Because of their power to elicit specific responses in the body and psyche, perfumes have, through the ages, occupied an important part in ritual. The Magical and Ritual Use of Perfumes shows how scents can become the very “essence of magic,” providing direct access to the emotional centers of the brain and memory.
The author shows how intent and motivation can be focused to augment the physical effects of aphrodisiacs and suggests rituals drawn from Tantric yoga and Western magic.
Chapter 1.Breath of the Leopard: scent and magic --Chapter 2.Fragrant panacea: scent and power --Chapter 3.Scent in the Magical Papyri --Chapter 4.Perfumed Enchantments: the smell of witches' magic --Chapter 5.Rot and roses: the smell of witches -- --Chapter 6.Scented space, scenting space --Epilogue.Scent of ancient magic.
Richard Alan Miller has thoroughly researched the historical use, chemical structure, preparation for consumption, and magical rituals related to narcotic, hallucinogenic, stimulant, and depressant herbs. He explains how these natural substances can be used for the enhancement of sexuality, muscle relaxation and massage, initiation, spiritual growth, and astral projection. Provides a fascinating study of nineteen herbs that not only stimulate our energies, but also combat fatigue, assist healing, and relieve tension.
Magic was a fundamental part of the Greco-Roman world. Curses, erotic spells, healing charms, divination, and other supernatural methods of trying to change the universe were everyday methods of coping with the difficulties of life in antiquity. While ancient magic is most often studied through texts like surviving Greco-Egyptian spellbooks and artifacts like lead curse tablets, for a Greek or Roman magician a ritual was a rich sensual experience full of unusual tastes, smells, textures, and sounds, bright colors, and sensations like fasting and sleeplessness. Greco-Roman magical rituals were particularly dominated by the sense of smell, both fragrant smells and foul odors. Ritual practitioners surrounded themselves with clouds of fragrant incense and perfume to create a sweet and inviting atmosphere for contact with the divine and to alter their own perceptions; they also used odors as an instrumental weapon to attack enemies and command the gods. Elsewhere, odiferous herbs were used equally as medical cures and magical ingredients. In literature, scent and magic became intertwined as metaphors, with fragrant spells representing the dangers of sensual perfumes and conversely, smells acting as a visceral way of envisioning the mysterious action of magic. The Scent of Ancient Magic explores the complex interconnection of scent and magic in the Greco-Roman world between 800 BCE and CE 600, drawing on ancient literature and the modern study of the senses to examine the sensory depth and richness of ancient magic. Author Britta K. Ager looks at how ancient magicians used scents as part of their spells, to put themselves in the right mindset for an encounter with a god or to attack their enemies through scent. Ager also examines the magicians who appear in ancient fiction, like Medea and Circe, and the more metaphorical ways in which their spells are confused with perfumes and herbs. This book brings together recent scholarship on ancient magic from classical studies and on scent from the interdisciplinary field of sensory studies in order to examine how practicing ancient magicians used scents for ritual purposes, how scent and magic were conceptually related in ancient literature and culture, and how the assumption that strong scents convey powerful effects of various sorts was also found in related areas like ancient medical practices and normative religious ritual.
body Biochemist, physicist, and herbalist, Miller explains the historical use, chemical structure, preparation of, and rituals related to psychotropic herbs.
This book presents a wonderful introduction for beginners in Aromatherapy, as well as a quick reference guide for experienced practioners. The book offers knowledge of 332 herbal aromatic recipes, to help you balance your physical, mental and spiritual life.
The Ultimate Guide to Mixing, Matching, and Making Essential Oils Choose the best essential oils for your creative and magical mixing with this straightforward, hands-on guide. Through step-by-step instruction on how to measure, mix, and assess blends, you'll move beyond following others' recipes and into creating your own oil combinations. Mixing Essential Oils for Magic offers everything you need to understand not only how to blend but also why specific blends work together. Learn how to mix oils by botanical family, scent group, and perfume note. Discover an encyclopedic listing of essential and carrier oil profiles, as well as thorough cross-references for the oils and their magical associations. With guidance on the historical and present-day uses of essential oils, you'll make personal blending an integral part of your spiritual and magical practices.