How Perfume Saved My Sanity, and Other Supernatural Things

I've begun about four different blog posts while in the middle of what seems to be an onslaught of terrible news, but my better nature opted not to post them. They were depressing and nasty, not who I want to be anymore. Things will get better. The feelings won't be so overwhelming, the depression will lift, and life will go on. Perfumery has been the balm helping get past this grief. It's worth waking up to. Worth continuing to pursue. Keeps me grounded and here instead of sinking.

I will be off the grid somewhat for the duration of this week. Going back home to put things to rest, yet again, so I won't be checking in online for a while, or maybe not as often.

 

Lots of strangeness has been going on here lately. Weird knockings on the walls when the house is empty but for me and the single cat sitting on my lap. Fascinating dreams invade my sleep. Odd bits of synchronicity evolve to create a lovely outcome. Basil has been prevalent in my thoughts, like a craving, I've been wanting to smell it, eat it, grow it, and it turns out to have been the answer to a perfume question I'd been struggling with. Basil. Of all things. Basil is used in love magic, and is sometimes called the 'witch's herb'. It's also a masculine plant (note), and is associated with fire. The perfume I was/am working on is basically constructed upon a masculine frame with lots of what might seem feminine notes (jasmin sambac, neroli, rose). Once the basil was introduced, it was as if the whole composition locked into place.

I'm beginning to feel like a decent perfume cannot be constructed without at least a little jasmin in its bones somewhere.

While creating the newest collaboration, a take off on a savage perfume, which I have since split and taken my portion and modified (Modhlim), I was once again inspired by the chon tincture Lisa C. gave me back in March 2013. I'm going to make this into a perfume. I have to. Lisa and I set about to 'play' -- the chon was one of the toys, as were a few other elements, and we layered this upon that upon the chon and the result was devastatingly gorgeous. I doubt that I will be able to obtain any more chon, but I have picked it apart olfactorily (word?) a time or two, so I know what it will take to make my own chon-like juice.

Things are going to be different this year. I'm tired of sitting around waiting for something to happen and instead will be going out and making it happen. Thursday is May Day, a day to petition the higher power to help overcome a problem -- this year I will ask for peace, inner, outer, all of it. Peace.