Elixir Collective No. 9 ~ 'Iliahi Incense & Ritual Resin
The October Elixir Collective subscription box featured hand-rolled 'Iliha Incense and Ritual Resin, two offerings inspired by rare and beautiful Hawaiian Sandalwood. Each package included a tin of three incense cones on a bed of Big Island Sandalwood chips, a natural agate stone, a dram glass dropper of Ritual Resin perfume, a muslin bag and a card with the following words.
Hawaiian Sandalwood is truly one of the most precious botanical beings available to us: the scent alone has captivated humans throughout our known history. The islands of the Hawaiian archipelago are said to have birthed six Sandalwood species which are endemic, meaning that ancestral genetic material made its way here across oceans and evolved distinctly from its other relatives over millions of years in this one of a kind habitat. The most common species of Hawaii is Santalum paniculatum, called ‘Iliahi in Hawaiian, and like the rest of the genus it is a hemiparastic (partially parasitic) tree that gets some but not all of its nutrients by tapping into the roots of surrounding plants. Also known as Royal Sandalwood for its favor amongst Hawaiian royalty, its precious wood almost entirely vanished from the islands after ravenous economic demand that spanned across the globe; King Kamehameha placed a kapu (ban) to protect young trees and trade ceased shortly thereafter by 1830. Today, Hawaiian Sandalwood is mostly in the hands of a precious few caretakers who have cultivated and repopulated a spared forest on the active Mauna Loa volcano slopes of the Big Island — this is primary source of the essential oil, dust & chips within your tin. Unlike many plants, the oil is concentrated most in the heartwood, and its fragrance accumulates with age (reaching maturity at 60 to 80 years). By its unique way of obtaining nourishment, Sandalwood teaches us to find the essence of our own nourishment deeply rooted within: as we are freed from a cycle of dependence, we are able to devote more mental energy to creative thinking. The richly aromatic wood also aids in grounding us and has a special affinity for the third eye, facilitating meditation and our spiritual connection with the universe.
‘ILIAHI INCENSE
The enclosed Sandalwood cones are part of my first escapade into making incense, and were crafted with Big Island Sandalwood dust along with Japanese Makko powder (a tree bark that serves as a binder) and Hawaiian Sandalwood & Vetiver hydrosols. Similar to incense sticks, these cones can be lit at the tip to provide fragrant smoke that quickly fills the surrounding space. The natural agate slice accompanying your cones was provided as base from which to burn them on. Find a quiet moment to relax, unwind, and enrapture yourself with the serene spirals of smoke. The chips in the tin are meant to provide you with a better picture and scent of pure unadultured Sandalwood, and can be placed in the muslin bag and left anywhere you would like to soak up its sweet, earthy scent.
RITUAL RESIN
The tiny amber vial contains a sample of Ritual Resin, one of my classic scents newly released as a roll-on perfume. This blend features precious Hawaiian Sandalwood essential oil, along with familiar and exotic botanicals that in unison offer a calming, clearing, and grounding adornment. Beautiful Blue Chamomile oil takes center stage, supported by musky Labdanum and sugary Benzoin. Coveted Palo Santo offers a bit of sharpness, while pure Hawaiian Sandalwood brings the woods and sweet resins into a blissful state of being. This perfumery adornment can be applied anywhere on the body for a natural fragrance; shake the vial gently before using, as heavier resins tend to sink in the organic Coconut & extra virgin Olive oil base. Ritual Resin tells the story of sacred ceremony — as you anoint yourself with the oil, allow these aromatics to empower the manifestation of your own rituals around what you treasure most in this life.
