) to the elbows; rub your heads ( with water); and (wash your feet to the ankles). if you are in a state of ceremonial impurity, bathe your whole body.' (Sura 5:7) If water is not available, 'clean sand or earth' is to be used instead.

The spiritual nature of water is also recognized in India, where the fondest wish of devout Hindus is to bathe in the River Ganges at least once in their lifetime and have their ashes scattered on it after death.
The river is referred to as Ganga Ma, Mother Ganga, and each day countless worshippers can be seen on her shore, chanting prayers and offering flowers.

Those who bathe devoutly once in the pure currents of the Ganga, their tribes are protected by her from hundreds of thousands of dangers. Evils accumulated through generations destroyed. Just by bathing in the Ganga one gets immediately purified.The Brahmandapurana.

The tradition of ritual bathing may go back over 4,000 years on the Indian subcontinent, to the city of Mohenjo Daro in present-day Pakistan, The city was built on a grid system, with each house having a bathroom and toilet - with a clay-pipe drainage system - and a 'Great Bath' measuring 39 by 23 feet, and 8 feet deep, which was probably used for ritual purification purposes.

Bathing has two meanings from a spiritual point of view. It can denote cleansing before taking part in religious observance, or spiritual transformation as in baptism. Immersion in water induces a state of relaxation which quite often leads to moments of inspiration, spiritual and otherwise.

When creating your own sacred waters, run the warm bath water, then add the essential oil - with the bathroom door closed to ensure the aroma molecules remain in the room. The essential oils are inhaled with the steam, and absorbed through the skin by osmosis. As a general rule, use 4-6 drops of essential oil per bath. This may not seem a great deal, but just one drop of essential oil will infuse the entire body of water with its aromatic impact. Lie there for at least ten minutes, inhaling the precious fragrance.

Bath rooms sometimes have electrical fans installed in them, often integral to the light fitment. When using essential oils for spiritual purposes, the noise and vibration of these fittings may disturb the energy or atmosphere you wish to create, so candlelight would be more appropriate.

Some people like total silence as they lie in the water - the amniotic fluid of the universe - while others may prefer the sound of gentle music to help them reach the higher realms. Bathing always allows a certain detachment from the hubub of daily life, but, with a little extra thought and preparation, and the fragrance of the heavens, the inner core of spirituality can more easily be experienced.

Reference: The Fragrant Heavens: V.A. Worwood