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Magick is as close as the scented air you breathe.

Originally published in Alchemy Journal Volume 5, No. 2
The sole purpose of alchemy is to take that which is gross and unrefined to transform it into perfection. Perfection, it is to be noted, is a process, not always a quantifiable end. Concurrently, the purpose of alchemical perfumery is to create a perfected and refined scent from the prima materia of individual aromatic materials.
It is most helpful to decide beforehand what energies and concepts you wish to aromatically highlight in your perfume/aromatic celebration. This will allow you to choose appropriate materials. Bear in mind that in the creative process, what you intuit is equally as true and valid as written texts. Intuition is lunar, right brained, intuitive. Written texts, studies, etc are Solar, or left brained. Metaphysical work utilizes both the intuitive and analytical processes. No esoteric creation can truly be considered complete without the successful merging of these two modalities.
In esoteric perfumery, we are accessing our own inner knowledge. Some of us believe this wisdom has been gleaned over many lifetimes. In order to build your own expertise, and confidence in the present life, you must always go with your “gut feeling.” In time, the willingness to own your inner knowing will grow to the extent that your compositions and blends will be powerful and transcendent. Your ability to create them will be a source of joy for you and all who experience your labors.
Each of the following steps are, in the classic alchemical sense, celestially guided as well as influenced by your own efforts at self-purification. Using Dennis William Hauck’s Chart of Correspondences (A complete series of tables included in the Chart of Correspondences can be found at www.alchemylab.com), there are specific scent families that can be aligned with each alchemical process. They are:

Calcination: Biting, sulfuric brimstone
Dissolution: Acrid, vinegary
Separation: Sulfuric, rotten eggs
Conjunction: Chlorinic
Fermentation: Putrid and perfumed at the same time
Distillation: Fresh after rain smell
Coagulation: Flowery, heavenly scented


It is important to bear in mind that as artists, we have the power to determine for ourselves, just how literally we wish to stick to any definition. Sometimes, in the interest of our artistic evolution, it is necessary to expand or improvise upon these ancient definitions of scent. In fact, it is necessary for our own alchemical growth as artists. As previously stated, the purpose of alchemical perfumery is to create a refined, perfected scent from individual ingredients. These will comprise our prima materia or raw material. The following represent the operations of alchemical and astrological blending that represent the basic steps to alchemical transformation of prima materia in esoteric perfumery.

Calcination (Roasting, reducing)
Dissolution (Dissolving, breaking down)
Separating (Sifting, filtering, cutting)
Conjunction (Re-uniting, fixing)
Fermentation (Putrefying, digesting, congealing)
Distillation (Potentizing, multiplying)
Coagulation (Fusing, projecting)

Two other axioms in alchemy that are helpful to the alchemical perfumery are: (1) AS ABOVE SO BELOW. This maxim encourages us to understand that nothing of beauty is possible unless it is a reflection of the central, divine core of all things. When we are able to connect with Source, our work transcends who we are as limited ego to become refined and majestic, suffusing our work with greatness. (2) SOLVE ET COAGULA: DISSOLVE AND RECOMBINE. Each of the seven stages of alchemy requires deconstruction followed by reconfiguration. This process leads the alchemist to subsequent levels of transformation. We find this paralleled in perfume. Perfume is constructed in sequential layers of metamorphosis which exposes, through evaporation, a pageant of bouquets repeated over and again until the final fragrant note is exhausted. Working tools such as scent strips and alcohol are designed to break apart the individual components of our perfumes. They allow us to examine each ingredient individually and in relationship to the composition. It is thus important to use scent strips at every phase of perfume blending. Alcohol, with its high evaporative rate also succeeds in promoting maximum perception of the nuances of a perfume’s layering. For this reason, it has a more “refined” effect than heavier bases such as vegetable oils.
Alchemical perfume must have, at its core, a “spiritual” reason for its existence. Expanding one’s interpretation of the term “spiritual” allows for a greater diversity of spiritual themes. An important astrological configuration, a seasonal or earth-based celebration or a transcendent ritual such as marriage, birth, death, life transition, even the urge to express a personal inner struggle; all these can be elevated into a perfume that expresses the divine within the profane.

The Chymical Marriage
Alchemy, like all transcendent spiritual arts, requires the union of opposites. Through the mating of the royal couple, King Sol and Queen Luna, comes the perfect and individual magickal child. This resulting offspring is the Magnum ‘Opus’ or Great Work. Using the same terms to denote the concepts of expansion (Solar) and Contraction (Lunar), we can begin to build our perfume. The following lists the nature and correspondences of some of the alchemical archetypes as applied to esoteric perfumery.

Sol, The Sun, or King
Energetics
Reigning, Central, Constant, Burning, Initiating
Any Golden, or Orange Colored Warming Expansive dealing with Fire, Heat, Protection, Growth, Intellectual Knowledge
Solar Deities
Zeus/Apollo
Hera (Not strictly associated with the Sun, Hera was “mother to the gods” (3) and therefore corresponds to the Primal Energy of the Sun)
Ra
Osiris
Solar Oils
Oranges and citruses in general
Saffron
Cinnamon
Clove
Myrrh
Frankincense (This oil is included because of its ability to withstand heat in the desert climate from which it is located. Also, Frankincense corresponds to Christ, a Solar Deity)
Rosemary and Mint (These are in this list because of their abilities to open the mind and promote one-pointed concentration for the purpose of intellectual pursuits)

Luna, The Moon, Queen
Energetics
Changeable, cool, wet, glowing, pearlescent, without a strong individual characteristic, able to highlight or reflect the qualities of the other ingredients around it.
Lunar Deities
Artemis
Selene
Hecate (many of the dark goddesses can be included here)
Lunar Oils
Sandalwood
Artemesias
Davana
Violet Leaf
Tuberose (for its ability to induce trance)
Myrtle
Bays

Blending for the Spring or Vernal Equinox and Energetics of the Spring Equinox Spring
Rebirth, Mother, Rediscovery, Reconnection, Vegetal, Floral, Green, qualities of light
Myths of Motherhood, Regrowth, birth.
Deities
Demeter
Persephone the spring maiden, (As Kore, her other name would be more associated with Fall)
Mars
Ostara
Flora

Vernal Equinox Aromatics
Maternal
Wheat
Blue Chamomile
Rose
Daughter
Narcissus (sacred to Persephone)
Myrrh (for its erotic invitation)
Mars (Arian and therefore appropriate to Spring)
Saffron (can also be classified as solar)
Coriander
Cumin
Pine
Aries
Pepper
Juniper
Marjoram
General
All Seeds
Young Grasses
Early Florals
Also helpful would be those aromatics pertinent to the sign of the moon during the Equinox event. The blends created for an Equinox deal with balance and the impending shift from perfect poise to a gradually changing predominance of opposition regarding either light to dark, or dark to light. When blending for the Equinox, the concepts of both balance and imbalance hold equal insight.
Questions to consider when blending for the Equinox: What materials will reflect total center? To where is this central instant of concentricity cycling? To cold? To heat? To movement? To stillness? Each of these aspects, when asked in a contemplative state will both define your perfume as well as facilitate illumination toward wisdom.
Questions to consider when blending for a seasonal event: What season is it? Do you wish to celebrate the perfect balance or movement away from this point? Do you wish to celebrate what has been before? Do you wish to celebrate what is to be? Do you wish to attract, clear out, or just reflect what is?
While this is not a complete list hopefully these questions will stimulate your own internal perfume artist. Alchemical Perfumery is not an end in itself. Rather, it is a metaphorical process that leads us back to our true selves. Esoteric perfume blending is a powerful art form expressive of unfoldment into the Divine. Both technically challenging and symbolically provocative, esoteric perfumery provides us a variety of experiences that demand our greatest efforts intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually.


References and Resources
Books and Peridodicals
Beryl, Paul. Compendium of Herbal Magick. Phoenix Publishing, 1998.
Greer, Mary. The Essence of Magic: Tarot, Ritual and Aromatherapy. Ed. Gina R. Gross and Ed Buryn. Newcastle: North Hollywood, Ca, 1993.
Lilly, William. Christian Astrology. Regulus,1985.
Miller, Richard A. The Magical and Ritual Use of Perfumes. Cont. Iona Miller. Inner Traditions International Ltd, 1990.
“Parabola”, 656 Broadway, New York, NY 10012,www.parabola.org.
Phanes Press, PO Box 6114, Grand Rapids, MI 49516, www.phanes.com
Walker, Barbara. The Woman’s Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects. Harper: San Francisco, 1988.

Websites
www.alchemylab.com (Alchemy from Dennis William Hauck)
www.skyscrip.co.uk (Astrology)
www.renaissanceastrology.com (Christopher Warnock’s traditional astrology site)
http://www.cs.utk.edu/~mclennan/BA/PT/PT.html (John Opsopaus’ Pythagorean Tarot) http://www.mythinglinks.org/home.html (Kathleen Jenks, Phd Excellent myth resources)