Spike!

'Nard, that is. Mmmm, baby. Someone special recently gifted me a bottle of spikenard -- about four ounces of the stinky, juicy stuff. Ahm in luuuvv! Oh, yes, it does have a slightly weird valerian-like undertone that almost takes you there, but then pulls back in plenty of time for the beauty of 'nard to come through. Stuffed Up Nosed Daughter professes it reminds her of roses! Which sent my mind reeling -- Christ being anointed with a pound of 'nard began to fill my imagination, coupled with a long-ago Pranic healing class in which we were told that divine yet earthbound spiritual masters naturally smelled of rose. Could it be, perhaps, a little magic lives in the spikenard? A bit of the mystical and mysterious?

Spikenard is a wondrous oil, not only having been used by ascended masters, it was also used by wealthy Roman women, and Egyptians adored the 'nard. (By the by, my prepubescent sons used to call their private parts 'nards', so writing the word 'nard seems very odd.) It is also shown to relieve migraines and help with insomnia. Since it is somewhat related to valerian, and subsequently contains a high level of valeranone, I would tend to agree with its effective use in battling sleepless nights -- these past few weeks have been awash in 'nard. Thank heavens it doesn't smell too much like valerian! Also, spikenard could be used as a sacrificial perfume material in a perfume which contains noticeable levels of oudh oil -- spikenard and oudh share a few olfactory similarities.