Who By Fire

On April 6th a prescribed burn by the National Forest Service here in Northern New Mexico has grown to be the largest fire in our state’s history. The travesty is that if anyone bothered to ask us who live here when is the WORST time to do a controlled burn we would have all chimed in APRIL, when the land is dry and the winds are strongest.

Alchemically we witness how the dynamics of the wind combined with very dry conditions has awakened elemental Fire. Of the four elements Fire has a strong relationship with transformative energies since it is destructive, purifying and regenerative, there is are also associations with passion. Fire acts as the primordial source of life. Traditionally plants associated with elemental fire tend to be saps and those that are warm and spicy.

The pagan holiday Beltane, celebrated here in the northern hemisphere, on the Eve of May Day honors the rebirth of life.force. The festival has a strong association to elemental fire, referring to the return of the light half of the year and the rising of lusty passions. Traditionally bonfires are built and leaped over as an act of purification.

Elemental FIRE is the home of our beating heart, where we feel the constant rhythm within, the place of our passion, warmth, and direct knowing. Fire is ruled by the SUN and has a relationship to the spirit medicine of the courageous Lion.

The Sun has been emitting quite a lot of significant X-Class solar flares lately. These powerful solar eruptions are said to be part of the upgrade of human beings and activating our pineal gland.

In an outline of the Seven Hermetic Principals within the book The Kyballion, the Principal of Correspondence "embodies the truth that there is always a Correspondence between the laws and phenomena of the various planes of Being and Life. The old Hermetic axiom ran in these words: "As above, so below; as below, so above." And the grasping of this Principle gives one the means of solving many a dark paradox, and hidden secret of Nature. There are planes beyond our knowing, but when we apply the Principle of Correspondence to them we are able to understand much that would otherwise be unknowable to us.

This Principle is of universal application and manifestation, on the various planes of the material, mental, and spiritual universe — it is an Universal Law. The ancient Hermetists considered this Principle as one of the most important mental instruments by which man was able to pry aside the obstacles which hid from view the Unknown. Its use even tore aside the Veil of Isis to the extent that a glimpse of the face of the goddess might be caught. Just as a knowledge of the Principles of Geometry enables man to measure distant suns and their movements, while seated in his observatory, so a knowledge of the Principle of Correspondence enables Man to reason intelligently from the Known to the Unknown. Studying the monad, he understands the archangel." 1

Applying this alchemical axiom to the fires here in Northern New Mexico, and the heightened solar flares from the Sun, we observe that we are in a massive phase of transformation and evolution. The question to be asking is "What do I want eliminate to transform and evolve into a new human for the new Earth?"

1. The Kybalion

Related posts: A for Axolotl

Perfume Illuminated: Fire and Smoke

Round and round we go, finding our selves at the Celtic holy day and one of the fire festivals known as Beltane. It's no coincidence that this splendid Spring point of time also falls on Arbor day. Celebrations for Beltane/Beltaine, also termed May Day, begin this evening when fires are lit welcoming the light, the return of the Green time, and the marriage of Earth and Sky, Lord and Lady.

As many of you already know, Celtic and pagan traditions are very dear to my heart as they are to Beth. Thus, as co-conspirators in the awakening of the senses, we have chosen to focus on the fragrance and flavor of fire, which manifests itself as smoke, in today's edition of the Perfume Illuminated Project.

FRAGRANCE

Beltane heralds in the Summertime and is one of eight solar Sabbats. It is an occasion where the veils between the worlds are at their most transparent and the Faerie Queen may be spotted riding on her white stead. The festival has a strong association to elemental fire, referring to the return of the light half of the year and the rising of lusty passions. Traditionally bonfires are built and leaped over as an act of purification.

The fragrance of smoke in natural and botanical perfume is primarily derived from the essences of Choya Nakh, Cade and Birch Tar. This trio of aromatics is very strong and is best utilized in small amounts. If put on a scent strip undiluted Choya Nakh will last for months, indicating it's steadfast and tenacious nature.


Choya Nakh is the result of the distillation of sea shells within earthen vessels in India. I immediately feel in love with this raw material the first time I inhaled it's strong aroma. It's not for everyone, like Patchouli it seems to cause a love it or hate it reaction. The word Choya stands for "traditional distillation in an earthen vessel", other Choyas include Choya Loban (Frankincense, Boswellia serrata) and Choya Ral (Shorea robusta an Asian tree).

In constructing a perfume for Beltane consider notes from the green, floral, fruit and wood families as the main thematic elements with just a hint of smoke for the purification aspect. Since water is another key elemental of the festival I'm really liking the addition of Choya Nakh, aince it is from sea shells. Where as in the past I anointed myself with Q for this threshold into the new season, today I will choose the solid Page 47. Page 47 is a lusty earthy floral beach scent that was created last August in celebration of my birth date. This fragrance has been reformatted slightly and will rebirth anew on May 27th.

"Thanks invisible physician, for thy silent deciduous medicine, thy day and night, thy waters and thy airs, the banks, the grass, the trees, and e'en the weeds."
~ Walt Whitman, "The Oaks and I"

I've written quite a bit about Beltane here at the journal, read the entry from 2008 here and 2009 here.


Events that you might enjoy this weekend to get into the theme of Beltane is the Renaissance Faire and May Faires happening at Waldorf schools throughout the northern hemisphere. This afternoon I am off to our local Waldorf school to help set up for tomorrows fair where you will spot a splendid Maypole for dancing. The photo above is from Eve in 3rd or 4th grade participating in the Maypole dance with her class at Highland Hall Waldorf School.

FLAVOR: Beth Schreibman Gehring

Please continue reading about Fire and Smoke at the Windesphere Witch blog

IMAGES: Opening painting by John Melhuish Strudwick. The images of the Shell, the Nose and Mouth are old engravings that I have cleaned up and modified. The photo of the MayFaire dance is by Ben Neuhart.

Cotopaxi

On the tenth day of our visit in Ecuador our host Eduardo and his friend Daniel took us to the Hacienda St. Agustin just under the looming presences of the volcano Cotopaxi. We took so many photos on this day that I am going to publish this excursion in a few parts. Like many of our excursions in Ecuador the directions our drivers had were not the kind of directions we, as Americans with Mapquest, are use to. The trend was to ask a pedestrian or a service station attendant for help if the going got tough. (Which it usually did.) The trip to the hacienda was one such trip, complicated by the fact that everyone seemed to have rather vague and somewhat conflicting directions. We finally did arrive at the Hacienda, via a very bumpy road off the main highway. We all gleefully piled out of the car to crisp, fresh mountain air. I was immediately transported to my childhood trips snow skiing in the Andes. Indeed, here we were in the Andes, albeit a different area within the vast, continuous range that extends into seven countries within South America.

 

Rising 19,347 ft above sea level, Cotopaxi is one of the highest active volcanoes in the world. The volcano was featured in a painting by American Artist Federic Edwin Church. (Pictured below)

 

The Heart of the Andes, (above) painted by Church in 1859, currently hangs at the Tenth Street Studio of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Here is a paragraph from Wikipedia describing the unveiling of the painting:

"Church unveiled the painting to an astonished public in New York City in 1859. The painting's frame had drawn curtains fitted to it, creating the illusion of a view out a window. The audience sat on benches to view the piece and Church strategically darkened the room, but spotlighted the landscape painting. Church also brought plants from a past trip to South America to heighten the viewers' experience. The public were charged admission and provided with opera glasses to examine the painting's details. The work was an instant success. Church eventually sold it for $10,000, at that time the highest price ever paid for a work by a living American artist."

Regrettably, during our visit in the Quito region, Cotopaxi was veiled by clouds whenever we had our cameras ready to photograph the massive giant.

 

All photographs are ©Villa-Spalenka. Paintings by Federic Edwin Church are in the public domain.

The Dragon's Breath

"We're our own dragons as well as our own heroes,
and we have to rescue ourselves from ourselves."
- Tom Robbins

Today marks the autumn festival of Michelmas, one of the ancient holy days that I have a fascination with. I first became conscious of the day when I attended the Michelmas play at my daughters Waldorf school. At the time Eve was only about four years old and having a challenging morning saying goodbye to me. The teacher suggested I stay and come along to see the Michelmas play up the hill put on by the second grade.

The play and festival centers on the brave night St. George who is assisted by the Archangel Michael to conquer the dragon. The story is a metaphor for taming that inner dragon within each of us.

Many of the holidays that begin now focus on light, often referred to as festivals of light. We enter the darker portion of the great seasonal wheel, as nature moves toward inward sleep, humankind is challenged to find the light within and courageously banish the dragon.

So, during these most challenging times of great Maya, we look inward for that most luminous light within which will carry us forward into uncharted waters.

Botanical perfume ingredients that have a dragon-like feel are those associated with fire. Here are a few possibilities: spice, some of the resins, tincture or infusion of dragons blood, amber bases, sulphuric aromas and something with a burnt quality like choya or cade. The spice will help add lift as well as pepper and some citrus.

Read last years post on Michelmas here.
Roxana Illuminated Perfume

Image: "Apocrypha" ©Greg Spalenka, an original painting and avialable as limited edition Giclee print. (I was the model.)

The Arrival

It has arrived, palatable to all the senses, but most to the physical body. The weekly adventure of rising at dawn, sometimes before any light is due to arrive for hours, has presented itself. Tic-toc, we have arrived at the rhythm of the school year. Soon the cool air of the autumn with golden leaves will become evident.

I look toward the new season with excitement, but, also dread the early mornings and the forced schedules. Gone are the languid mornings, the drives through Topanga Canyon toward the ocean and late night art soirees.

Time for sleeping beauty to awake. The firelight energies of the new season with the oncoming harvest are upon us.

Artwork: Enchantment ©Greg Spalenka. Greg created the illustration above for the book cover Enchantment by Orson Scott Card.

Roxana Illuminated Perfume™
Greg Spalenka
Orson Scott Card

Imbolc

This post has moved to my Substack Illuminated Perfume

Elemental Air+Fire

Friday in the late afternoon I began an intensive weekend course on Natural/Botanical Perfumery, really working the olfactory muscles in a big way. I'd arrive home after a very full day, exhausted on multiple levels. Saturday night, or was it the wee hours of Sunday morning, in between bizarre dreams of fragrance families I was awakened by "swooshing" type sounds. At first I thought "wind"...no, wait....is it rain? As I lay there in a space between worlds I was reminded that the elementals (Air, Fire, Water and Earth) have the ability to remain calm and serene or in massive motion. The wind blowing around our little home was most definitely in a state of extreme vitality. Today I learned that the winds were gusting at hurricane force.
The dynamics of the wind combined with very dry conditions has awakened Fire element. We currently have over twelve fires burning in the Southern California area, from Santa Ynez, up near Santa Barbara, all the way down to San Diego near the border of Mexico. Since the Winds remain extremely active fires blaze out of control, despite the best efforts of our local firefighters.
Fire in our area chaparral eco-system is part of a natural cycle. From vegetative growth, brought on by a very wet winter to drought to fire. The large fires, propelled by high winds in the Autumn, tend to move quickly through the sheer walls of the north and south running canyons. The fire gains agility by consuming the dry, woody brush as it becomes larger and sweeps through the Santa Monica Mountains. If the fire was allowed to burn through the canyons in its natural cycle, then we would not have this repetitive situation. However, due to all the homes that are now in these canyons as well as non-indigenous plants, like mustard, the natural cycle has been interrupted.
So, here we are, in the Santa Monica Mountains, at the tale end of one of those south to north running canyons, Topanga Canyon. We will see what Mother Natures elemental children have planned for our local area. As I write this, Air element continues to jostle, the sounds of helicopters is constant and the sight of smoke is visible in the distant hills.

BTW, the color orange is associated with the Fruity fragrance family, more on that soon.

LA County Fire Department website
City of Malibu website
LA Fire Dept. Blog

The image above center is cropped from an illustration titled "Anger Management", the element FIRE is often associated with anger. The image above and to the right is called "Light my Fire", both ©Roxana Villa.