by Elspeth's Airs | Jun 21, 2023
How do you connect with the element of Fire? How can perfume provide a pathway?
Fire is the element of transformation and alchemy, cleansing and destruction. Its flames dance playfully and it stokes our inner desires and passions. It illuminates through the darkness and represents health, vitality and creativity. It can be our beacon, bringing warmth to our homes & hearths; it can also be dangerous when untended. Even in its destruction, Fire gives way to new life, nourishing the soil with ash and making room for new things to grow. Fire commands respect and attention. Fire energy in balance is a vital part of the natural cycles of life.
We can intentionally channel the energy of Fire within us and around us, through focus and visualization, as well as through rituals, scents, plants, and symbols. Below are the qualities & correspondences associated with Fire, Elspeth’s Airs most fire-invoking perfumes & some of my favorite ways to connect with this energy. What are some of yours?
The photos in this post are of my friend, Mandisa, embodying the element of Fire for our Elemental Magic photoshoot in March. Read more about the fiery Mandisa below!
Mandisa’s makeup by Sabrina Blunt and photos by Trevor Mark.
Fire Qualities & Correspondences
Nature: Transformation, play, action, desire, alchemy, cleansing, destruction 
Colors: Red & orange
Direction: South
Season: Summer
Sense: Sight
Astrological Signs: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius
Planets: Sun, Mars, Jupiter
Plants: Cinnamon, ginger, hot peppers, stinging, thorny plants like nettles, sunflowers, spices like nutmeg and clove
Perfumes: Elspeth’s Airs Through Flames & Eros
Rituals to Connect with Fire
*Use perfumes & scent to set intentions around what you wish to release or to invoke what you are passionate about creating or transforming. 
*Burn candles, especially red or orange ones. You can also dress your candle with herbs & essential oils that correspond with fire.
*Write things you wish to release on paper and then burn it (safely, of course!)
*Gather around a fire.
*Make a sun tea: place herbs in a glass jar and cover with water & cap. Place outside where the water can strike it for 3 to 5 hours. Once at desired strength, drink or refrigerate.
*Infuse flowers in water in the sun all day and then rinse your body with the water.
*Bask in the sun.
*Bake with fiery herbs & spices- a delight for the mouth & the nose!
*Use fiery scents or incense in your releasing & cleansing ceremonies.
Elspeth’s Airs Perfumes to Connect with Fire Energy
Through Flames
Affirmation: I already know the way.
Key notes: Lemongrass, clove, tobacco, woods & spices
Made under the influence of a Fire Moon, Through Flames incinerates confusion and brings clarity by fire. Built upon a solid base of Virginian Cedarwood, Opoponax and Vetiver, a stir of tobacco is used to ignite the fire. Siberian Fir and Rosemary stoke the flames and send Lemongrass into the air. Ginger adds heat, while Black Pepper jolts us awake & brings us into focus. A touch of Cardamom sweetens the blend just enough to balance the medicine. We are left feeling clear and strong.
Eros 
Affirmation: I am electric. Being with tension fuels my growth.
Key notes: Vetiver, citrus, cinnamon & ginger
“Eros is the unconsummated quality of the between.” – Catherine MacCoun, “On Becoming an Alchemist”
Cinnamon and Vetiver spark a playful tension between hot and cool in this blend. These two poles create an opening for Cypress and Lemongrass to arise to form a bridge between the contrasting elements. Magic occurs in this space of in-between.
Originally created under a Full Hunter Moon in Aries, Eros simultaneously pulls us in opposite directions and keeps us centered in that still place within. It implores us to be with certain tensions, as they can propel us towards growth.
About the Model 
Mandisa can’t help BUT radiate fire energy. With her Sun and Moon in Leo, born in the heat of August in the South, Mandisa is as fierce as she is passionate and loving. Her clear intentions, words & actions have the power to transform hearts & minds & all the world that she touches.
S. Mandisa Moore O-Neal is a Black Feminist, abolitionist and founder of The Moore-O’Neal Law Group, LLC, a Black feminist law and policy practice. Currently, she’s the Executive Director of The Center for HIV Law and Policy, a research and policy think tank and advocacy resource for People Living with HIV and surrounding communities. Before joining CHLP, she was a civil rights attorney with a focus on HIV De-criminalization litigation, education and advocacy; family law litigation, education and advocacy; employment and public accommodations discrimination litigation and education; and police accountability litigation and advocacy and her primary organizing support work was as member of the BYP100-New Orleans’ chapter, SONG-New Orleans and a founding member of the Louisiana Coalition on Criminalization and Health.
Mandisa is also one of my besties. We’ve been friends since college, when we challenged the “devil’s advocate” bros in a Liberation Theology class and emotionally supported each other through Hurricane Katrina. Over about 18 years, our friendship has grown us both through many shifts and evolutions, and I’m proud and honored that we call each other family.
by Elspeth's Airs | May 1, 2023
Which of the elements call to you? How do you relate to them? How do you invoke them? What emotions do they stir? Which ones make you feel connected to your innate power? How can we use perfume to deepen that connection?
I believe that we can work with natural perfume & our sense of smell to consciously connect with the elements in our daily lives and remember our connection to Earth and our own bodies.
Air and Water have always called to me. The wind at my hands charges me up & fills me with a sense of power. Water calms my spirit and I crave being submerged in its depths. When I began learning perfumery, it felt meaningful that Water & Air feature so prominently in a finished perfume. As my devotion to this craft deepened, I marveled at all of the ways that the elements- Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit- weave in & out of the creative, magical, transformative processes involved in perfumery and at how we can use perfume to invoke & honor the elements in return.
A (Very) Brief History of the Elements Across Culture & Time
Many people throughout time have believed (& still believe) in the concept of fundamental, archetypal “elements” that comprise the universe, from the Ancient Greeks to Native American tribes to traditional African cultures to alchemists and various spiritual practitioners. There’s variation across cultures, belief systems and time, but there are also common themes. One is that the elements are typically associated with corresponding qualities, colors, directions, seasons, animals, plants, stages of life, and energies.
In magic and spirituality, practitioners often use these elements to create balance and harmony in their lives, as well as to connect with the energies of the natural world. The elements are also used in ritual and spell work. Practitioners may call upon the energies of the elements to enhance the effectiveness of their magic, or to create a sacred space for ritual work.
The Elements in Perfume
Since childhood, I’ve been intuitively aware of the influence of the elements on me & the world around me. As I intentionally develop my spiritual, alchemical, creative practices, I honor and work with the elements through the craft of perfumery.
Simply put, all of the materials that come together in the creation of a natural perfume come through the elements- plants from the Earth, propagated, nourished, grown by Water, Air, and Fire from the sun. I believe that each plant has its own Spirit and that the energies of all of these elements come through as the plants are tended, harvested & transformed. The processes of transformation to separate fragrant molecules from plants then calls on the elements in new ways. In steam distillation, Earth is combined with Water and Fire to free essential oils into the Air, and then condense them back into Water and Spirit (as hydrosol & “essential” oils) which are then sent into the Air when added to natural fixatives and sprayed on our bodies & in our spaces.
Perfume, then, gives us a tangible way to connect with the elements- to feel their presence, to honor them, to invite their energies & attributes into our present moments as we breathe in the scents and remember our connection in our bodies.
Olfactory Activity
This month, I invite you to direct conscious attention to how you experience the elements through your senses, especially your sense of smell. Are there one or two elements that you feel particularly called to work with at this time? What smells help you to feel connected with that element? In what ways can you intentionally invite in the energy of that element through scent? What feelings do you notice and where do you notice them in your body?
If you’re interested in exploring the elements through Elspeth’s Airs perfumes, see below for some ideas!
Elemental Magic Photoshoot
I recently did a photoshoot to visually represent the ways that the elements both form the basis of all plant-based perfumes and how perfume can be used to invoke the elements.
For the photoshoot, I asked three of my best friends to each embody an element with me. We selected our elements based on our astrological signs and chose our clothing, makeup & props based on elemental correspondences. Can we agree that everyone understood the assignment? And looks GORGEOUS? Check out the photo gallery & follow along on social media as I share more about the elements and each of the models in the coming weeks.
Elemental Correspondences for Plants & Perfumes
I also drew a chart with some of the elemental correspondences as I understand them from my own experience & various sources over the years. There are many more correspondences that one could include (here’s one I referenced), but this is focused in on the elements as they relate to scent.
All of the elements are involved in the growing of plants & the making of perfumes and multiple elements may show up energetically in each perfume; however, some of Elspeth’s Airs perfumes conjure specific elements more strongly.
Here are my top picks:
As always, gratitude
Thanks for reading along as I share more about different aspects of natural perfumery that inspire & excite me! I hope it’s as enjoyable for you to engage with as it was for me. I plan to share regularly about the magic, medicine, science, history & art of natural perfumery. Sign up for my newsletter to be notified of new blog posts, receive offers, event & product info, and for scent-related meditations & activities.
May you be ever more connected to the forces of nature & the power of the elements around and in you. Remember that you are nature and that YOU are powerful. We are powerful.
by Elspeth's Airs | Apr 24, 2023
“Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place.”
– Kurt Vonnegut
I’ve spent the past few weeks visiting a group of Sweetbay Magnolia almost daily. One thing that stands out to me is their softness. The petals are soft, supple, thick & waxy. The buds have tiny little hairs that feel like fur. The gray-green leaves have soft undersides. Even the newer branches have bark that feels soft to the touch. They seem to invite gentle stroking. I make an offering to the trees then sit with them a while before asking permission to collect a few petals. It’s been a pure, comforting joy and reprieve to spend time with these trees in the midst of so much hardness in the world. It’s been a particularly tough week. I’m grateful for these moments of softness & sweetness and wishing for each of you moments of softness, as well.
Here’s a meditation on softness that Sweetbay inspired, as well as a short profile on Sweetbay Magnolia:
Plant names: Sweetbay Magnolia, Laurel Magnolia, Swamp Magnolia
Botanical name: Magnolia virginiana
Family: Magnoliaceae
Characteristics: Evergreen in places with milder winters, semi-evergreen elsewhere; simple, alternate leaves; perennial
Where they’re native to & who they’re in community with: native to the lowlands and swamps of the Atlantic coastal plain of the eastern U.S. I’ve noticed dragonflies on the branches, tiny insects inside the flowers, bees, squirrels and birds also hanging out with Sweetbay.
Lore/traditional uses: Native Americans used a concoction of the bark to treat fevers and rheumatism. The fruit was used for coughs and chest ailments.
The petals are edible and people do things like pickle them. Always, be aware of where you’re harvesting from to feel confident that they haven’t been treated or exposed to excessive contaminants.
Ecological considerations: It was introduced into cultivation in the 1680s. I pick only petals and leave the center part (multiple pistils that will develop into an “aggregate follicle” fruit with seeds) so that the tree can fulfill its reproductive cycle. I only take petals from a few flowers on lower branches and like to harvest them after they’ve had a day in the sun, even if I don’t get the strongest scent.
Scent profile: notes of vanilla, lemon, occasional whiffs of honeysuckle and rose; strongest scent on just opening blooms; the scent evolves quickly as the flower opens; creamy, sweet, fresh & light floral
In perfumery: I’m currently making an enfleurage of the petals to make what will eventually be an absolute.
