In December of 2009 my daughter suggested we watch Julie and Julia, a film inspired by a blog writer named Julie Powell who decided to make 524 recipes in 365 days from Julia Childs' landmark cookbook. My daughter was correct; I enjoyed the film on many levels, so much so that on the first day of the new decade (January 1, 2010) I began a weekly blogging event called Perfume Illuminated with my friend Beth Schreibman Gehring.
As I sit here and write this article the jasmine sambac (Jasminum sambac) plants outside my studio window have just started their bloom cycle, slightly earlier than last year. For me this means that each evening or early morning until sometime in November I will be harvesting these little scented wonders and placing them into a mason jar filled with 190 proof, organic grape alcohol or a bed of fat. These are ancient processes, known as tincturing and a modern type of enfleurage.
In the spring edition of the Aromatherapy Journal I introduced you to the theme of Morphology: an approach to blending based upon the part of a plant from which the aromatic substance is extracted, and the meaning prescribed to that plant part. In that edition I discussed seeds, and then covered flowers in the summer edition, and wood in the autumn edition. For the winter edition I will discuss Roots.
Herbalist Juliet Blankespoor shares her insights on how to utilize herbs, food and lifestyle therapies to support attentiveness, ability to focus and calmness.