The Tarot Nose: The Moon

La Luna Bella! A woman invokes the energies of the full moon, while all around her spiral the eight lunar phases. Each month the moon embodies the cycle of descent and return, as it waxes to full- ness, wanes to darkness, and begins to wax again. The Moon is constantly changing, and She is utterly faithful in Her changes. — Joanna Powell Colbert

Amanda, the fabulous parfumer extraordinaire, has done it again. This time she tackled the Moon. When I first got this one, my nose was put off a bit by the sharpness of the scent. But I came back to it time and time again. I had to know what this was.

On opening the sample, I was hit with spiciness that made me think of a new maiden who’s just found her own sexuality. There was almost a slyness to it. Then other scents came into play that put me in mind of an exotic bazaar–maybe in Morocco or something on the Great Silk Road. This fragrance is hard to pin down. It is illusive just like the Moon. You can actually smell the changes as this lovely scent cycles just like Joanna’s Moon.

When I put it on my skin, I wanted to shut my doors. I wanted everyone to go away. I wanted to revel in my own feminine self. The moment it hit my skin, it transformed into something so much more than it was in the bottle. In the bottle, it was the maiden a bit unsure of herself. On my skin it was the wise old woman who knows how to seduce. She has the wisdom of the ages soaked into her skin.

This is that oil for me. The Moon as the woman who can be maiden, mother and crone. The Moon as a scent that calls to you to dive into your own intuitive self. The Moon as called forth by Joanna Powell Colbert where she is joined by wolf and owl and salmon. The scent also lingered for quite some time. I think I might use this to scent a Tarot bag. I think it would be lovely to have the cards imbued with this.

Of the scents I’ve tried so far by Esscentual Alchemy, this was by far the hardest to pin down. And doesn’t that tell you how well Amanda did with this one? She translated the illusions and intuitive knowing of the Moon into this amazing scent. I highly recommend this one to anyone who wants a fragrance that they can wear as well as use in meditation.