Aphrodisiacs and Other Uses of Fragrance Introduction: How many times have you walked into a store and felt assaulted by the plastic-like new car scent of the majority of popular bottled colognes? How many times have you looked across a room, seen an interesting person...but upon approaching that person, you are repelled by a cloud of nostril burning stench? Some of the pre-made scents on the market are not conducive to magickal workings. However, by usuing a bit of experimentation and your intuition, you will be an expert at developing scents that will work for you. A good perfume is a concentrated, oil-based delight to the senses. By starting with a quality scent that you purchase or make with essential oils, and then charging it magickally, you can make your perfume do more than just smell good. Many natural ingredients that are used in perfumery have a long history of magickal use. By searching your magickal formularies, texts on aromatherapy, and using your intuition, you can develop some incredible scents. Then, charge them with your energy and intent to work in specific ways. Attraction, protection, and good fortune are all easily charged into your blends and will work far better than the type you purchase at the local magick shop. (Like 'bend over' or 'love potion #9') Scents can be powerful memory triggers. Use the same one each time for your favorite meditation or ritual, and you will find that after a while, just smelling that scent will trigger the appropriate mind state. This can be applied to many magickal workings and many forms of fragrance such as incense, oils, potpourri, etc. Place your finished and charged blends in exotic bottles and keep them in a cool place. Avoid exposing them to light or air. See the Essential Oil Company and other suppliers on the links page if you have trouble finding what you are looking for. Poison: The perfume named 'Poison' uses the powerful ingredient of natural attar of roses. This rare and costly ingredient makes the perfume especially good at holding attraction charges. Patchouli: essential oil has the ability to amplify the energies of other ingredients, and can amplify your own personal energy. It is excellent when used in combination with other oils. By itself, it could make others mistake you for a hemp smoker (it was, and occasionally still is used to 'cover' the smell of pot). Amber: The resins imported from India that are named 'amber' are fine attraction scents and will hold a variety of magickal charges, usually associated with love and friendship. Musk: True musk is prohibitivly expensive and illegal to collect in some places. It is a wonderful fragrance, but there are equally powerful substitutions that don't have such a brutal impact on wildlife. Artificial musk is hard to categorize as useful or as garbage. There are many many synthetic forms of the scent and some are better than others. Considering that one of four people cannot smell musk, and that many people are allergic to it (synthetics especially) you might find that it isn't worth your effort. However, if the person you wish to woo says they like it, go for it! Rose: Oil of rose can be charged with a variety of intentions, but like amber, it seems to have an affinity for love and attraction work. Women, use alone or in blends; men, best used in blends but some varieties of rose are excellent alone for you as well. Rosemary: Crisp, clean, and clear! An herbal evergreen scent that perks up minds and the interest of onsmellers (like onlookers). Rosemary holds many magickal charges, but can be excellent when used to protect against negative associations while attracting just the right person. A good scent to use in combination with 'soul mate' workings, or when attending a Pagan gathering. Blending Your Own Scents (potions!) Perfume is classified by it's 'nose', or by the characteristics of it's scent. If you keep these categories in mind while making your blends, you will be more likely to develop an appealing fragrance. First, using your research in aromatherapy, magick, and intuition, select one or two basic essential oils you would like to begin with. Then, plug them into these tried and true combinations to refine the sent. Here is an example: You like the magickal attributes of jasmine, but don't want to smell like a grandmother. Jasmine is a floral scent that would blend well with nearly any of the groups, but let's say you wish to add sandalwood because of it's magickal attributes. Now you have a 'Woody Floral' You could then add vanilla (to make a woody floral oriental). You may not want to add anything else to this blend except your magickal energy. Bergamot blends well with many scents and can often 'brighten' them. Fragrance Classifications: Citrus Family- such as lemon, bergamot, grapefruit, orange, etc. 1.Citrus 2.Floral Chypre Citrus 3.Spicy Citrus 4.Woody Citrus 5.Aromatic Citrus Floral Family- such as violet, jasmine, rose, narcissus, tuberose, lilac, lilly of the valley, etc. 1.Single fragrance floral 2.Lavender 3.Floral bouquet 4.Green floral 5.Aldehydic floral 6.Woody floral 7.Fruity woody floral Fern Family- not really made up of ferns, but simply a description of the 'nose'. Primary scents are coumarin, oakmoss, wood, some lavender and bergamot. 1.Fern 2.Sweet oriental fern 3.Flowery oriental fern 4.Spicy fern 5.Aromatic fern Chypre Family- This is a relatively new family that was named after the 1917 perfume called "Chypre" made by Fracois Coty. The primary scents are patchouli, labdanum, oak moss, bergamot 1.Chypre 2.Flowery Chypre 3.Aldehydic Flowery Chypre 4.Fruit Chypre 5.Green Chypre 6.Aromatic Chypre 7.Leather Chypre Oriental Family- sweet and powdery, vanilla, labdanum, animal notes 1.Woody floral oriental 2.Spice floral oriental -this is the most commonly used of the oriental family. The perfume 'Opium' is in this category 3.Sweet oriental 4.Citrus oriental 5.Flowery semi-oriental Leather Family- an interesting and very sensual family that is rarely used. Essence of smoke, burned wood, and rich tobacco is the feel of this group that often contains floral top notes. 1.Leather 2.Floral Leather 3.Leather Tobacco Application of Scents Three guidelines to using magickal fragrances: 1) all scents can be successfully used by males or females, no matter what the manufacturer states. 2) Less is more! A fragrance should not be a constant. People's noses will shut off the reception of a scent if it is too strong or persistant. (Like a cat owner who can't tell when it is time to change the litter box because their nose tuned it out.) When applying fragrance to yourself, think of it as a subliminal whisper...a scent should draw people in to get a better whiff. See Application of Scents for more... 3) Experiment and use your intuition as primary sources of information. Use books and work by others as secondary references. Remember the guideline of less is more? Here are some tips about how to achieve the subliminal whisper effect of scenting yourself. Fill an atomizer with your blend, spray into the air in front of you and walk into the mist. Repeat as needed. (I usually stick to three times in general, but it depends on the scent.) Use a fivefold annointing technique. These hot spots on the body will warm an oil and help dissipate the scent. Apply a total of three drops of fragrance in the following manner: One drop on your finger touched to either side of your neck One drop on your finger touched to your belly or between your breasts One drop on your finger touched to the back of each knee If you expect to participate in intimate contact with a person, apply your fragrance to less erogenous areas or to your clothing or hair to prevent your partner from tasting your fragrance blend. Stong scents that can irritate the skin (such as clove and wormwood) can be applied to a cotton ball and placed in a pocket, bra, sock or filigree locket Scents that sink (the majority of scents that make up 'Obsession') should be applied to the upper body Scents that rise (such as rosemary and 'Drakar') should be applied to the lower body To determine if a scent rises or sinks, place a drop on a cotton ball and tie it to the ceiling from a string so that it hangs at waist level. Stand 1 foot away from where it hangs and smell how stong it is. Now, sit down on the floor one foot away from where it hangs and smell how strong it is. Delicate scents (such as true rose) can become acrid smelling when heated by body or when reacting to skin chemistry. Apply these to clothing or hair. Some oils will react with and damage metal, plastic, jewelry (especially amber and jet), or stain clothing, so keep them away from valuable or visible areas. Some fragrances last longer than others. Knowing their potency durration will help you plan when you will need to reapply a scent. Experiment with your blend and use this general guide that reads from longest lasting to shortest lived: Spicy and musky, strong and true; Woodsy scents are there for you. Herbals and 'greens' last almost as long; Flowers and fruits are are quicky gone. --volute-- The chemistry of your skin will affect a scent. Touching the actual oil will contaminate it and make it change (usually negatively) or will make it go rancid more quickly. Do not tip a bottle over with your finger covering the hole to get a drop, use a glass dropper that you store in its own special empty bottle. Use a different dropper for each oil or blend. If you are creative, you can make special apparatus for your scents. Wrap the bottle of oil together with an empty dropper phial. Use strands of beads; copper, silver, or other wires; fimo coverings; crochetted wraps; embroidery string; or even glue to keep them together. If you glue them together, you can cover them with decorative papers to make them look nicer, or purchase decorative labels available as stickers at some gift and card stores. Sometimes I simply use a rubber band to keep the two bottles together!