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Showing results for tags 'Activism'.
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Velvety, sun-warm stone fruit soaked in smoky tea.
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"You can take the dirt up out of their foot track... put it all together, and then wrap that up, and bury that. Put it in a bottle and stop it up right airtight, and bury that. That'll make you stay." — Harry Middleton Hyatt, Hoodoo, Conjuration, Witchcraft, Rootwork, 5 vols. (Hannibal, MO: Western Publishing, 1970–78), entry 5640. While there is another Sampson's snakeroot (Orbexilum pedunculatum), the Sampson Snake Root commonly used in rootwork and conjure is purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea). It rises out of the tallgrass prairies of the central and eastern United States on a stiff, hairy stalk, its ray petals drooping backward from a spined, coppery cone like something bracing for a blow it has already decided to survive. The root beneath is tough, dark, and bitter, and generations of rootworkers have read that toughness as instruction. Named for a Biblical strongman, Sampson Snake Root is worked for what it is said to confer: strength that holds under pressure, mastery in a courtroom or a hard negotiation, solid footing when someone else means to pull yours out from under you. It is carried in mojo hands and dressed into oils for respect and for keeping a job, tucked into a shoe to steady the walk of someone who needs the room to believe them. Worked toward the body rather than the will of another, it is reached for in matters of virility and of holding a lover close, and laid down as a ward against crossed conditions and the work of enemies. Root doctors have also called on it to make someone stay, bound not by charm but by something closer to gravity, dirt and salt and pepper and snakeroot sealed airtight and put into the ground, so that leaving stops feeling like an option. This oil pours dark amber-red, thick as clay caught in a boot heel. Cracked coneflower root and black pepper sit low against a base of dug earth and iron filings, with a single thread of clove pulled taut through the center.
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Among the many botanical curiosities that populate the traditions of Hoodoo, folk magic, and conjure, few possess the quiet majesty and enduring reputation of Queen Elizabeth Root. Known botanically as Iris germanica and commonly referred to as orris root when used in perfumery and herbalism, this humble rhizome has long been regarded as a potent spiritual ally. Beneath its unassuming exterior lies a symbol of feminine sovereignty: a root associated with love, authority, charisma, and the cultivation of personal power. The dried root itself offers a small lesson in patience and transformation. Hard and unyielding when whole, Queen Elizabeth Root does not readily reveal its fragrance. Once cut, grated, or pulverized, it releases the soft violet-like sweetness that has made orris root prized in perfumery for centuries. Within Hoodoo and related folk traditions, Queen Elizabeth Root is revered for its association with attraction and magnetism. It is most frequently worked by those seeking to draw love, deepen romantic attention, or cultivate passionate connections. Yet its influence extends beyond the sphere of romance. The root is also valued as a charm for increasing charisma and popularity, encouraging eloquence in communication, and strengthening one’s authority in relationships or negotiations. It is believed to help its bearer command respect and secure favorable outcomes in situations where influence and presence matter. Because of these qualities, Queen Elizabeth Root has traditionally been regarded as an emblem of feminine power. Carried as a talisman, it is said to enhance personal magnetism and reinforce one’s ability to shape the circumstances of one’s life. In folklore, the root is sometimes linked with figures such as Queen Jezebel, another symbol of commanding presence and irresistible allure. Beyond matters of love and influence, Queen Elizabeth Root is also associated with inner perception. Some traditions hold that it may aid in prophetic dreaming or support divinatory work, subtly opening the mind to intuition and symbolic insight. In this role the root becomes not merely an instrument of outward magnetism but also a key to inward awareness, encouraging the practitioner to listen more carefully to the quiet language of dreams and omens. The iris plant itself has long carried associations with nobility and elegance; its flowers appear in royal heraldry and classical gardens alike. In sorcerous lore, this regal imagery becomes concentrated in the root. To carry it is, in a sense, to carry a fragment of symbolic sovereignty: a reminder that presence, dignity, and charm are forms of power that can be cultivated and consciously directed. Thus Queen Elizabeth Root occupies a distinctive place within the landscape of folk magic. It is not a tool of aggression or coercion but one of magnetism and influence, working through attraction rather than force.
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Spicy heat biting through springtime sweetness.
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It's actually really interesting and smells amazing. Trust me.
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A surprisingly elegant combination. Boozy, bruised sweetness anchored by smoky grass.
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Fermented savory-sweet depth lifting sweet, hedonistic blooms.
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Brown sugar, cacao, toasted cardamom, patchouli, vanilla absolute, and benzoin.
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Sweet cream, white fig, sugar cane, honey, vanilla silk, sugared oats, and almond cakes.
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Its sacred history stretches back to the ancient world, and some of the earliest evidence of licorice use comes from Egyptian tombs of pharaohs. In 1923, archaeologists discovered a large amount of well-preserved licorice in the tomb of Tutankhamun. That the root was buried among royal treasures demonstrates without a doubt that this was a plant so valuable, respected, and beloved that it was deemed necessary for the journey into the afterlife. Licorice root falls under the planetary rulership of Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter — a triple correspondence that encodes its powers of persuasion and communication, its ties to desire and attraction, and its long reputation as a mental and physical restorative. In rootwork, licorice is valued for the breadth of its applications: love and attraction, spiritual protection, prosperity drawing, and above all commanding work, where it lends particular force to any spell aimed at bending a situation or person to one's will. In matters of the heart and loins, licorice root covers considerable ground: love sachets, lust workings, fidelity spells, and charms for sexual potency all call on it. The versatility of licorice root has a binding, amplifying quality that makes it less a specialist than a magnifier, deepening the force of whatever working it joins. Whether commanding a reluctant heart, petitioning the planets, or accompanying a pharaoh into eternity, the sweet root is a powerful ally. Licorice root, toasted tonka bean, and cardamom.
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Husky, warm spice cooled into watery, spa-touched notes.
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Fuel and fire for speaking out against injustice: a heap of warm spiced funnel cakes with a scoop of coffee ice cream. Proceeds from this scent will be donated to the American Civil Liberties Union. To learn about how the ACLU will be challenging Trump’s agendas in court, visit them here. Note: If you are confused, the original scent description on the website said cinnamon ice cream. It was mentioned that this was an error and that it should actually be coffee ice cream in a live sniff on Thanksgiving.
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Sunny acidic brightness slicing through deep, animalic wood resin.
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Sweet enough to rot your teeth, smoky enough to not care.
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You may give them your love but not your thoughts, For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness; For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable. A woody, deep patchouli with bourbon vanilla, rich amber, and soft golden skin musk.
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Roses have been woven into magic and folklore for thousands of years, and this oil reaches past the lovely sweetness of petal and hip. In addition to the rose’s association with love and romance, the rose's spiritual depths encompass blood, rebirth, resurrection, and immortality. The root carries all of this in concentrated silence: love that is not fragile, love that has come back from the frost, love that grew itself back from the cold, shadowed death of winter. The rose is an emblem of Venus, deeply associated with love, passion, and friendship across cultures, but she is also sacred to Aphrodite, Isis, Hekate, Inanna, Ishtar — goddesses of the underworld as much as the bloom. She lives at the crossroads of beauty and power, and her thorns and roots have always been part of its power. An earthy, patchouli-touched rose oil with a hint of oakmoss and vetiver.
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Cedar and graphite illuminated by a light citrus zing.
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Thick slices of coconut-frosted coconut cake dunked in a vat of Snake Oil.
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Blood musk, red amber, honey, and threads of scarlet saffron.
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Foresty and carnal, heady blooms twined around a mossy log.
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Loosed from the satin-pale corset, emerging from a gilded cage, that prison of silence: sweet bourbon vanilla, pale sandalwood, mallow flower, osmanthus, and shards of frankincense. They shut me up in Prose – As when a little Girl They put me in the Closet – Because they liked me “still” – Still! Could themself have peeped – And seen my Brain – go round – They might as wise have lodged a Bird For Treason – in the Pound – Himself has but to will And easy as a Star Look down upon Captivity – And laugh – No more have I – – Emily Dickinson
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A stunningly lovely flower that only grows in California. It is integral to the health of recently burnt areas: its roots spread rapidly, anchoring the soil and preventing further erosion. Vanilla-soaked sweet pea, white sandalwood, and almond milk.
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A sun-warmed bloom, its fragrance unfurls in lush waves: rich and creamy, like chocolate and nectar mingling in the sultry air. A scent both decadent and wild, glistening with heady sweetness.
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Democracy will not come Today, this year Nor ever Through compromise and fear. I have as much right As the other fellow has To stand On my two feet And own the land. I tire so of hearing people say, Let things take their course. Tomorrow is another day. I do not need my freedom when I’m dead. I cannot live on tomorrow’s bread. Freedom Is a strong seed Planted In a great need. I live here, too. I want freedom Just as you. – Langston Hughes A scent for community, for communal power, for collective justice; a fragrance of sustenance, comfort, resilience, justice, and the stubborn belief that sweetness belongs to the living, here and now. Crusty brown bread still warm from the oven, golden wheat, clover honey, sweet butter, oat milk, chamomile, and a soft breath of vanilla.
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Would that you could live on the fragrance of the earth, and like an air plant be sustained by the light. But since you must kill to eat, and rob the newly born of its mother’s milk to quench your thirst, let it then be an act of worship, And let your board stand an altar on which the pure and the innocent of forest and plain are sacrificed for that which is purer and still more innocent in man. When you kill a beast say to him in your heart, “By the same power that slays you, I too am slain; and I too shall be consumed. For the law that delivered you into my hand shall deliver me into a mightier hand. Your blood and my blood is naught but the sap that feeds the tree of heaven.” And when you crush an apple with your teeth, say to it in your heart, “Your seeds shall live in my body, And the buds of your tomorrow shall blossom in my heart, And your fragrance shall be my breath, And together we shall rejoice through all the seasons.” And in the autumn, when you gather the grapes of your vineyards for the winepress, say in your heart, “I too am a vineyard, and my fruit shall be gathered for the winepress, And like new wine I shall be kept in eternal vessels.” And in winter, when you draw the wine, let there be in your heart a song for each cup; And let there be in the song a remembrance for the autumn days, and for the vineyard, and for the winepress. Purple fig, honeyed dates, sweet red wine, and apples.
