2013 is almost Gone!

  

   Well, tomorrow is the last day of 2013. Amazing! What the heck happened to this year anyway???       That aside, I'm still in a state of sensory overload from the holiday season. If I don't smell another cookie, cake or candy for a month or so ~ I might recover.  The scent of evergreens  (one of my favorites) was in short supply around here. Very few Yule trees for sale this year. And they looked pretty rough. Something about a disease affecting them and making them dry out rapidly. What a shame!
    Went back on the no-buy quite a while back. And I had been doing really well. (pat self on back)  Then saw a small bottle of  Perfumer's Workshop Tea Rose Jasmin. For $4.!  Lovely fragrance. Reminds me of some perfume oil I used to get many, many years ago. Nice incense vibe to it.
    My after-Yule present to myself was a very small shopping spree at Mermade Arts. Got one of her tripods for placing over the lit charcoal. Never tried that before.  Purchasing a new electric heater will have to wait a bit longer!
    The relatively new metaphysical store down at the corner carries a little bit of incense. What a lifesaver that was at Christmas! Guess what my daughter got as a gift? hahaha        Am trying a couple of scents from the HEM corp..   Sandal King and Horus Eye.  Sweet, but nice. They also carry a "Seven Chakra" incense by the same company. There are seven packages containing 5 incense sticks each. Of course, the fragrances are supposed to match up with the corresponding chakra. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to use them. Guess it would be good if I asked at the shop where I got them! hahaha   Did I forget to mention that I have a case of the brain-fog because of all the sugar I've been ingesting! And I swear its affecting my sense of smell!!!  NOT in a good way either.
    Oh goodness.... just realized how late it is. Had better run and try to get some sleep. Haven't heard much this evening, but tomorrow night my neighbors will be setting off loads of fireworks..... and I will be up most of the night reassuring my dogs and cats!   Remember to keep your pets safe and as calm as possible. Good luck to all the fur parents out there!!

Fragrant Silk....

Straight from the thrift shop. So light and ethereal.

   I just love bopping over to the Hospice thrift shop down at the corner. Its a change of scenery and pace. Occasionally I find absolutely nothing...... other times I hit the motherload!  It really doesn't matter because the important part is the treasure hunt.  But every once in a while I come across something that truly intrigues me. Today it was a scarf. It wasn't a color I'd normally be drawn to. The design is nice enough, but nothing of special interest. Soft silk... that's a plus in my mind, not a definite reason for purchasing.  
   This one just had a "feel" about it. As I ran it through and over my hands and forearms I got the mental image of a woman. Small to medium height and built. Dressed in a very classic and stylish manner. Tailored dress, heels (sensible heels, mind you!), perfectly coiffed hair, simple and elegant gold jewelry, purse on her arm and this scarf around her neck. A breeze is blowing gently as she walks through a European style plaza. Theres salt water nearby, I can smell it in the air. A Mediterranean vacation perhaps?  Nice lady, I like her. Has a warm and kind vibe around her.   I wonder if she donated this or if her family did. I can't get a clear I impression about it. Seems I've all ready got an emotional investment in this gal! She had such a loving heart.     (Hmm, that just came out in the past tense. Maybe that answers my query.)
    Anyway, at some point I realized I was smelling just the faintest hint of perfume. And a lovely one at that! Oh my, its the scarf. She had good taste in fragrance as well. It has a Chanel vibe to it. Oh, by the skirts of the Great Mother!!! I do believe its vintage COCO!   hahaha   No wonder I like this lady so much! A kindred soul! 
   I keep sniffing and I think that there may be another perfume as well. Over time they have blended into the silk fibers. I get an image of scarves folded neatly and layered in a dresser drawer. What a magnificent fragrance it creates! 
   Yes, this is one of those intimate little vignettes in life that I cherish. I may not know the name of the woman who wore this scarf, but I've been graced with sharing just a moment of a memory of her..... and its been a very comforting feeling. Its like reaching out delicately into the Universe and feeling someone else's fingertips gently touch mine.   A reassurance that these physical bodies of ours are only fleeting, but our true Self lives on.

Ambre Sultan. Nice for Protection.

   While speaking to a friend on the phone about protective fragrances and my need for them, especially at that particular time, I spotted this on the internet. (Which I was cruising at the same time I was talking.... I admit it!) Anyway, it caught my attention because the amber in perfumes is actually composed of resins and oils, some of which have the exact energetic properties I was seeking.  And I think many of us can appreciate how something will just "pop" up out of seemingly nowhere when we need it the most. So it was with Ambre Sultan by Serge Lutens.   And it was less than half the regular price!    So glad I decided to go for it.
    I just ADORE the opening. The first 30 to 40 minutes are my kind of magickal potion, Resins, herbs and spices. All dancing around a sacred fire, weaving in and out. For a time it creates an underlying scent of tobacco.... lets send those prayers up! There is an incense note present that resonates waaaay back in my memory file! (I wonder which lifetime its from?) And one of the unnamed resins just HAS to be my beloved breuzinho! Here its burning as a sacred offering. Billowing clouds of smoke rising to embrace the breezes. And that wonderful tang of burnt resin on the altar stone. Oh, how I wish this stage of Ambre Sultan's development could last forever. But all things change. It transmutes to a warm glowing ember of fragrant myrrh and vanilla laden amber. Earthy, yet etheric as it dries down closer and closer to the skin. Wondrous.
     It lasts for many hours.... quietly. That's what you want when you're seeking protection, especially if you are "out and about". There is nothing "weird" about this that would make people question why you're wearing it.
    Its those opening notes that help fortify my defenses. They seem to purge my energy field of unwanted and negative particles. Then it morphs into this lovely and discreet perfume. What more could one ask for?
    Note: This one is quite unisex.

Ambre Sultan  by Serge Lutens                   2000

Notes:  Coriander, Sandalwood, Bay leaf, Patchouli, Angelica, Resins, Myrrh, Amber, Oregano, Myrtle, Benzoin, Vanilla.