Nectar & Alchemy

Fragrant plants transform the spirit + The School of Sacred Arts

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Photo by İbrahim Özdemir on Unsplash

I’ve had a lot of dark nights of the soul in my lifetime. I think it's just the way I’m made — I’m super sensitive with way too many existential questions swirling around my head. 

Sometimes, societal issues overwhelm me. It just doesn’t seem like humans are “doing life” right, you know? My heart knows that we don’t have to keep experiencing so much suffering. We don’t have to keep causing so much harm.

And sometimes, it’s just all about me. My own bad decisions, regrets, and failures.

Either way, the shadows of life are familiar territory…perhaps some of you can relate ;)
Yet, I never stay in the shadows permanently. The beauty of life calls me into the light to participate more fully again and again.

I share this not to indulge in an epically self-centered dive into my own psyche, but to bring us to the allies that have helped me the most along this path: the plants.

Plants are magical.

Like really, truly magical.

And when we partner with plants, we become more magical, too.

Plants in general…and aromatic plants specifically.

Sacred aromatics. Plant spirit alchemy. 

When we partner with plants for beauty, medicine, and spiritual connection, magic becomes inevitable.

A few years ago, a series of personally traumatic events (combined with trying to live in a world that seems designed to enslave most of the population) left me feeling completely broken. I could barely get out of bed in the morning, and when I finally did crawl from bed to chair, I would stare at the wall and cry. This whole period led to a level of physical and mental burnout that I’m still recovering from years later.

During this intensely challenging time, the spirit world brought me a surprising form of support: smoke.

I stumbled upon (or perhaps was divinely guided toward) a series of classes on Egyptian aromatics. Taught by a doctoral candidate working on her dissertation (Dora Goldsmith), these classes investigated, from an academically rigorous perspective, the use of aromatic materials in ancient Egypt. 

I learned how to recreate Kyphi based on new translations of scripts on temple walls. I discovered actual perfume recipes and learned about the priests and their process for creating sacred oils. I found resonance with the rituals of opening the mouths of the gods by anointing their statues. I meditated on the scentscapes of Egyptian gardens, funerary rites, and aphrodisiacs.

Though these classes were purely academic in nature, the Egyptian neteru delighted in my participation. I’ve dreamt of Thoth since I was a wee little girl and have had visits from Isis for as long as I can remember. Now, these beings were joined by Sekhmet, Hathor, Osiris, and more.

Inspired by the classes and encouraged by the gods, I began burning sacred resins each morning. Kyphi for a general blessing and cleansing. Frankincense to connect with Ra. Myrrh for Hathor. And many, many, blends of locally gathered evergreen resins, copal, dragonsblood, opoponox, and more.

I used charcoal discs, grounding resins by hand with a stone mortar and pestle. I offered the smoke to spirit. And offered it to myself, immersing my entire being in fragrant clouds.

My soul began to speak more loudly during this time. It remembered these fragrances. It remembered this ritual. 

And, as if by magic (because it was), I began to feel better. 

Obviously, I’m going to be sharing the Egyptian-inspired perfumes and incense blends that came out of this healing cocoon. Keep an eye out this August — I’ll be releasing this line with the heliacal rising of Sirius.

Photo by James Lee on Unsplash

Introducing Nectar & Alchemy

Plants offer us a bridge between the physical and spiritual.
They are effortlessly attuned to their own wild essence.
They exist in multiple dimensions at once.
And they can help us embody our spiritual nature in profound ways.

And so, I offer you…

⚘ Nectar & Alchemy: The School of Sacred Arts ⚘

This has been a loooong time in creation. It is a reflection of my soul medicine in this lifetime. My heartfelt hope is that this “school” opens sacred pathways for you to connect more deeply, reverently, and skillfully with the nectar and alchemy of life. 

Nectar. The gift of flowers. The sweetness of blessings. A metaphor for the gifts of the gods in traditions throughout the world.

Alchemy. The art of transmutation. Alchemical traditions from West and East on inner and outer alchemy.

Together, nectar and alchemy symbolize our human pursuit of Beauty with a capital B. Beauty as a virtue, a reflection of the true nature of reality, the presence of spirit within all physical reality. 

And, nectar and alchemy reflect my heart’s offering in this lifetime — my spiritual, natural perfumes. Made from the fragrant nectar of plants in an alchemical synergy that creates something new, these perfumes are meant to alchemize the nectar within each of us.

To delight in the nectar of life, embodied and shared so generously by our aromatic plants, is one of life’s true joys. We need the beauty of this fragrant generosity to uplift our spirits in this often challenging dimension of reality.

Traditions throughout the world agree:

In Hindu mythology, "Amrita," is the divine nectar that grants immortality. In Buddhist traditions, nectar is symbolic of the bliss experienced through enlightenment. In Greek mythology, nectar is the drink of the gods, conferring immortality upon them. 

Honey, the sweet nectar of flowers and bees, appears in Christian mysticism. The "milk and honey" mentioned in the Bible represent divine abundance, grace, and the sustenance provided by God's love. Honey was a staple food in many indigenous traditions, as well, and often revered for its life-giving properties. 

Alchemy is how we absorb the gifts of nectar. The philosopher’s stone, a symbolic representation of alchemical pursuit of immortality, is a central theme in Western alchemical traditions — and do you know what the philosopher’s stone is also called? The elixir of life. 

And it just so happens that Taoist alchemical practices share similar aims — the creation of an elixir of immortality. These elixirs were created both physically as well as internally, through inner alchemy practices.

These alchemical elixirus are literal nectars of immortality. 

Immortality, in this sense, does not reflect some Highlander or vampiric version of eternal life. Rather, it is a reflection of our true state. Our souls are immortal. To touch into the truth of immortality is to bring awareness of our divine nature into this human world. Immortality is our spiritual connection.

When I was deepest in the dark, exhausted and wrapped in layers of grief, the divine blessings of fragrance brought me back to life.

Incense — sacred, fragrant smoke from aromatic plant materials — is one of our oldest forms of plant medicine, having been used by cultures on every continent for thousands of years. And it is the original perfume: The word perfume itself actually comes from the Latin per fumus, means “to make divine through smoke.” 

Humans have always known the power of plants to heal, cleanse, protect, adorn, beautify, and nourish — and the use of sacred aromatics is woven throughout our evolution. 

Nature’s perfumes are the foundation of culture. The ancient Egyptian origin story holds that the universe was born from the fragrance of the lotus. The first material element was that of aroma.

And nature’s perfumes rewild us. Just try to walk through a fragrant forest without the aroma of fir and earth stirring your soul’s memory of its true nature.

With Nectar & Alchemy, I hope to weave us back into reverent relationship with the transformative nature of aromatic plants.

(And…I’m including flower essences as an honorable mention here. While the essences themselves do not carry any aroma, they hold the vibrational imprints of aromatic plants and are perhaps the most accessible form of alchemical nectar.)

So what can you expect from the Nectar & Alchemy School of Sacred Arts?

I am in the process of creating many resources to support your journey with aromatic plants. 

These are the temple arts. And these are the wild ways.

And plant perfumes bridge the two.

The first course I’ll be sharing is on Plant Spirit Aromatherapy. This will introduce you to the sacred nature of distillation and plant spirit communication, as well as offer a foundation in the healing nature of sacred oils.

Further courses will focus on sacred anointing oils, the art of spiritual perfumery, clairolfaction, and more. 

Send me a message to join the wait list for this school here.

In the meantime, I’ll be sharing valuable content in the area of “Nectar & Alchemy” right here, on Substack.

As the content library of The Mythoanimist Path grows, I’m adding sections to help you navigate this publication and curate the content you most wish to receive. 
So, in addition to sharing shamanic articles under “The Art & Practice of Shamanism”, I’ll be sharing aromatically-themed articles, including perfume and plant profiles, within the “Nectar & Alchemy” section.

By default, you’ll receive notifications for everything. And you can always update your preferences, which I share how to do here.

A Note on Paid Subscriptions

Right now, I offer thanks to my paid subscribers with monthly gifts — which include really amazing discounts on my botanical and magical perfumes :)

Within this new section, I’ll be sharing even more recipes and rituals for paid subscribers. Everyone will be able to read the articles, but paid subscribers will often get a little extra something.

I’m also planning on hosting quarterly workshops soon, with free or majorly discounted pricing for paid subscribers to The Mythoanimist Path. (The first one will be on gnome flower in July!). 

So, if you haven’t already upgraded to paid, now might be a good time to think about it ;)

I hope you’ll join me in this temple of fragrant delights.

Know someone who would love to immerse themselves in sacred aromatics? Share this article — it’s free for everyone to read!