Picturesque

Ever so witful Tom has written about the Phoenix Myster over at Perfume Smellin' Things tis day. What a grand surprise, thank you Tom, I am truly humbled. Here is the link for your reading pleasure. Although be prepared, it will make you long a bit for the glorious beauty that takes place on the East coast this time of year. I miss it so.

My memories take me back about twenty years ago to a visit in Vermont, where the leaves were so vibrant the landscape looked utterly surreal to me. I remember buying fresh maple syrup at a little farmers market and being completely enchanted with the picturesque beauty of the landscape.

The first edition of the Phoenix Myster is available here, where you can read the little chant I wrote for it borrowing from the master bard himself.

In this myster I used Sangre de Drago which translates as Dragons Blood that I got while in the Amazon this summer. This plant shares the same common name as many others, although goes by a completely different Latin name, Croton lechleri . There seemed to have been a tendency to call any bright red resin Dragons Blood. When the bark of the tree is cut it exudes a dark, reddish, resinous latex. The indigenous people of the Ecuadorian Amazon use it specifically for wound healing. Upon further research I have discovered that it is fabulous indeed for wound healing, especially applied to a burned area, as well as a variety of other dis-eases of the body.

Read more about the ingredients in this mister here at this link at my shop on Etsy.

Fire burn and cauldron bubble

A gypsy fire is on the hearth,
Sign of the carnival of mirth;
Through the dun fields and from the glade
Flash merry folk in masquerade,
For this is Hallowe'en!
~Author Unknown

All Hallows Eve approaches and a few of my fellow team members of the Etsy Green and Clean Guild invite you to our Halloween challenge. Come visit our specially handmade tricks and treats for all you girls and ghouls. Be sure to vote for my contribution, #6 the Phoenix Myster. By voting you are automatically entered in a draw to win a bottle of the brand new natural perfume spritzer. Vote here at this link.

Round about the cauldron go:

In the fragrance rhizomes throw,
Egg shells, tinctured not in fat
Days and nights has one year sat
Dragons blood in Amazon got,
Drop by drop in the water pot.
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

Orchid bean I take,
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Nut of meg and rind of fruit.
Buds of clove from trades of route.
Celtic fire burn so bright,
In the middle of the night,
Summers end and day of dead,
Make a fire, like a bed:
Nest of myrrh, an apis brew,
Alchemy to be born anew.
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

Accords of spices I thee make,
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Barks of wood and leaf of bay,
Nard of spike and charm from Fey,
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

Adapted from William Shakespeare, Witches Chant from Macbeth

A Nest of Myrrh

"Corn and grain, corn and grain,
All that falls shall rise again."
~ Wiccan Harvest Chant

The deep and dark gnarled roots of Halloween, All Hallows Eve, go back to the Samhain celebrations of the Druids. Samhain is one of the Celtic fire festival where much chaos, mischief and celebration take place. It is the end of the harvest and a time to prepare for the new year. Sacred bonfires are lit to celebrate the darkness of the yet to be born new year. Since the veils between the worlds are at their thinnest, it is an auspicious time to communicate with the spirits of those who have passed over.

Beginning at sunset on October 31st fires are kindled anew for the coming of the dark. Rituals of purification abound, in order to clear away what no longer serves and make room for what is to come.

I've created a room/body spray to celebrate Samhain and greet the New year. Like the fire holiday the fragrance is warm, spicy and tinged with smoky, golden embers. I call this new creation the Phoenix Myster.

When the time of transformation arrives for the mythical phoenix he builds his next of twigs of myrrh and then lights up in flame. Burning away all that no longer serves, from the dark ashes an egg manifests which will birth the newly reborn Phoenix. Purged of the old, a spirit is born, fresh and ready for the new phase.


The essences contained in the Phoenix Myster include Vanilla, Benzoin, Myrrh for the nest, a spice accord I created termed Garam Masala, Orange and the embers of smoldering ashes. I also included the Dragons Blood resin I picked up at the indigenous native village while in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The formulation also contains tinctured egg shells from last Samhain. Warming like a cup of spice tea, the Phoenix Myster, is exhilarating and uplifting.

The muse for this fragrance is Tom of the perfume blog Perfume Smellin' Things. Years ago I was contacted by e-mail and asked if I created room sprays. I answered saying that one was in development but was not yet ready. The e-mail was from Tom and the fragrance in development was the Phoenix Myster. Thank you Tom for your wit, your way with words and the support you give to the niche perfumers of the world.

Here is an interesting link for creating an alchemical egg tincture:
The Egg and It's Uses by Sue House


Phoenix Myster comes in a one ounce amber glass bottle with fine mist sprayer with waterproof label available at my Etsy shop. Here are the details from the listing, some of it is repetitive.

A natural perfume aromatic spray for the home and body.
The Phoenix Myster is a fine spray mister for your home and or body.
We use ours to naturally scent the room, our sheets, pillows, curtains and our selves.

Ring in the Celtic new year with the Phoenix Myster
created specifically for All Hallow Eve, also known as Samhain.

The warm, spicy, invigorating aroma has been weaved like a complex perfume.
The botanical perfume synergy contains:

• Vanilla: warm and inviting
• Benzoin: purification, when combined with spice acts an an attractor
• Myrrh:enhances contemplation
• Dragons Blood Resin from a small indigenous village in the Amazon.
• Spices: invigorating, energizing, spell enhancing and uplifting
• Orange: uplifting

I use pure, vital plant essences: essential oils, absolutes, C02 extracts
and oleoresins in my aromatic preparations as well as properties of magic.
I also create my own accords, infusions and tinctures.

Samhain, the Celtic New Year Fire festival, abounds with celebrations of purification
and renewel. Like the phoenix, we build our nest of myrrh and consciously step into transformation to be birthed anew.

Phoenix Image from the Abeerdeen Bestiary, Phoenix Myster photo by Roxana Villa