| The Alchemy of Fragrance By: Lynne Sturtevant Smell is themost primitive of our five senses. Aromas have the power to uncover buried memories, trigger emotions, alter moods, and ignite sexual passion. Scents also have the power to connect us to the spiritual realm. Fragrance has been an invisible element in magickal ceremonies and religious rituals for at least 5,000 yeras. The smoke of incense has carried messages to the gods, clreaed negative influences from sacred spaces, helped mystics achieve altered states of consciousness, and lifted the souls of the dead to paradise. The ancient Egyptians used vast quantities of incense and other aromatics. Priests anointed themselves with perfumes, fragrant unguents, and scented oils several times a day. Flowers, spics, and herbs were esential elements in the sacred art of mummifying the dead. When King Tut's Tomb was opened early in the twentieth century, 3,000 years after it had been sealed, the faint aroma of perfume still hung in the air. The most famous Egyptian scent was kyphi, a very intense concoction with the power to induce hypnotic states. Kyphi contained sixteen ingreidients - including honey, wine, bitumen, and frankincense. The number sixteen was significant in Egyptian magic because it is the square of a square (four times four). Only priests were allowed to make and use Kyphi. They mixed it according to a secret ritual while chanting sacred texts. Eeach Day at dawn, the priess offered frankinscense to the Sun god Re. At non they burned myrrh. Kyphi was saved for the daily sunset, when it was ignited with great ceremony to encourage the God to return to the sky the following moring. Egyptians also used perfumes as cosmetics. Women placed scented cones of wax on their heads. As their body heat warmed the cones, the waxx melted down over them and scented their hair and bodies. Young men wore as many as fifteen different scents at once, and Cleopatra perfumed the sails of her royal Barge. The Greeks and Romans were as addicted to fragrance as the Egyptians were. The Greeks roasted spices on braziers, used aromatic oil inlamps, poured rose water on hot rocks to produce frangrant steam, and filled fountains with perfume. THe intoxicationg fumes inhaled by priestesses at Delphi allowed them to predict the future of kings and empires. Romans burned incense to the Lares, their household gods, and before civic ceremonies. The emperor Nero used more incense every fewmonths than Saudi Arabia could produce in an entire year. The most extravagant use of fragrance was reserved for grand Roman Imperial Banquets. Dinner guests rinsed their hands and feet in perfume when they arrived. Mists of fragrance and showers of rose petals drifted down on them from time to time as they ate. Doves whose wings had been saturated with perfume flew overhead, further scenting the air. Thoughout the ancient world, incense meant frankincense, a resn that comes from trees. Its spicey, sensuous smoke filled temples from Babylon to China. Frankincense quieted overactive minds and focused mental energies.Ascetics in India inhaled its smoke to achieve deeper Levels of meditation. Its vaule was surpassed only by myrrh, another resinous substance obtained from shrubs. Myrrh calmed turbulent emotions and provided strength and endurance during times of difficulties. Reaction to individual fragrances are highly personal. To some , the scent of myrrh is vaguely medicinal. To others, its smokey-sweet aroma evokes the very essence of spirituality. Myrrh was so expensive that only the very wealthy had access to it, and so precious that men addressed their sweethearts as , "my Myrrh". After the Roman Empire fell, people continued to use herbs and flowers tos cent their homes, clothing and bodies. Wealthier churches still burned frankincense, but the art of perfume making was virtually forgotten in Europe. The persians, who blieved a flower's fragrance was its soul, continued working on ways to extract botanical essences. Attar of roses, an intensely gragrant scent that is still used in perfume making, was developed in persia during the Dark Ages. Although attar of roses is powerful, most agree that the ultimate floral fragrance is jasmine. In India, Jasmine is known as "Queen of the Night", because its creamy white blossoms open in the moonlight. Its sweet scent is so itoxicating and so sensual that it borders on the erotic. It is entirely too much for some, but for others it is as addictive as a narcotic. Everywhere it gorws, jasmine is considered an aphrodisiac. Inhailing its fragrance strenthens intuition, encourages artistic creatvitiy, and eleviates the mood. In the last fifty years, natural jasmine has become so expensive it is now out of reach for al ut a few. It is the myrrh of our time. The knowledge of perfume-making returned to Europe with the Crusaders in the late Middle Ages. At this time perfume shops began to open in Paris and London. The Perfume-makers cultivated auras of mystery around their establishments and themselves. Most dabbled in alchmey, astrology, and the occult. Their dimly lit shops were filled with drying flowers, rare sices, and odd-looking roots. Bits of mummies were strategically placed here and there to remind customers of perfume's hystoric connection to ancient Egyptian magic. The strong scent of camphor and thick frankincense smoke added to the exotic atmosphere. People were convinced that certain perfumes possessed magical properties. Some made the wearer irrisistable to members of the opposite sex. Other scents guaranteed eternal youth. Still others had the power to destroy one's enemies. The names of today's perfumes- Beautiful, Eternity, Obession - would have made as much sense in the sixteenth century as they do in the twenty-first.
A simple way to incorporate fragrance into your rituals is by making and using solid perfumes. Focus on a single aroma, perhaps used in the ancient world, or combine different scents to create your own special blend. Use the perfume to purify your space and to reate a sacred atmosphere. Scent an entire room or just an object or piece of fabric. Run the scent on your hands and temples. If you use a particular fragrance consistently and ony for ritual purposes, it will gain the power to transport yoru mind to the proper state for magical work.
Solid Perfumes To make a magical solid perfume to use in ritual, you will need the ingredients listed below. -
Petroleum or non-petroleum jelly. -
Grated Beeswax: Beeswax sheets and pellets are available in the candlemaking section of craft stores. -
Essential or Fragrance oils: Essential oils are concentrated natural botanical extracts. Fragrance oils are synthetic and much less expensive. -
Small Containers with lids: Baby food jars , pill bottles, empty compacts, and small containers for sorting beads all work well. -
Acooking pan. -
A heatproof measuring cup.
Bring about one inch of water to boil in the pan. Put one tablespoon of grated beeswax and two tablesppons of petroleum jelly in a heatproof measuring cup. Carefully place the measuring cup in the pan of oiling water. Beeswax will ignight, so do not leave the melting wax unatended. In about five minutes, the wax and petroleum jelly will melt completly. Remove the measuring cup from the pan and add one-half ounce of essential or fragrance oil, half a standard-size bottle. If the oil solidfies when you add it to the wax, stir it a little. Pour the mixture into the containers. The perfume will be solid to the touch within ten minutes and will continue to harden over several hours. The finished product should have the consistency of lip balm. If you want it softer, use a little more petroleum jelly. For a firmer product, use a little bit more beeswax. This recipe will fill ten pillboxes with solid perfume.
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