Radiance of the Moon

"I rise through the strength of Mi-cha-el, Light of the Sun, Radiance of the Moon, Splendor of Fire, Swiftness of Wind, Depth of Sea, Stability of Earth, Firmness of Rock. Mi-cha-el!"
- St. Patrick

Happy Michelmas! It's the feast day marking the end of the harvest with the yearly play at our Waldorf School. My intention had been to have made a loaf of Dragons Bread so that we could slay the dragon with our knife and spread the slices with blackberry jam. This is one of the customs in the early grades of Waldorf education. I so love the symbolism connected with Michelmas and the slaying of the dragon lurking deep within us.

Many of the holy days throughout the quilt of spiritual traditions have started their ceremonies of honoring the light as we here in the northern hemisphere move into the dark of the season. These ceremonies, often celebrated with the lighting of candles, will continue for many months to come.

Thus dearest readers I wish you much courage and compassion with slaying your own inner demons. Some of the essential oils that are most often associated with courage are those of the trees such as Spruce, Fir, Pine and Cedarwood. I am partial to Frankincense, albeit blended with other tree essences is quite splendid as well. Of the Illuminated line I recommend Chaparral or Sierra, both of these are rich with the essences mentioned above. Best of all though is to follow your intuition with what makes the light within you shine brightest.

Image: Michelmas from a German manuscript, circa 1300

Chaparral at Scent Hive

My latest hive, the SBB2, short for Squirrel Box Bees number 2 gather their pollen and nectar from the hillside wildflowers and brush of the Santa Monica Mountains. This clustering of plants is known as the chaparral biome.


Trish at Scent Hive today has a review of Chaparral® in both the liquid and solid format as well as her impression of the new Tangent. Fly on over and gather some nectar, leave a comment and perhaps win a sample of Chaparral® solid and liquid. In celebration I offer you a giveaway for a .25 gram sample of the new Tangent botanical organic perfume.


This giveaway ends at 10pm PST on Saturday, October 2nd. To qualify please leave a comment on this post. You must include your first name -or- etsy username AND email address with each entry or it will not be included. The contest is worldwide.

For additional entries you can do any or all of the following, please leave a separate comment for each entry.

• 1 entry per day of the contest: Twitter this message: RT @RoxanaVilla is hosting a giveaway for her new Tangent perfume! Visit http://bit.ly/anrZAS for a chance to win
• 2 entries (total) - Blog about this giveaway, leaving the URL to the post in comments (1 blog per entrant, please)
• 1 entry: Be or become a follower of the Roxana at RoxanaVilla on Twitter
• 1 entry: Be or become a follower of the Greg at RoxanaIlluminatedPerfume on Facebook
• 1 entry: Be or become a follower of this journal: IlluminatedPerfume

More fine print, learned along the way
1. If we cannot contact you we will give your prize away to someone else.
2. Depending how many entries I receive I will determine how the winner shall be chosen. Normally each entry is assigned a card from several decks here at the house, I then shuffle all the cards and have someone handy (like my daughter) choose a card for the winner and a runner up.
3. If you have won a Giveaway in the past you may enter again.
4. Please don't make up any new guidelines, what is outlined above is what we follow.

Be sure to check out the other giveaway over at Scent Hive.
Good luck!

In the Studio

The hunt for finding ways to present botanical perfume products in a sophisticated and environmentally conscious manner is an ongoing process.

I finally found bags for the solid perfume minis that are from America and made with a natural fiber. For now I am using a rubber stamp of two acorns on the front, however, soon the bags will have my iconic honey bee instead.


I'm back to reformulating the chocolate butters from last Valentines day, for now I have two of the honey bee pots back in the shop Chêne (the oak) and Blanc (vanilla). I've found some packaging that I really like for these in bigger versions since you all want them as body butters. Expect those to hit the shop in late October. If there is a flavor from the last two tiers that you would like please e-mail or convo me and I will list it in the shop for you. Read more here at this link.

A Tangent Universe

Last night I went to sleep pondering a name for this perfume that was meant to be Chaparral®. I was tossing around words like sage, leaf, wood as if shooting basketballs toward an invisible hoop. My conscious mind finally gave up and I drifted to dreamland.


At some point within the wee hours, in that gap of sleeping and waking, the word Tangent bubbled up into my mind. Normally when ideas come in like this it is rare that I am able to harness them in the morning. This time it was clear as a bell and as I processed the word the more I liked it.

I mentioned it to my daughter Eve who responded with...."Oh like that song in Donnie Darko, The Tangent Universe." Yes, indeed, just like a tangent universe, this perfume is a parallel fragrance to Chaparral, they both share components but are alternates of each other. The ingredients are almost exact and the two share a dominant wood note. The main difference is that Tangent has more of a sweet wood quality while Chaparral® is more of a smokey deep wood. The evolution on the skin is different as well.

This limited edition of Tangent is now available at the E-shop in sample packs and as a 1 gram vial. I am working on an illuminated image to accompany the scent and will list the flacon soon. In the next edition I may change it slightly as I would like it to contain 28 essences in the botanical synergy.

The "Carpathian ridge" scenes in the film Donnie Darko were shot in California along the Angeles Crest Highway where one finds chaparral plants growing wild.

The Spell

Aligned in the firelight energetics of this Autumn season a group of bloggers has joined their brooms together casting a wide circle of enchantment. It was my friend and writer Beth Shreibman Gehring who alerted me to this event and what a perfect fit it was for me. The circle is centered around the book and or film Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman. Please visit the portal site Practical Magic Blog Party and follow the links to each of the participating blogs.

I have not read the book Practical Magic, but must say I am very intrigued. The film came my way years back and didn't really leave an indelible mark until seeing it again a few weeks ago. A tinge of knowing floated into my mind as I watched the first scene, images of the The Burning Times series with Loreena McKinnets song came flooding back into my consciousness. I felt tears well up and remembered my mother telling me as a little girl how some members of our family were called "Brujas" because of our psychic abilities.

As I continued to watch the film next I became completely enamored with the Victorian house and vintage neo-Victorian garb of the two aunts. Then I saw the Owens sister Book of Shadows that had been passed on from one generation of witches to another.


A Book of Shadows, also called a Grimoire, is a collection of rituals and formulas. I realized that the pages of perfume formulas and this blog, especially posts like this one about creating a prosperity accord, is in a way a type of Grimoire. As I pondered more I realized I wanted to create a Grimoire reflecting my work as a botanical perfume artist. From what I read Grimoires really should be done as much as possible by hand. I decided to enroll the art work of my husband Greg, since it embodies the exact feel of the Owens book that I love so much. The challenge here lies in that Greg isn't so much interested in making original artwork anymore. Thus, not quite sure how this idea will evolve, the original may end up being more of an assemblage. I'm still orchestrating how to set up the book and delving deep to access threads of my herstory as a bookbinder and letterpress printer to bring all my crafts together.


In the meantime, here is one of the images from his Vespertina book/CD and the opening page to a Tarot book proposal my husband put together in 1995 for a book publisher in Japan. The publisher in Japan never picked up the project, nor did my husband produce it. Instead it sits here in the dark, quiet corners of the studio for me to admire and drool over it. However, Vespertina was published and will soon appear as a graphic novel. Vespertina will surely have a Grimoire.


Images: Illuminaire by Greg Spalenka, Practical Magic Grimoire from the film, Spalenka Tarot Book by Greg Spalenka.

Perfume Illuminated: Absinthe

“Let me be mad… mad with the madness of Absinthe, the wildest, most luxurious madness in the world.” ~ Marie Corelli

It seemed fitting that as we just celebrated the Autumn Equinox and Harvest Moon that Absinthe should be the one illuminated this day. Known also as the Green Fairy, Absinthe is a flavored alcoholic spirit from Europe. Originating in Neuchâtel, Switzerland the first Absinthe drink was an herbal elixir made of wormwood leaves macerated (tinctured) in wine. The healing potion was similar to "bitters" and said to help with a variety of dis-ease including stomach discomforts, rheumatism and jaundice. My first experience encountering the Green Fairy was in 2003 during a twenty day painting seminar in Austria. Each evening after dinner the artists in the workshop would gather to discuss art, spirituality, politics, etc and eventually head down to the steam room, in the spa. It was through the steam that I noticed a vivid green luminosity coming from one of my fellow artists glasses. He and a few others had glasses of the spirit with them. They told how they would sneak back the beverage to the US camouflaged in mouth wash bottles. This was before all the silliness with no liquids in luggage.

"I sit at my door, smoking a cigarette and sipping my absinthe, and I enjoy every day without a care in the world." ~ Paul Gauguin

Absinthe was made wildly popular by the Parisian artistic sector of the 19th and 20th centuries. During this time period rumors spread that the drink contained dangerous psychoactive properties due to the high content of thujone contained in wormwood. This reminds me of some current urban legends about africanized bees or toxic natural perfume ingredients

FRAGRANCE

Absinthe contains a "holy trinity" of herbs: Green anise Pimpinella anisum, Wormwood Artemisia absinthium and Florence Fennel Foeniculum vulgare. Wormwood Artemisia absinthium, a native of Europe and Asia, is the most popular ingredient in the trio and what the drink is named after. Wormwood is a perennial herb ruled by Mars with silvery feather leaves, woody stalks and olive green flowers. As an essential oil wormwood is not recommended in aromatherapy due to the high thujone content. It is considered a neurotoxin and as with the herb not recommended for prolonged use. If you decide to use the essential oil use extreme mindfulness and minimal amounts. Consider substituting on of the other plants in the Artemisia genus, which are not as toxic and please make sure not to take this essence internally! The predominant ingredient in Absinthe is Anise Pimpinella anisum. Other key components include: licorice, hyssop, fennel, angelica root, melissa, coriander, and nutmeg. Ingredients tend to vary depending on herbs grown in the region where the Absinthe is made. Almost all of these herbs exist as essential oils. To make your own Absinthe perfume find a pleasant ration between them and add to alcohol. After returning from the trip to Austria I created an Absinthe perfume and am excited to now resurrect her. I pulled out all my notes and formulas. In reading over my notes the mind has devised even more ideas. First I will take a whiff of the original I made back in 2003 and decide what shall stay, what shall go, etc. It would be easy to fall into a remake of Vera or GreenWitch, both of those having herbaceaous and green notes. For Absinthe I'm thinking of a slightly different direction though...we shall see, or actually smell, what transpires.

"I will free you first from burning thirst That is born of a night of the bowl, Like a sun 'twill rise through the inky skies That so heavily hang o'er your souls. At the first cool sip on your fevered lip You determine to live through the day, Life's again worth while as with a dawining smile You imbibe your absinthe frapp&eacute. " ~ Glenn MacDonough

FLAVOR: Beth Schreibman Gehring

Please continue reading about Absinthe at the Windesphere Witch blog

Opening two images: 1. The Absinthe Fairy by Aly Fell 2. Absinthe Robette by Privat-Livemount Content and other images ©Roxana Villa.

The Wild West

The latest edition of Chaparral® botanical perfume has manifested with a slightly different character. The feel is a bit more feminine, less masculine. I've decided to offer this new version, although I will also be making it once more with those more wild masculine notes missing from this latest rendition.

When I step outside in the early mornings and inhale deeply of the air here in the Santa Monica Mountains the native sage is the primary note I perceive, almost all year long. What I have come to realize over the years is that the sand along the coast specifically from Santa Monica to Malibu has this sage note in it. This new Chaparral® has an element of that California beach note which the other doesn't. Please give them a whiff and share your scent impressions with me.

At this moment in time I haven't decided if I will make more of this more feminine aspect of Chaparral®. Once it is finished I most likely will offer it as a special request item.

Magick Monday

Moonday greetings to you on this auspicious day related to the silvery round lantern in the sky that gravitates toward the forces of the Earth. I have a new project to announce that will be be showcased here on each Magick Monday as it evolves.

The household in and out of our little woodland house has fallen into the rhythmic, abundant flow of this Harvest season. Acorns are more and more abundant and thus the local squirrel population is quite busy. Each day, around 6am we are awoken by running little feet on our roof top as the acorn fairies jump of the limbs of the oaks onto the roof and dash about protecting their territory.

Though the quality of light has begun to shift the weather is still warm, sometimes hot during the day. This time of the year signifies The Moon, called Luna by the Romans and Selene or Artemis by the Greeks embodies the divine feminine aspect and is associated with clairvoyance, divination, maidenhood, cycles, fertility.



The project I am working on wonders into the magical sector of my interests with a multi-faceted alignments in art, books, potion making, spells, herbalism, shamanism and of course perfume. Ideas our still unsettled and whirling about with the creation of a Book of Shadows, a Grimoire. In Wicca this book is a place to store information about my magickal tradition. In a way I have already begun this, but it is spread out among many different binders and folders within the studio.

I found some really gorgeous handmade Grimoires online. I might create one, having been an avid book binder in college I feel crafty enough where I can put something together, especially with the assistance of online tutorials. I am curious why we didn't make one of these in the Shamanism class I was an apprentice in for three years? Oh well, now is the time, perhaps because Greg will be involved and he wasn't part of my life back then.

Opening image and book photograph ©RoxanaVilla

Perfume School

A BBC Radio 7 broadcast titled "The Nose School" is up for the next seven days for a listen. A very interesting peek into the premier school of perfume in France. Mind you, these schools focus on synthetic chemicals even though they use words like watermelon. There is no botanical essence of watermelon.

Amethyst Perfume Bottle ©Roxana

Perfume Illuminated: Bay

Preferring the habitat of warm climates like the Mediterranean, our dignitary that gets illuminated today is noble Bay. When I think of Bay the image that immediately comes to mind is of Greek Poets crowned with this leaf of green. The Greeks and Romans prized this tree and woven into many of their mythologies. One of the most famous is the story of the Greek nymph, Daphne with her lover Apollo, who was transformed into a Laurel tree.


Originating in Asia Bay Laurus nobilis has become one of those universal herbs for both flavor and fragrance, particularly in Europe and North America. This particular evergreen goes by many names including Bay Laurel, Grecian Laurel, Roman Bay and Sweet Bay. When seeking out the real thing make sure to go by the Latin binomial Laurus nobilis since there are many other plants with the common name Bay and Laurel.

Acclaimed Greek poets were awarded Bay laurel wreaths to wear for academic success which today we call a bachelors degree. The original word was "baccalaurreate" stemming from the words bacca (berry) and lauri (laurel).


The cycle of the plant begins with yellow flowers in early Spring followed by dark purple black berries also called fruit. The evergreen leaves are abundant year round. In typical Mediterranean gardens you will find the tree in a pot near the kitchen, pruned to stay small so that the leaves are easily accessible for cooking.

Here in California we have a native Bay, Umbellularia californica, which is sometimes confused for true bay. This Bay also has other names which include Pepperwood, Myrtle and Myrtlewood. The California Bay is substantially more aromatic then the true and produces an exquisite essential oil. Be mindful with inhaling the aromatics of the fresh crushed leaves for they may cause a headache. The Chumash tribe of California use the leaves in much the same way that Europeans use their bay leaves, as poultices for headaches and rheumatism as well a decoction for grievances of the stomach.

FRAGRANCE

The aroma of the most popular bay laurel has warm notes of spice, herbs and a slightly floral component derived from the chemical eugenol. Eugenol is also located in the essential oils of clove and ylang ylang.

In aromatherapy we use Laurus nobilis extracted from the leaves and sometimes the berries. The attribute most often associated with this essence is "stimulation" to many different systems of the body. I use bay laurel in my headache and body ache relief preparations.


The essential oil of Laurus nobilis is also used in natural botanical perfume. Essences often associated or commonly confused with Bay laurel are Pimenta racemosa (BayRum) and Pimanta dioica (Allspice). Pimenta racemosa from the West Indies is what is used to create a traditional Bay Rum Cologne. Find a formula for creating your own Bay Rum cologne below. Historically the term Bay Rum was derived by the co-distillation of Rum with the Bay leaves of Pimenta racemosa.

BAY RUM AFTER SHAVE from Jade Shutes of the IDA

Base ingredients:

Nice glass bottle 6oz
Bay leaves
Allspice
Cloves
Rum (preferably Bay Rum or Bacardi)
Purified water
7-10 drops essential oil of Pimenta racemosa

Directions:

1) Fill 1/2 inch of the bottle with cloves and allspice herb - add Bay leaves - leave enough room so that herbs look nice and the rum can cover.
2) Fill 1/2 of the bottle with Rum, other 1/2 with purified water.
3) Add essential oil.
4) Shake.
5) Leave for one week, shaking periodically, to infuse.


The Phoenix Myster which has a Bay Rum characteristic, sold out this week, in the meantime while I make a new batch I'll be listing my Bay Rum cologne in the E-shop within the next few days.

FLAVOR: Beth Schreibman Gehring

Please continue reading about Bay at the Windesphere Witch blog

Opening two images: Faded Laurels by Edmund Blair Leighton and Apollo and Daphne by John William Waterhouse.
Content and other images ©Roxana Villa.

O is for Oak

Q stands for Quercus agrifolia the botanical name for the coastal live oak of California. At this time of the year the oaks are very heavy with acorns, proving a very busy time for the local squirrels. I've been dutifully gathering both acorns and acorn caps daily from the Quercus agrifolia on my property. The caps are for a upcoming project while the acorns are for perfume packages and photo shoots. As of yet there are no acorns from the Quercus lobata, a deciduous native oak. Those acorns are much larger than the ones from the agrifolia, hope they manifest soon as I'd like to get a photo with lots of varieties of acorns and leaves.


Yesterday as I photographed a bottle of Q liquid organic perfume I saw the stack of wood type letters that Ben had brought over the weekend. It occurred to me that yes "Q is for Quercus" BUT "O is for Oak" and there were lots of O's in the pile. Perhaps they are zeros, in either case, they like like O's and will suffice. Here's one...more to come soon.


I just listed the honey pot tub of Q solid natural perfume in the E-shop. The actual amount by weight in these tubs is between 3.6 and 4.7 grams. The solid compact version contains about 5.3 grams. Each one varies slightly because I pour each and every solid perfume myself. There's no machine or robot making them with an exact measuring devise...at least not yet.


Photos: Q organic, botanical perfume, Acorn caps, Acorns on wood type and the new 5 gram Q natural perfume all ©RoxanaVilla

Jasmine Haze

The weather here in southern California has been extremely erratic. A hot day with temperatures over 100 degrees in the shade is followed by a cool, cloud covered day requiring wool sweaters! As the cycle of Autumn begins the jasmine sambac flowering season bids us adieu along with summer. Although only Mother Nature knows for sure.

"Plants that wake when others sleep. Timid jasmine buds that keep their fragrance to themselves all day, but when the sunlight dies away let the delicious secret out to every breeze that roams about.” ~ Thomas More

Those of you following this blog are aware that I have been dutifully tincturing jasmine sambac flowers from the garden for Cimbalom. Today over at the Lillyella blog I have a tutorial on how to make your very own jasmine sambac tincture.


I'm estimating that the liquid version of Cimbalom will arrive within the next few weeks...depending on our travel plans to the East coast. Stay tuned for more details.

Truth

Many thanks to Ida for her lovely review of the perfume devoted to Peace and Gracing the Dawn over at Cafleurebon today. I first became aware of Ida during the Perfume in a Poem project over at Memory and Desire. Later I had the opportunity to experience her warmth at the Sniffapalooza Fall Ball in New York City.

Ida is a champion of perfume arts with an enormous heart. During the Rose Ceremony this morning at Highland Hall Walfdorf School the first grade teacher spoke of our heart as the mediator between the world of polarities in which we dwell. Ida embodies heart.

Illuminated Perfumes: Truth in Advertising Peace and Gracing the Dawn

ArtHeart painting ©Greg Spalenka

Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow

Yesterday was very busy in the studio as I conducted a variety of tasks from making accord/chords, pouring solid perfumes, making the new purple wax sealed enclosure for GtheD (code for Gracing the Dawn) and re-organizing the studio. The reorganizing of the studio has been going on daily for awhile now, it is finally close being settle...for the moment anyway.

The solid perfumes I was working on were Aurora, Lyra and Chaparral. After filling all the pink pots with the synergy for Aurora, jojoba + beeswax combination I placed the extra behind my ears, on my neck, wrists and arms. As I slipped into the passenger side of the car my husband remarked "My honey smells good, really good, wow!" He was inhaling the silage of Aurora solid. Then he said, "I just got a glimpse of what your store will look like!"


Today I harvested what is probably the last of the jasmine sambac flowers for the tincture and am pouring Lyra solid into pots. Thus my scent of the day is richly woven with heady, delicious jasmine. This olfactory landscape will change later in the evening as Greg and I transfer the second Squirrel box of bees into the purple hive box.


I love all the bee related smells: fresh beeswax, old beeswax, the pine from the hive boxes, honey but most of all the overall perfume that rises from the hive box when I open it to do a hive inspection. The "Bee" fragrance is filled with all sort of subtle nuances from the varied fragrance families.

Tomorrows scent is a bit too far into the future for me to pin point now. Most likely it will be Chaparral laced with a bit of Benzoin as I filter the infusion. Benzoin resin has been sitting in a bath of jojoba and the California sun for over a month now. I had forgotten about it until yesterday while gardening I came upon the glass jar partially hidden by native artemisia.

I would have liked to be sharing thoughts and photos from a Labor Day getaway in an exotic location like Hawaii or even Santa Barbara, alas that it not the case. Since Mr. Grindstone is not even interested in going for a walk on the beach, I just may do it on my own. Amazing to think that the beach is so close but yet so far from yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Images:
Photos and Text ©Roxana Villa, pilfering content is a violation of copyright, don't do it.

Perfume Illuminated: Apple

“With an apple I will astonish Paris.”

~ Cezanne

The weather here in southern California is still very Summer like, despite the Labor Day weekend indicating the arrival of Autumn. Today, in alignment with the forthcoming season and current offerings at the farmers market we shall highlight apples as our honored fragrance and flavor guest.

“The apple cannot be stuck back on the Tree of Knowledge; once we begin to see, we are doomed and challenged to seek the strength to see more, not less.” ~ Arthur Miller

Malus domestica, the deciduous apple tree, originates in Asia and is part of the same family as the rose. The popular juicy fruit made it's way to North America with the early colonists in the 1600's.

FRAGRANCE

The aroma of apple is classified in the edible "fruit" domain known as fruity. At this moment in time like most other fruits there is no apple essential oil, there is however an apple blossom concrete which was available a few years back. I have used the apple blossom in a perfume ode to the Greek Goddess of Love "Aphrodite" as well as an up and coming perfume.

The essence with the most apple-like aroma is Roman chamomile, Anthemis nobilis. This calming essential oil has a bright, fresh, fruity character that is very reminiscent of the fragrance of apples. The other apple like essence comes to us via the marigold known as Tagetes Tagetes minuta or Tagetes glandulifera it is available as an essential oil or the brilliant flame orange colored absolute.

As with some of the other fragrance and flavor specimens discussed in this series tincturing is the alternative to creating your own fragrant raw material. With apple experiment with the peel as well as the fruit and how about using an heirloom apple for a little history!

FLAVOR: Beth Schreibman Gehring
Please continue reading about Apple at the Windesphere Witch blog

Images:
Apple Blossoms, also known as Spring, by Sir John Everett Millais 1856-59
Adam and Eve by Albrecht Dürer 1504
Old engravings of mouth and nose photo collage ©Roxana Villa
Text ©Roxana Villa, pilfering content is a violation of copyright, don't do it.

Sweetness and Light

There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.

~Edith Wharton

I've been re-doing many perfume photos, getting them more aligned with my color palette and core essence. Some items I have shot hundreds of times and not quite captured the right mood. It's a bit tricky because not all the plant materials contained within the perfumes are available year round. For example the California native rose, Rosa californica, in my garden did not bloom this year. Thus my dear friend Meghan brought me a few flowers from Malibu lake so that I could shoot some photos. Lately the Jasmine sambac has been in abundance, but today it has become obvious that within the next few days that window will close.


The window that has most recently opened is native acorns from the various Quercus agrifolia around me. They are bright green at the moment and vary in shape and size according to the tree. Soon they will begin to turn toward brown, offering another variation of hues to work with.


The color palette above is based on the trinity of my hair, eye and skin tones. This is the spectrum which Mother Nature painted me with as I came into the world. As you can see the hues are somewhat muted with a mix of cool and warm. The colors are associated with the quality of light of Summer and a pinch of Autumn firelight. My core essence is associated with vintage, antique, the feminine, romance, texture and complexity. I weave those aspects with my color palette into the photos. It's not about what is "in style" or "fashionable" but what is aligned with my spirit. Conveniently natural botanical perfume works well with those aspects, as I continue to bring light to the value of nature and pure, vital perfume.

The pursuit of perfection, then, is the pursuit of sweetness and light.
~Matthew Arnold