Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Soul Food

"Food nourishes the Body,
but Flowers nourish the Soul."

~ Ancient Proverb

In the botanical perfumers palette the most expensive and valuable essences are those that come from the heavenly domain of the flowers. Floral notes give body and heart to a perfume. The essences most often used to add a sensuous bouquet include:

Rose
Jasmine
Orange blossom
Ylang Ylang
Lotus
Tuberose
Frangipani
Champa
Mimosa

Besides the glorious fragrance these precious essences possess many also contain aromatherapeutic attributes. This is a unique feature to that of a pure, botanical perfume.

"The rose distils a healing balm
The beating pulse of pain to calm."

~ Thomas Moore


Rose, from the Rosaceae family, is a small deciduous shrub with Persian origins. In aromatherapy we use this essence for skin care, for challenges of the respiratory system, as a tonic to the uterus as well as a variety of nervous and stress related conditions. Sappho, the ancient Greek poet referred to Roses as the queen of flowers for their grace on earth.

For more on Roses here at this journal, including recipes and formulas follow this link: The Name of the Rose.



Thus, our scent for this day shall be floral...Lyra, Aurora, Vespertina or Rosa? How about Rosa since we have touched on a few of the healing attributes of the Rose.

"What is understood by essence,
in the pure sense as used by the mediaeval alchemists, for example,
is the actual energy, the 'soul' of the plant."
~ Marguerite Maury

Image above titled "Blessings" ©Greg Spalenka, original painting available as limited edition Giclee prints and greeting cards. Contact Greg at www.Spalenka.com for details. Blessings was created as an illustration for "Project Open Hand" in San Francisco.

No comments: