power of scent

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 13 Jul 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

joya250	13 Jul 2002
hi guys. Just got back from a study group with the lodge I am dedicating to... this week we talked about the power of scent ... and I thought I would share some of what I learned with you all -- and see what experiences you have had -- and ask what role SCENT plays in your workings... Traditionally incense was used for three main reasons: propitiation (meaning as an offering to, or in honor of the divine); prophesy (by inducing a trance-like state); and protection. Scent, unlike the other senses, goes directly to the limbic system in the brain -- which is linked to emotion. (whereas other senses, like the sense of touch, has to travel through nerves... or something like that... I don't know the technical stuff here, so someone else may be able to elaborate on this...) This is why some scents can recall such powerful emotions and/or memories. i.e. fresh baked bread may transport you to your childhood, in a warm cozy kitchen and your mother's baking. haha -- or it may be the smell of burnt charcoal that makes you think of you mother's baking... depending. :P Certain scents are used in ritual or meditation, not only to enhance the "mood", but also because they create physical changes within the body. We talked about five of these scents in particular: Frankinsense helps facilatate deeper breathing. Myrrh helps faciliatate deeper meditation. (these two make a great combo... also, are famous for being gifts bestowed on baby Jesus by the wise men.) Storax slows down the transmission of messages to the brain, allowing you to access different "levels" or perceptions. Benzione helps facilatate the calming of the nervous system. And Copal aids in opening up the head chakra. (Camphor is also good at this too.) We also talked about the different ways of burning your incense. One of the coolest (IMO) was a thurible fire. This is a fire made from igniting alcohol (or Florida Water) and epson salt (or sea salt). The measurement for this is everything in equal parts -- so, for example, it would be 1 TB alcohol (rubbing alcohol), 1 TB epson salt, and 1 TB of whichever scent you choose. You put all in a fireproof bowl and ignite CAREFULLY. The alcohol will immediately flame up -- but it will shortly go out, leaving you with a nice scent. The coolest thing about this fire is that it is smokeless -- and actually emits oxygen! (neat!) A thurible fire is also an excellent way to cleanse an area (whether that be a new house, apart., etc.) And you only have to do it in one room, not each one. The fire supposedly releases postive/clean energy and sucks the negative energy down into the salt, which you discard later. So. that's it. Just wanted to share what I learned. Scent, IMO, is one of, if not THE, most overlooked sense -- and has a much greater effect on us than we realize. Okay -- so what do you guys do, concerning scents? What are your favorites? Which ones do you reserve for special occasions or rituals? I'm all gung-ho about this now!

meatbox666	13 Jul 2002
One scent that I do no like burning or smelling are cloves. Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww I like the smell of frankinsense. I burn that. Now I remember reading someones post and cannot remember where it is located regarding the burning of insense. The person said that her mother cannot stand the smell of her insense. I have notice when I burn insense it smells like what it should be to me but others say that it smells like burning wood and it smells horribly when I am doing ritual work. I love the smell of musk. I remember going to a botanica (that is a store that sells insense candles, etc) and the lady burns sage to purify the store. I had no idea that was sage she burned. It smelled like it rained in the store but a clean sort of rain.

the hermit	13 Jul 2002
Quote: Originally posted by meatbox666 I have notice when I burn insense it smells like what it should be to me but others say that it smells like burning wood and it smells horribly when I am doing ritual work. I love the smell of musk. I remember going to a botanica (that is a store that sells insense candles, etc) and the lady burns sage to purify the store. I had no idea that was sage she burned. It smelled like it rained in the store but a clean sort of rain. You've experienced one of the wonderous and frustrating parts of the wonderful world of scent :) (and taste--have you noticed that when your nose is plugged up and you can't smell, that many things have little or no flavor? That's because your sense of taste is partially dependent of your sense of smell.) One persons 'marvelous' odor is another persons 'stinky' smell. By the way, sage effects me the same way. It's reminds me of the smell right after a summer rain storm. Moist, warm, earth, clean, fresh (sounds like a detergent commercial).

joya250	13 Jul 2002
I dig earthy-type smells. I love sage. I am not a big fan of Patchulli, however. blech!

Emily	14 Jul 2002
I like really old fashioned smells, I'm an old soul lol, like lavender and rose. I burn oil mixed into water above a candle, it lasts about 4 hours. Some of the pre-mixed oils you can buy smell lovely like lemon/lime mixed or orange. Also one I buy at Christmas is called 'Yuletide', reminds me of Christmas cake :) Some of these oils are made really cheaply, and they smell just as nasty, so it pays to pay a little more for the oil mixes or just use a few drops of essencial oil in a water/oil burner. When my son has a cold, I set up one of these oil burners on the landing outside his room and put Eucalytus in it (or sometimes Olbas oil) - clears his head and smells fresh. There is alot you can do with the pure essential oils :D

Jimilyn	14 Jul 2002
Oh, I love to use essential oils. Lavender is also one of my favorites. I have a blend that I buy called Thieves. It has cloves, cinnamon bark, lemon, eucalyptus, and rosemary. Ahhhh...the scent is divine. I also love the citrus scents...they are so envigorating and uplifting. I most often use a citrus blend called Citrus Fresh that has orange, lemon, mandarine, tangerine, grapefruit and spearmint. I will often use this in my classroom...my students love it. It stimulates the right side of the brain for creativity and can be calming. So this is great for the classroom. Valerie Ann Worwood has some excellent books out. The one I'm reading now is called The Fragrant Mind: Aromatherapy for Personality, Mind, Mood, and Emotion. Next I want to read The Fragrant Heavens: Aromatherapy for the Spirit. The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy is another one of her books. I believe she's also written one called Aromantics. So with her books she really covers the spectrum of what aromatherapy can do for you...body, mind, and spirit. Jimilyn

Rhiannon	16 Jul 2002
I love sage too. Everytime I sage my house I feel so clean and refreshed. And protected. My favorite incense is Nag Champa. The woman who owns the local occult bookstore burns it and everytime I walk in I feel so uplifted. Sometimes the relief is so amazing I want to cry! LOL I have some soap that is scented with Nag Champa as well. Another fave thing to do is put a pot of water on the stove with a 1/2 tsp of vanilla, 2 cinnamon sticks and 1 tsp. of almond extract. Every now and then I'll throw in some cloves. I love the smell of almonds. R :)

destinyawaitsme	16 Jul 2002
I have inscense..but I don't like that burned smell...But my favorite is rose. I want to get one of those oil burners. I love things smelling good

The power of scent thread was originally posted on 13 Jul 2002 in the Spirituality board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Spirituality, or read more archived threads.