Secrets of the Sea

Chiara Vigo is an elder in the south of Italy who is thought to be the only woman alive with the knowledge of skill to make sea silk shine like gold. The ancient knowledge of weaving the precious material was passed down to Chiara by her grandmother who had learned it from her mother. A matriarchal skill that was passed from one generation to another.

"Weaving the sea silk is what my family has been doing for centuries," Vigo says. "The most important thread, for my family, was the thread of their history, their tradition."1

Read the complete story with photos by following this link to the BBC Magazine article. Scent for today: GreenWitch.

1. BBC story by Max Paradiso

Image: Noble pen shell with byssus, harvesting fork. De Réaumur 1717 on parchment.

Gift Guide: Mermaids and Sea Nymphs

Another collection of handmade beauties from Etsy. This one is for the Mermaiden or Sea Nymph on your list. Me, I'd like some of those chocolate seashells please.

NEW CLASSIC CLUTCH by Upstyle in San Diego
Blue Waters -- Photographic Print 4x6 by Kties in Croatia
Fossil Coral Ring in Sterling with 14kt Gold by Betsy Bensen in Portland, Oregon
Five Edible Chocolate Filled Seashells Samples by Andie's Specialty Sweets in Los Angeles, CA
Urchin Bowl and Votive Holder by Element Clay Studio in Asheville, North Carolina
and
GreenWitch Solid Natural Perfume Compact from my shop


GreenWitch Illumination, Limited Edition Print by Spalenka

For her I've selected GreenWitch solid, a Sea Chypre which featuring seaweed absolute. If you listen closely you just might hear the call of the sea.

Perfume Illuminated: Seaweed

"Every time we walk along a beach some ancient urge disturbs us
so that we find ourselves shedding shoes and garments
or scavenging among seaweed and whitened timbers
like the homesick refugees of a long war."
~ Loren Eiseley

The weekend is upon us as is the arrival of sweet Springtime with warmer and longer days. Since the GreenWitch launches in the morrow I thought to highlight the fragrance of Seaweed today.

FRAGRANCE

I've got a vial of Seaweed absolute from France. The aromatic of this rich, dark, viscous perfume raw material has a strong lichen and woody quality with a thread briney. Arctander describes it as "...seaweed drying on a saltwater beach after a heavy storm or surf." Many different types of distillates of this ancient material exist including: Fucus vesiculosus L. commonly referred to as Bladder seaweed, Dictyota dichtoma from Scandinavian and Carragheen also termed Irish Moss.

(A little flashback moment as my mind remembers making marbled paper with Irish Moss. Thus as I write this I am pondering finding my container and tincturing the material for future editions of GreenWitch.)

I like to pair Seaweed absolute with Oakmoss and Lichen as I have done in GreenWitch and Vera. Both these fragrances contain the concept of the ocean as part of the fabric of their story.
Due to the expense and limited production of the material it is not often used in perfumery, although now it is extremely rare to find true nature components in main stream perfume these days.

In "An Introduction to Perfumery" Seaweed is grouped in the Marine family but is not considered to be a good example of this family due to it's darker, aromatic profile. To achieve the more briney aspects of the material I suggest diluting it down in alcohol or with a tincture of seaweed.

Since the fragrance material is an absolute and not an essential oil there is no reference to it for aromatherapy. In general absolutes are not used for aromatherapy purposes because of the solvents involved in the distillation process. Instead I have whole pieces of it in the bath, which definitely makes you feel like a mermaid!


According to Steven Schecter, N.D "There is no family of foods more protective against radiation and environmental pollutants than sea vegetables ... sea vegetables can prevent assimilation of different radionuclitides, heavy metals such as cadmium, and other environmental toxins."

This statement above applies to consuming seaweed and using it in bath and body products. Oceanic material, like seaweed, has been found to contain electrolytic magnetic action which will facilitate in the bodies release of stored waste. As we shift from winter to spring this is the ideal time to support the body in ridding unwanted baggage such as excess body fluids.

"The way to health is to have an aromatic bath and a scented massage every day."
~ Hippocrates

To make a detoxifying salt scrub or bath salts grind some dried seaweed in your food processor or coffee grinder and add to salt. Begin by measuring your salt into a metal or glass bowl. Add your carrier and/or infused oil, the ground seaweed and essential oils. Stir with a metal spoon, fork or ideally a whisker. Spoon into a dry, clean glass jar with a tight fitting lid.

Base ingredients:

Sea Salt (1 cup)
Carrier Oil or an infused oil (1 Tbsp)
Vitamin E oil (1 drop or the contents of a capsule)

Ground Seaweed (1 Tbsp, more if you like the aroma)
Optional: Essential oil synergy

The recommended essential oil dilution for 1 cup salt is 5-7 drops essential oil synergy. I suggest playing around with the amount of carrier oil to salt to fit your liking.

“Love is like seaweed; even if you have pushed it away,
you will not prevent it from coming back.”
~ Nigerian Proverb

Reference:
Steffen Arctander "Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin"
Tony Curtis and David G. Williams"An Introduction to Perfumery"
Shirley's Wellness Cafe

Images:
The Depth of the Sea by Sir Edward Burne-Jones via Art Magick
A Mermaid by John William Waterhouse via Art Magick
Old engravings on Parchment by Roxana Villa

Watch for the Greenwitch!

“Hazel for the framework,

Rowan for the Head,
The body is of Hawthorne boughs and Hawthorne blossoms.”
~ Susan Cooper

In January 2007 I created a Green Chypre perfume, forthwith are the nitty-gritty details. Following this post I will also contribute the workings of another very green perfume with the working title Hedera helix.

GREENWITCH
In honor to the White Lady
A Green Chypre Perfume - January 2007

Initially I was intending to follow a formula for a traditional floral chypre to see what I could do with it. A basic floral chypre consists of Labdanum, Oakmoss and Patchouli base, floral heart notes with citrus at the top, Bergamot being the most favored. I have some formulas where Vetiver and Sandalwood are also in the base with the other trilogy of traditional base notes. Being a fan of Vetiver I choose to include it in my chypre base. The first step was in experimenting with different chypre bases to get a nice melding of Oakmoss, Vetiver and Patchouli. Two were created; one with a light use of Oakmoss, the second a traditional formula which utilized copious amounts of the lichen resin. As the different Chypre Bases melded, I created a botanical Musk accord and several Floral accords, one of which went very green. I called the green accord, Fern.

The book on tape I was listening to at the time period of creating these formulas was “Greenwitch” by one of my favorite authors, Susan Cooper. Inspired by the story, I decided to create a green chypre using the very green floral accord, Fern, as the heart of the perfume and calling it Greenwitch. Green notes in the botanical/natural perfumers palette include primarily Galbanum, in a variety of forms and Violet Leaf.


For the tinctures I initially decided upon Kelp and Onycha for the sea element of the White Lady and both Hawthorne flower, leaves and berries for the Greenwitch. I was not able to strain the special tinctures I made in time to add to the first version of Greenwitch, due to the deadline. In the final edition I will also add tinctures of Hazel and Rowan. Other planned additions include Birch to the base and more Rose since the Hawthorne and Rowan are from that family.

In the story the Greenwitch is created as an offering to “Tethys, the ancient ocean goddess and Queen of the Wild Magic”, also called the White Lady. There are references to the Greenwitch also being termed as the bride of King Marks. I would love to know if there is an actual making of the Greenwitch in Cornwall, England as described in the book or if it is a fictional rite.

“The making of the greenwitch....is an old spring rite...
for greeting summer
and charming a good harvest of crop and fish.”

“Hazel for the framework, Rowan for the Head, The body is of Hawthorne boughs and Hawthorne blossoms.”

~ Susan Cooper

Hazel, Corylus avellana - Betulaceae (Birch) family
Rowan, Sorbus aucuparia L., Rosaceae – Rose family
Hawthorne, Crataegus monogyna, Rosaceae – Rose family

I created several versions of the fragrance. My favorite is labeled number one, however, a few friends adore version number two. The second version is more in line with a classical Chypre fragrance.

This is a list of the essences that are included in the first two variations:

Monsoon Rose Attar
Jasmine Sambac Absolute
Orris CO2
Elemi
Tonka Bean
Geranium Absolute
Galbanum Absolute
Katafray
Parsley
Bergamot, Italy
Lemon
Petitgrain, Lime

Musk Accord: Ambrette, Cassie, Africa Stone, Spikenard, Cumin and Beeswax
Chypre Base Accord: Haitian Vetiver , a dark Indonesian Patchouli and Oakmoss Abs.

Grape Spirits + Grain Alcohol

Tincture of Onycha

for the Greenwitch:
Seaweed Absolute
Celery Seed Absolute
Labdanum Abs.
Choya
Peru Balsam

I'll be putting a few small samples up on my etsy boutique for those who wish to explore the fragrance. However, it may not be until after the holidays. The studio is gratefully very bee-sy at the moment and I have quite a lot of orders to fill and custom perfumes to finalize.

Roxana Illuminated Perfume™
Roxana Illuminated Perfume™ at Etsy

Images ©Greg Spalenka, at top a cropped version of Emerge and below it is Imagination Vibration. My daughter Eve was the model for both these pieces which were commissioned as posters. See more at the Spalenka website and at his outpost on etsy.