The festive season is a time when many people enjoy staying indoors with their family, and as a consequence, the hearth takes the center stage.
There are some specific scents that we all associate with the Winter Festive Season - and so today we will have a look at the variety of scents in stock at Fata Morgana which are especially wintery!
The Three Magi
In the Christian narrative, Three Magi - also known as the Three Kings or Three Wise Men - called Melchior, Balthazar and Caspar travelled from the East, following a star to the birthplace of Jesus. They are said to have brought gifts to the Baby, namely Gold, Frankincense & Myrrh.
Apart from their names, the three Magi developed distinct characteristics in Christian tradition, so that between them they represented the three ages of (adult) man, three geographical and cultural areas, and at times, other things.
Their ages are often said to be 60, 40 and 20 respectively, and their geographical origins are variable.
Caspar:
In one tradition as reflected in art by the 14th century (such as in the Arena Chapel by Giotto in 1305), Caspar is old, normally with a white beard, and gives the gift of Gold. He is "King of Tarsus, land of merchants" on the Mediterranean coast of modern Turkey, and is first in line to kneel to Christ.
Melchior:
Melchior is middle-aged, giving Frankincense from Arabia.
Balthazar:
Balthazar is a young man, very often and increasingly black-skinned, giving the gift of Myrrh from Saba (modern south Yemen).
He is often said to be hailing from Ethiopia or other parts of Africa, and this being represented accordingly. Balthazar's blackness has been the subject of considerable recent scholarly attention; in art it is found mostly in northern Europe, beginning from the 12th century, and becoming very common in the north by the 15th.
The topic of who is whom, and who brought which gift at times varies depending on the tradition. The gift of gold is sometimes associated with Melchior as well and in some traditions, Melchior is the old man of the three Magi.
An alternative to Myrrh is Oppoponax, which is also referred to as Sweet Myrrh.
Opopona Resin Incense - Stock Item
Opoponax is a glorious resin often used in performers. It is smokey, soft, luminous and sensual all at once. Some compare its smell to crushed ivy leaves, whereas others are reminded of angelica, frankincense and celery.
Opoponax catches alight easily, so it is easy to understand why it has been used as incense for centuries. King Solomon is said to have regarded opopanax as ‘the noblest of incense gums’.
How does one use resin incense?
The most popular method to use this type of incense is to burn it using a lit charcoal disc in a fireproof container.
An alternative, which is smoke-free, is to diffuse it.
What you'd need is:
- Oil Burner such as the one portrayed above (the deeper the bowl the better when it comes to resin)
- Your resin incense of choice
- Tealight candle
- Thin, unscented vegetable oil such as sunflower or rapeseed oil.
- Matches/lighter
1) Pour a small amount of vegetable oil into the dish. How much oil you use will depend on the size of the dish. Deeper bowls are ideal in this instance as there is less risk of spillage and can accommodate larger incense nuggets.
You will want to add around 1 to 2 teaspoons of oil at the very least, but not more than half the depth of the dish.
2) Add a few nuggets of incense. Start small. You don't want to accidentally overdo it, and end up with too strong a smell.
3) Light the tealight candle and position it inside the burner. Don't use votive candles, they're too tall for this purpose even though they fit. Also, don't use scented candles as they will interfere with the scent of the incense.
4) As the oil warms up, the resin will start excluding its natural oils. Don't leave the burner unattended, and one you're done, blow out the candle. Replace the incense after 3 or 4 uses, and at this point you may wish to top up the oil. Allow the burner to completely cool down before the cleaning it.
Speaking of Oil burners...
Wax melts are highly sought after nowadays!
Eco Soy Wax Melts - Stock Items - Priced at Eur6 each
All you need to use Wax Melts are:
- Wax burner
- Tea light candle
- Wax melts
- Lighter/matches
Light up the candle, place it in the cavity of your burner, and place a couple of wax pellets in the burner's bowl. That's it!
And before we move on from Burners...
Another option to scent your home is to use essential oils.
Besides from Frankincense and Myrrh, there are many other wintery scents one could opt for. For ease of reference, I have grouped them based on their Aroma Family. All of the oils displayed below are stock items - I will link the most recent price list before we move on to the next topic.
In the Citrus Family, we find several essential oils that can be included in winter blends, or used by themselves. Citrusy smells are a mood lifter, and remind us of long, summer days. As the longest night of the year approaches, these scents give us renewed hope and remind us that after the dark, the sun shall indeed rise again.
Resinous essential oils are possibly the smallest aroma family. Alongside Frankincense and Myrrh, we also find Benzoin that is often used in perfumery and in oil blends. Benzoin is a resin that has quite a lot of depth and facets. It has a recognisable vanilla-like sweetness and can sometimes smell a little smokey like whiskey. In essence, it is a wonderful scent.
The Woody/Earthy scents above include 4 Coniferous trees, namely, Cedar, Pine, Spruce and Cypress, and 2 Dedicous trees - namely Sweet Birch and Sandalwood. The oils from these trees are grounding and perfect for recreating a magickal winter forest feel at home.
Sage is herbaceous, sweet and slightly camphorous. You will be familiar with its scent if you use Sage as a herb in cooking. true to the herb used in cooking and burning. It blends well with Spicy aromas, as well as with light floral aromas.
Marjoram belongs to the same family as Oregano, however it is far less pungent, and has a slightly camphorous, woody, herbal scent with a hint of spice.It blends really well with a lot of different essential oils, especially floral, herbaceous and spicy essential oils.
Vetiver is closely related to other fragrant grasses such as lemongrass and citronella. It has a complex earthy, woody scent.The scent has often been compared to the sharp smell of uncut grass on a warm day. It blends especially well with floral, citrus and Woody/earthy aromas.
Spicy oils bring a warmth with them that is much sought after during the colder months. You will recognise the above oils from your spice rack, and many of them feature in festive food recipes.
Last but definitely not least, we have the Minty oils. Fresh and much sought after for their best known quality - that is, helping with respiratory problems that the colder months tend to bring with them.
Essential oils can be used in many different ways. We have already mentioned Oil burners, such as the ones displayed above.
When using the oils in an oil burner, you'll need:
- An oil burner
- A tealight candle
- Your preferred oils
- Water
- Lighter/matches
You'll need to put some water in the Burner's bowl, and add a few drops of your preferred essential oil(s). Light up the candle, and place it in the cavity of the oil burner.
That's all there is to it! Just make sure you don't let the oil burner dry out as it can crack.
Alternative ways of using Essential oils
One of the most popular ways of using Essential oils nowadays is by using an Aroma Diffuser.
The diffuser contains a water tank, which needs to be filled up. Inside there is an indication of the maximum level of water it can take. You then add a few drops of your preferred essential oil(s), and you switch it on.
That's all there is to it! Once it is empty it will automatically switch off.
The good thing about this electrical diffuser is that it changes 7 LED light colours as it works, so it makes for a visually pleasing trinket to have around.
Topical Use is another option. When applying essential oils to the skin, they need to be diluted with a carrier oil.
Roller top bottles are the ideal gadget to use in this instance. You can use either 1 essential oil, or create your own blend, and then top it up with your preferred carrier oil. Not only are these Roller Top Bottles handy and mess free to use, but they also help prolong the lifetime of your Essential oil Blend since they're made from amber glass.
To view the latest version of the Essential Oil & Carrier oils list, please see
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pvT-HlQWhyGLBw0wfdtJpycZj28G-uS8/view?usp=sharing
Last but not least - Soaps!
We make Seasonal Vegan soaps - and by we, I mean my partner and myself. These soaps contain a blend of Cinnamon, Ginger, Clove & Lemon essential oils, and they smell like a delicious desert! In fact, after finishing making these soaps, we had to run back inside and eat as the scent actually caused hunger pangs. True story!
We spoke of unscented candles, but what about scented ones?
During this time of the year, scented candles are another popular option.
Some candles are scented with a mix reminiscent of festive drinks, such as the one above.
Others are scented with blends reminiscent of foods such as Cinnamon and Spiced Apples or Pears and Spiced Cider such as the candle displayed above.
Winter wonderland Scented Candles - Stock items
Others still are blends that are wintery such as the three candles above.
Winter Forest has a sweet, woodsy scent and is subtely floral.
Angel Wings has a minty yet sweet scent.
Pinecone is, as one might expect, pine scented, but slightly sweet.
Then we have themed candle holders - such as these tealight holders which come with Berry scented tealight.
Bringing us full circle, we'll touch on different types of incense.
Incense sticks are possibly the first type of incense that people think of when thinking of incense.
The fun thing about this type of incense is that one can find many different types of incense holders - including seasonal ones such as the Angel ones above, or the snowflake ones below:
My personal favourite when it comes to ready made incense though are Incense Cones!
Same as the incense sticks, there are many different burners that can be used for incense cones - some will have a chimney effect such as the two displayed below:
Others will have the cone in full display, but will be themed, such as the ones below:
And colours?
You might have noticed a pattern emerging already - Gold, Silver, Green, Red and White are by far deemed to be the official colours of the Festive season. This is apparent just by looking at the colour schemes in the photos above.
In conclusion
I think I've rambled on for long enough. So, I will leave you on this note.
This year we have been dealing with a worldwide pandemic. Get creative in the ways you celebrate with extended family and with friends - the internet is full of free tools which can be used to bring people together virtually. Just because you cannot be in physical proximity doesn't mean you can't spend time with your loved ones.
